Love's Tuna Salad

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Love’s Tuna Salad - book excerpt

Chapter 1

Rissa placed a plate of food on the counter for the waitress, Wanda, to pick up and take to a customer. She looked out into the restaurant and saw Stan Varin having lunch with Sal Mase and Micky Ansel. Rissa stood staring at him for a minute until Debbie called an order up. Rissa turned away with a sigh and went to get the order and take it to be picked up.

“Are you still mooning over that hunk from Avorn Security?” asked Debbie. She was teasing Rissa good naturedly. They were all fond of Rissa. She was a hard worker and was friendly with everyone. No one would want to hurt her feelings.

Rissa smiled at Debbie. “He is a hunk alright,” she agreed. “It is too bad he doesn’t know I am alive.”

“You are going to have to figure out a way to get his attention,” said Debbie, as she handed Rissa another plate to take to the counter. “If we put our heads together, we should be able to get the two of you together. When he sees what a great person you are, he won’t be able to resist getting to know you.”

“How could he resist you,” said Ellen, Debbie’s helper in the kitchen. “Once he sees your smile, he will be a goner.” Ellen laughed good naturedly. Hank, the Army veteran who ran the dishes through the dishwasher, smiled and gave Rissa a thumbs up.

Rissa smiled and continued to work. Whenever she got a chance, she looked out into the restaurant to see if Stan was still there.

Stan was talking with Sal and Micky, but he had the strangest feeling of being watched. He looked around discretely but did not see anyone paying attention to him. He caught a glimpse of Rissa looking through the order up window, but she was gone so fast, he dismissed her as being the watcher. He sighed and looked down at the table.

“What is wrong?” asked Sal.

Stan shook his head. “Nothing is wrong. I just had a feeling of being watched,” said Stan.

Both Sal and Micky looked around. They did not see anyone paying any attention to them. The place was full of the usual customers. They were familiar with most of them.

“Maybe you caught some lady’s eye,” suggested Micky with a grin.

Stan flushed slightly at the suggestion. He was a private person and did not put his feelings out there for everyone to observe. “I guess it was my imagination.”

Sal punched Micky in the arm. “Lay off,” he said. “Your time is coming. If you don’t want to be teased, when you meet your girl, you better watch your teasing.”

Micky shook his head and grinned at Stan. “Sorry, Stan,” he said.

They were interrupted by Wanda coming to their table. “Can I get you anything else?” she asked.

“No, we are fine. The food was great,” said Micky.

“Yeah,” agreed Sal. “It always tastes better when delivered by such a lovely lady.”

Stan shook his head, coloring slightly. Wanda laughed and sent Sal and Micky a grin. “It is always nice to serve such appreciative gentlemen,” she remarked with a smile. She placed the check on the table and went to wait on other customers.

The three gentlemen rose and each put money on the table for food and a tip. They left the restaurant together. They did not leave the building. Instead they took the elevator to the third floor and went to the office of their employer, Alex Avorn.

“Come in,” called Alex after hearing a knock on his office door. He looked up and smiled when he saw the guys coming into his office.

“I was about to give you a call,” said Alex.

“What’s up, Boss?” asked Micky.

“I had a call from Mrs. Mabel Wind. She said her daughter, Hallie, thinks someone is following her. She is scared, and she wants to have us watch and see if Hallie is really being followed. She is worried about witch hunters. There has been a lot of talk around their neighborhood lately, and she is afraid someone may have talked about Hallie’s guardian angel.”

“I thought we had stopped those witch hunters,” said Sal.

“I guess someone is stirring them up again,” said Alex. “Sal, I want you and Micky to go and talk to Mrs. Wind and see what you can find out. Keep an eye on Hallie until we find out if she really is being followed.”

“Okay, Boss,” said Sal taking the piece of paper Alex was holding out. It had the address and other information on it.

“This is of personal interest to me, as well. I need to know if Mariam is in any danger,” said Alex. “Keep me informed about what is happening.”

“Sure thing, Boss,” said Sal as they departed.

“Do you have anything you want me to take care of?” asked Stan.

“I want you to hang around downstairs for a while. Mariam is reading to the children in daycare. I want a little extra security until she goes back to the penthouse,” instructed Alex.

Stan left to go downstairs. He could keep an eye out for trouble and, maybe, catch a glimpse of Rissa. Stan shook his head. Where had that thought come from?

“You know you are interested in her,” said his guardian angel.

“She doesn’t know I exist,” said Stan.

“She knows you exist,” said his guardian angel.

“How do you know?” asked Stan as he stepped into the elevator to the first floor.

“Her guardian angel told me,” answered his guardian angel.

Stan smiled and was not aware of the people passing him when he exited the elevator. They were curious to know why one of the agents was smiling happily. They were used to seeing more serious expressions on the faces of the men working for Avorn.

Stan wandered down to the daycare and looked inside. The lady at the desk smiled at him. She knew most of the agents working for Avorn Security and she was not surprised to see him checking on the daycare.

When Stan looked around, he spotted Mariam sitting close to the back, surrounded by children. The children were enthralled with her story, and Mariam looked to be having a great time reading to them. One of the workers came over to Stan and greeted him. She recognized him, too.

“Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Varin?” she asked.

Stan was still smiling as he shook his head. “No Ma’am. I am just checking on Mrs. Avorn.”

Mariam glanced up and spotted Stan. She smiled and waved at him. Several children looked around to see who she was waving to, but turned quickly back to Mariam when she started reading again. Mariam finished the story; and telling the children she would be back in a couple of days to read to them again, Mariam gathered her book and went to see what Stan was doing there.

“Hi, Stan, is anything wrong?” asked Mariam.

Stan shook his head. “No, Alex asked me to check on you. Are you ready to leave?” When Mariam gave him a hard look and nodded, Stan turned to lead the way out of the daycare.

“What’s going on?” asked Mariam when they were outside of the daycare walking toward the elevator.

“There has been a report of possible witch hunters. Alex wanted to be sure you were safe,” said Stan.

Mariam smiled. “There is no place safer than this building.”

Stan grinned. “I know,” replied Stan with a smile. “Alex is the boss. If he wants me to check on anyone, I’ll do just that.”

“Thank you, Stan.” Mariam looked at Stan when they entered the elevator. “You are looking unusually happy.”

Stan looked at her; but didn’t reply.

“Alright,” said Mariam when he didn’t answer. “I’ll mind my own business. I just want to say, happy looks good on you.”

The elevator opened on the third floor, and the two of them exited and headed for Alex’s office. Mariam waved at Brenda as she went; but didn’t stop before heading into Alex’s office.

Stan nodded at Alex and turned to leave.

“Thanks, Stan,” said Alex.

Stan waved and left.

“Hello, Love,” said Alex rising and taking Mariam into his arms and kissing her soundly. “Nice,” said Mariam. “I’ve only been gone an hour,”

“It felt like much longer,” said Alex kissing her again, before leading her to a sofa and drawing her down beside him.

Mariam frowned. “Are the witch hunters back?”

“I don’t know,” said Alex. “I’m not taking any chances. I had a lady call me asking for help. Her daughter thinks someone is following her. The mother is worried. She has heard rumors, and she would like her daughter protected. I have Sal and Micky checking on the situation. Hopefully, they can find out what is going on.”

Mariam nodded. “Let me know when they find out. Until then, I’ll be extra careful. Do you know what Stan is so happy about?” Mariam added.

Alex looked surprised. “I hadn’t noticed him being any different than usual,” said Alex glancing at Mariam in surprise.

“Men,” said Mariam shaking her head, and smiling.

Alex grinned. “I only have eyes for you,” he said.

“Good save,” said Mariam raising he lips for another kiss. They didn’t stop kissing until there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” called Alex.

Brenda opened the door and, after not seeing Alex at his desk, looked over and smiled when she saw them sitting on the sofa with Mariam wrapped in Alex’s arms. Brenda smiled and shook her head when Mariam started to rise. Alex was holding her in his arms and didn’t release her. He was not ready for her to leave.

“What is it, Brenda?” asked Alex.

“I am taking my lunch break. I put the calls on record. I’ll be back in an hour,” said Brenda.

“Okay, thanks,” said Alex. “I’ll see you then. We are heading to the penthouse for lunch.”

Alex stood taking Mariam’s hand helped her to rise. They followed Brenda out. After locking Alex’s office, they went to their private elevator to the penthouse. Brenda entered the elevator to the first floor.

Stan was already on the first floor. He was killing time talking to Frank, the security guard on the front desk.

Brenda went into Andre’s for lunch. Lynn seated her at one of Wanda’s tables. She ignored the glare she received from Rock and Ashe, the waiters. They had protested to Lynn about the best customers always being seated in Wanda’s section. Lynn had told them to be nice to the customers. If the customers asked for them, she would seat them at the waiter’s tables.

When Wanda stopped by the table for Brenda’s order, she stood looking as if she was making her mind about something. Brenda glanced at her and smiled.

“Is something on your mind?” asked Brenda.

“I was wondering about some of the guys working for Avorn Security.”

“What about them?” asked Brenda.

Wanda still looked uncertain about what she was about to ask. “It’s about one of our cooks. I think she has a crush on one of the guys,” said Wanda.

Brenda grinned slightly. “Which one?” she asked.

“Stan,” replied Wanda.

Brenda nodded. “He is a nice guy, and I don’t think he is seeing anyone,” she replied.

Wanda smiled. “All of the workers here are fond of Rissa, and we see her mooning about Stan every time he comes in. We would like to see them get together. We just don’t have any idea how to make it happen.”

Brenda smiled at Wanda. “We will have to think about it and see what we can come up with.”

Wanda grinned. “Yes, we will,” she said as she left to turn in Brenda’s lunch order. Wanda startled Rissa by giving her a big smile when she happened to be at the window. Rissa looked at Wanda curiously. She shook her head slightly and turned to retrieve the next order.

When Brenda finished lunch, she saw Stan was at the front desk talking to Frank. She walked over to say hello to Frank; and see what she could find out about Stan.

“Hello, Frank, how are you?” asked Brenda.

“Doing fine, Miss Brenda,” said Frank.

“Did your daughter get started in college?” asked Brenda.

“She sure did, thanks to her scholarship from Avorn,” said Frank with a smile. “We sure appreciate Avorn Security helping. We were wondering how we were going to be able to afford college for three kids.”

Alex loves being able to help young people get a start in life,” said Brenda.

Frank shook his head. “How can he afford helping like he does?” asked Frank.

“He and his brother inherited quite a lot from his family, and Alex is a financial genus. He multiplied the inheritance many times over. He employs accountants and lawyers to keep up with his accounts; but he keeps an eye on everything. He says his attention is what keeps everything going smooth,” finished Brenda.

“Well.” said Frank. “We are all very grateful to him.”

Brenda turned to Stan, who had been listening, but not saying anything.

“Wanda mentioned you and the guys had lunch at Andre’s. Do you like their food, or do you just like to watch the pretty waitress?” asked Brenda with a smile.

“I like their food,” said Stan with a grin. He was a master at not letting questions get to him.

“What is your favorite food?” asked Brenda.

Stan stopped and thought for a minute. “Well, my favorite food is not on the menu at Andre’s.” said Stan.

“Oh,” said Brenda intrigued.

“Yeah, my favorite food is a dish my mom used to make for me. I haven’t found anyone who can make it taste like hers,” said Stan.

“What is it?” asked Brenda.

“Tuna salad,” replied Stan. “I haven’t found anyone, who makes it taste like hers. They just don’t have the flavor hers did.”

“Can’t you get her recipe?” asked Brenda.

“No, after Mom died, I asked my grandmother if she knew Mom’s recipe. She said no. Mom brought it with her, when they immigrated to this country. She didn’t make it often. After she and my dad were married, she would make it for him. Nana asked her why she didn’t make it more often. She said there was a limited supply of the spices it called for. Nana asked her what spices, but mom just smiled and said it was her secret. She never shared her tuna salad recipe with anyone.”

Brenda looked thoughtful. “There has to be a way to find the recipe,” she said determinedly.

Stan grinned at Brenda’s determined expression. “I don’t know how. I have looked and tried a lot of different recipes. They just are not the same.”

“I’ll see you both later,” said Brenda. “I have some research to do.” She turned toward the elevator to go up to her office. There was no one better at research than her. If the recipe for tuna salad was out there, she would find it.

Frank and Stan watched her go and looked at each other with a smile.

“There goes one determined lady,” remarked Frank.

“Yes, but I’m afraid she is going to be disappointed this time. My mom brought her recipe from Poland with her when she and my grandparents immigrated to this country. I tried to find it on the internet, but they have a lot of recipes and, most of them are a lot alike, but none tasted like Mom’s,” said Stan.

“I even tried to find it by researching Polish dishes, but there was no record of it. I couldn’t find what spice she used for her recipe. It was very hard trying to find it with so little information,” said Stan shaking his head.

Frank gave him a sad look; but had to turn back to the desk as the phone rang. Stan waved his hand and left as Frank answered the phone

Stan wandered down to the first, floor security office. It was a small room between the barber shop and the beauty parlor. Stan knocked briefly before entering. He did not want to startle the two security agents, watching the monitors and keeping a watch out for trouble in the building.

“Hi, Stan,” said Glen. “You need anything?”

“No. Alex wanted me to watch out for trouble. I thought I could keep a better watch in here rather than out in the hall,” said Stan.

“Pull up a chair,” said Glen. “At least, in here you can sit.”

“Yeah,” agreed Stan with a grin as he pulled a chair over to sit in. His eyes were immediately drawn to Rissa, getting ready to leave the restaurant. She must have had the early shift thought Stan.

“If you go out there now, you can talk to her,” said his guardian angel.

“What would I say to her,” thought Stan.

“How should I know. Tell her it’s nice to see her,” said his guardian angel.

Stan left his chair and telling the agents he would see them later, he hurried out the door into the hall.