Free Recipe for Satisfacton by Gina Gordon Page A

spend in this kitchen?”
    He ran his hand across the granite countertop. “We spent more time in here than we did sleeping. It calmed us somehow.” He stopped and rested his back against the edge of the counter. She lost him for a moment or so, his brain no doubt thinking back to some good memories.
    They continued on the first floor past the gym, which held more equipment than the Y she visited on occasion. He led her into the most elaborate den she’d ever seen. A screen took up an entire wall. A leather couch was arranged directly in front of it, and off to the sides and behind were several La-Z-Boy chairs. Large speakers were mounted inside the walls around the room. Along the left wall were floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with DVDs.
    “Wow. I bet you never went to the movies. You didn’t have to.” She ran her hand along the back of one of the chairs. She didn’t even have a television until she was fourteen. And even then, it was a puny twenty inches, and only watchable when the bunny ear antennae were feeling up to it.
    “We had a lot of fun in here.” He laughed. “This is where we used to bring girls. We had a running bet on which one of us could get the furthest…” He stopped, a small grin appearing on his face. “That’s not really important.”
    Laughing, she gripped the back of the chair. He had no reason to be ashamed. “I bet you were the first one.”
    He only smiled.
    “And your mom was all right with what went on in here?” She found it hard to believe that a woman like Vivian Madewood would agree to teenage fornication in what was supposed to be a family room.
    “She wasn’t home every minute of every day.” He gave her a guilty look. Like a kid who’d just stolen a cookie from the jar. “Besides, as long as we weren’t on the street living the lives we escaped, I don’t think she would have cared about a little teenage sex.”
    “There’s always a double standard, isn’t there?”
    “Maybe. But Vivian would never stand for disrespect. And although it may sound crude what we did in here, only one of us sealed the deal. Although I won’t tell you who.” He winked then grabbed her hand. “Come on, let me show you upstairs.”
    They headed back across the foyer to the rounded staircase. Along the white walls hung pictures of the family. The majority were pictures of the boys, alone and together. A strong, fearsome foursome. She wondered if they had always been so happy. One picture in particular caught her attention. Jack as a teenager—far less tattooed but still inked—standing next to Vivian and wearing his graduation cap. Vivian’s smile in the picture was so genuine, and her eyes sparkled with pride. She hugged Jack with the love of a mother. So tiny and petite, she fit right in under his armpit.
    “That’s one of the best memories I have.” He sidled up to her on the step and wiped his finger across the top of the silver frame.
    “Your mom was a beautiful woman. You look happy,” she added.
    “I didn’t think I’d ever graduate from high school. But Mom made sure of it.”
    She loved that they called her Mom. One would think coming into a home as a teenager would douse any chance at the Mom card, but Vivian Madewood was obviously a special woman.
    “That was also the day I decided to become a chef like my brothers. Like the man who might have been my father had he still been alive.”
    He gestured farther up the wall to a picture of a man. Strong jaw and chin, dark eyes and hair. Handsome. Arthur Madewood. Below hung a picture of Arthur and Vivian on their wedding day.
    “Don’t they look like they belong in a 1940s film? I’ve never seen a more attractive couple,” she said. “I wish I could have met her.”
    “I wish you could have met her, too.” He stepped down, bringing himself closer, the air hanging heavily around them.
    He brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek. Her mouth parted at his touch. Her eyes fluttered closed, and her head