20 MAKE FRIENDS

Toni was just getting out of the shower and chanting to herself 'You will not cry' over and over again. She heard the phone ring and ignored it, she was not in any mood to talk to anyone tonight and she didn't want to dampen Claire's mood by telling her what happened. She felt foolish and disgusted with herself. She had connected her answering machine and made sure all the calls were answered by it. After a few rings she heard Aidan's voice.

"Toni? Please pick up the phone and talk to me. I swear that woman is nothing to me. Just talk to me."

She went over to the machine and deleted the message. She put on her pajamas and put her curls up in a pineapple bun. She went around the apartment switching off the lights. Her phone rang again and she waited to hear Aidan's voice through the machine but it was Claire, reminding her of their date with Adriana, she rushed to pick up the phone and tell her she didn't forget and promised to be ready by eight thirty.

-------The next morning---------

She woke up with a start and this time she could remember every image of her dream. She could almost feel the bruises and the broken bones. She scrambled off the bed and got sick into her toilet. She felt like she was coming down with something but figured it must be the stress of last night and the horrid dream she had. She hated it when she remembered them. They made her feel sick and she knew this was going to be one of those days. She showered and got ready. She saw her answering machine light up indicating a message and found that she had seven messages; she figured they must be from Aidan so she just ignored them.

She went down to meet Claire when Mr. Scott called to inform her of her arrival. She had decided to wear a simple pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt. She got in next to Claire in the car. Claire was wearing a pair of jeans too but her top was far from simple, I wondered how she was going to deal with making a mess of her top while cooking.

"Hello Claire, you look lovely." Toni pulled a smile for Claire. Trying hard to pretend like everything was fine.

"Thank you dear. You look a little tired. Did you work all night again?"

"No. I just didn't sleep well that's all. I'll be fine."

"You can tell me if anything is bothering you, you know that right?" She said while taking her hand into hers.

"I know. I'll be fine after a little sleep." She pasted what she hoped was a convincing enough smile on her face.

"Ok. Ready for some cooking lessons?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. I hope we don't make anything complicated. Better yet, I hope we learn how to make that cake."

Claire gave a giggle and agreed with her on the cake.

"So, any word from Aidan?"

Toni decided not to tell Claire what happened in case she started agreeing with her father. It was over now and she didn't need to ever find out about her stupidity.

"Not at all. I doubt he has time to make new friends."

"Ok then, maybe we'll see him around."

They made it to the Booth's in no time and were greeted by Adriana in a pair of navy pants and white blouse. She showed them in and led them to the kitchen. It was huge with big windows and a marble-top 'U'-shaped island. There were chairs around the outer side of the island with a food-prep station on the other side. Near the stove there was a young man with an apron on who was busy getting ingredients ready. He raised his head when Toni and Claire walked in and gave them a smile.

"Claire, Toni, this is Paul."

"Hello! Nice to meet two more lovely ladies." He shook both ladies' hands while saying that and gave them a wink.

"Aren't you a flirt?" Claire lightly smacked his arm and gave him a beaming smile.

He was young and quite handsome and definitely flirty.

"He is the youngest chef in our restaurants and he is amazing." She told Claire and Toni then turned to Toni with a wink and said, "Handsome, isn't he?"

Toni blushed scarlet and turned to Claire for assistance but then realized this was going to be one of those embarrassing times Claire tried helping her 'make friends'.

"Yes he is." She finally agreed.

Paul gave her a wide smile that made him look boyish. He looked like one of those models she saw in her magazines, handsome but not as handsome as Aidan. The unwelcome thought almost soured her mood.

"Shall we begin? Adriana said she wanted me to teach you how to make pineapple upside down cake. It's very simple so no need to worry." He added the last part for Toni when he saw her brows furrow. She gave him a small smile and he winked at her.

I am probably going to burst into flames by the end of this session.

Paul was a very good instructor. He was patient and very thorough in his instruction. It also helped that he explained every single thing because Claire was not much of a cook and Toni was more of an experimental cook and didn't know anything about baking. It was fun and Toni found herself relaxing and actually contributing to the conversations.