Delicious by Mark Haskell Smith Read Free Book Online

surfers out, but maybe they were all up north riding the monsters at Pipeline or even better, to his thinking, in school.
    A large wave rolled up onto the beach, slamming into an outcropping of rocks and sending a thick foamy spray fifteen feet up in the air. Joseph jogged through it, letting the water rain down on him, feeling its cool salt caress. This was something he’d miss. Actually, there was a lot he’d miss: the air, the fresh fish, the pineapples and papayas. He realized he could find tropical fruit in New York City, quite possibly fresh fish as well. But you couldn’t buy this quality of sunlight or smell the salt spray, no matter how exclusive the boutiques in Soho.
    Joseph was ambivalent. Sometimes he felt claustrophobic, living on a small island where everyone knew everyone; other times he couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to be. So he waffled and flip-flopped, debating the pros and cons in his mind until the weight of the decision became too much and he had to push it out of his brain. But this was the chance of a lifetime. Working at one of New York City’s top Italian restaurants, cooking with the finest ingredients available, honing his skills, gleaning secrets, and learning how to run a real kitchen. For Joseph it was like being plucked out of obscurity to play shortstop for the Yankees.
    It was his lucky break. The chef, a large and boisterous American who’d spent several near-monastic years cooking in the Italian countryside to perfect his skills, had been in Honolulu to film an episode of a Japanese TV series that pits celebrity chefs against each other in a cooking battle. Joseph and his uncle were handling the catering for the crew. Joseph was in the truck grilling fresh
moi
when he noticed the chef watching him.
Moi,
it turns out, is similar to
branzino,
and the chef was impressed with Joseph’s skills. He tasted one of the fish and offered Joseph a job at his Manhattan restaurant on the spot. Joseph told the chef he’d think about it, and to be honest that’s all he’d been doing ever since.
    Not that he’d made up his mind. He had a good job, a job he loved. He had a girlfriend. He had his family and the friends he’d known all his life. He had everything that anyone would ever want, and yet he was anxious to leave.
    Joseph had thought about seeing a psychiatrist. But that’s just the problem, isn’t it? Oahu is a small island. Everyone knows everyone. As soon as he told the shrink he wasthinking about leaving, his nana and his uncle would be all over him to stay. And what about Hannah? Shouldn’t he marry her? Didn’t he owe it to her after all this time?
    Thoughts of scents, flavors, and tastes beyond the Pacific horizon taunted him. He wanted to eat Mexican food in Mexico. Curry in Bombay. Green papaya salad from a street vendor in Bangkok. He wanted to go to Paris and have a twelve-course dinner at a three-star restaurant. He wanted to drink cava in a bar in Barcelona. He wanted to taste the world. How could he be a great chef if he didn’t explore the world? And how could he explore the world if he was stuck on this tiny little island? Yet why would he want to leave such a unique and beautiful place where he lived surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones?
    ...
    Yuki hung up the phone and shook her head. Why was her boss such a raving asshole? Why did he have to be so snide, so dismissive? Was Francis one of those homosexuals who carried his animosity toward the straight world like a big flaming chip on his shoulder? Maybe he was just self-absorbed and hostile, but either way it hurt her feelings. She considered herself very open-minded regarding matters of sexual preference, and she had lots of gay friends to prove it.
    She tried to think of anything she might have done to upset him. She was nothing but professional. Well, maybe she had been overly enthusiastic on the plane. Maybe she’d talked too much. But