Rod, again - Chapter 9, Chet's creation

Rod was going through the mail when Cindy burst into his apartment. He looked up and then watched her as she skipped across the room. Ever since her father called a week ago and told her he’d found a team to design her dress, she’d been smiling. Rod was glad she was happy but he feared that the team might not be up to the task. Plus, there were other issues troubling him. Cindy and her mother had been researching caterers and wedding cakes but Rod’s sensitivity to certain aromas and tastes was making it difficult. He didn’t want to cause trouble and had offered to wear his nose plugs if need be, but Cindy was determined to find someone who could accommodate his special dietary needs. Rod wasn’t certain such a person existed. He tried to push the thought out of his mind and focus on his very happy fiance.

“What’s up?” he asked, as he tossed the cable bill on the table.

“Look at this,” Cindy replied, as she handed him a large envelope. “It’s some drawings from the design team. I don’t know how they put them together so quickly. It’s my dress, only better. Rod, it’s perfect.”

Rod glanced at the contents of the envelope. The drawings did look amazingly similar to what Cindy had in her notebook only with a professional edge. “Wow,” he said. “They must have been working day and night to get these done this quickly. Your dad must have really lit a fire under them.”

Cindy pursed her lips. “I doubt Daddy did any sort of thing. He doesn’t push people around. Whatever the reason, they got the design perfect. Perfect.”

Rod noticed the return address. “Well, here’s the reason,” he said. “They’re from Minnesota - good old-fashioned work ethic. No wonder you like their work. You like anything that’s Minnesota-made.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Cindy played along. “Anything from your home state is golden.”

Rod smiled and then suddenly remembered his earlier thoughts. “I wonder if there are any bakers we could import from up north.” he said, frowning.

Cindy put her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about the cake. I’ll figure out something.” Cindy glanced down at the pile of mail on the table. “Hey, what’s that?”

Rod looked at the postcard-size coupon Cindy was picking up. “Oh, that.” he said. “Looks like Nina’s had decided to start sending out coupons. Business must be hurting, they’re practically giving away the food.”

Cindy looked closer at the coupon. “Rod, this isn’t just a general mailing. This card was hand-addressed to you. In fact, it looks like the whole coupon was designed just for you.”

Rod looked at the card more closely. Cindy was right, the coupon did seem too specific. “I guess Nina hasn’t given up on me.” he said. “According to this card, they’ve expanded their menu and added new, healthy choices.”

“I don’t care,” grumbled Cindy. “I don’t like that woman and I don’t like her sending you mail. Maybe we should call the police and tell them she’s harassing you.”

“I think that might be a little much.” Rod stated. “Why don’t I just go over there and ask her to drop it? I’m sure once she realizes I’m not returning, she’ll back off.”

“Okay, but I’m coming along.”

Nina squinted at the plate Chet had placed in front of her. “This is the best you could come up with? Really, Chet, I expected something a bit more exotic from you.”

Chet shrugged. He’d correctly anticipated Nina’s reaction but he was having trouble devising a suitable dish. He shot a glance at Rico, who was trying his best not to make eye contact. Chet looked back at Nina. “What did you expect? Rico didn’t give me much to work with, according to him, the guy mostly just eats carrots.”

Nina looked at Rico. Rico met her gaze and solemnly nodded. Nina snorted and looked back at Chet. “Well, you’re going to have to try harder, Chet.” She pointed at the plate. “This, this will never work in the restaurant. For Pete’s sake, it’s not even deep fried!” Nina took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure. “Now, listen, we don’t have much time. I sent some special coupons to Rod. I made them look like a general mailing so he’ll never realize he’s the only one who got them. I’m basically offering him free food and promising a new, exciting, expanded menu. If he shows up, we need to have something to offer him.”

Chet looked incredulously at Nina. “You already sent the coupons out? What if he comes in this afternoon?”

Nina glared at Chet. “You’d better hope he doesn’t.”

Chet turned and stomped back into the kitchen. Nina turned to Rico. “Rico, you’re going to need to step up your efforts - get closer somehow. Find something more for Chet to work with.”

Rico nodded and squinted a little to show his resolve. Closer. He could do that. He would need to switch to extreme ninja. He watched as Nina grabbed her purse and left. She like to be gone before the afternoon rush began. Rico suddenly felt very alone. He knew Chet was upset and would probably sulk in the kitchen for the rest of the night. Rico wasn’t certain if Chet was angry at Nina or him. He was probably mad at both of them.

Rico was so busy trying to devise a way to make Chet and Nina happy that he didn’t immediately notice the small electric car pull up and stop. The slam of a car door brought him back from dreamland. When he saw Rod and his girlfriend walking toward the order window, Rico instinctively reached into his pocket and retrieved his phony moustache. He was about to press it on when he realized that he didn’t need to. He was Rico now, not a Magnum P.I, ninja spy. He returned the moustache to his pocket and tried to look un-ninja-like. He waited for Rod to get to the window. He wished Nina were there, or that Chet would join him.

“Ah, hello there, new customer,” Rico stammered. “Ah, how may I help you?”

Rod read the name tag on Rico’s shirt. “Hi Rico.” Rod said. “I need to talk to Nina is she around?”

Rico gulped. He hadn’t expected Rod to know his name. He could feel sweat forming on his brow. “Sh-she’s not here right now. Gone for the day.”

Rod looked at Cindy and shrugged. Then he looked at the menu board above Rico’s head. Rod glanced back at Cindy and smiled before turning to Rico. “Say,” said Rod, sternly. “I got this coupon in the mail. It says I can try any of the new healthy menu items for free. But your menu looks the same as it always has. Are you running some sort of scam here, offering free stuff that doesn’t exist?”

Cindy stifled a giggle behind Rod. Rico was obviously rattled and seemed to believe that Rod was truly upset.

“N-n-no,” Rico insisted. “We have new items. We just haven’t updated the menu board yet.” Rico smiled weakly, hoping Rod would buy his explanation.

“Okay,” said Rod. “In that case, I’d like to redeem this coupon. Give me something from your new menu.”

Rico gulped and called out to Chet. No answer. Rico was alone. He made a frantic glance around the counter until his eyes rested on the plate Chet had shown Nina earlier. Rico grabbed it. “Here.” he said, thrusting the plate at Rod. “Enjoy your free food.”

Rod was surprised that Rico was able to produce something, given how nervous he’d seemed. Rico turned away from the window and was obviously trying to ignore him, so Rod stepped back and showed the plate to Cindy. He took a careful sniff, fearing the worse. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised. They sat down at a picnic table and stared at the food.

“Well,” said Cindy. “Do we dare try it?”

“I don’t know,” Rod replied. “It smells okay, good actually.” Rod took a small bite and looked up at Cindy. “Oh, you’ve got to try this, it’s good. Really good.”

Cindy took a tentative nibble then followed it with a larger bite. “You’re right. This is really good.”

Cindy paused for a moment and then smiled at Rod. Rod ate a couple more bites before he noticed her staring at him. “What?” he asked.

“Rod,” Cindy exclaimed. “This is it! For our wedding, it’s perfect!”

Rod looked down at the plate. Only a few crumbs of Chet’s carrot cake remained.