Just Salad

“Where is that cilantro,” he mumbled to himself, rifling through the spices like an old man searching for his nitro pills, pains in his chest rising. “I know I have cilantro!”

More small jars tumbled free of the cabinet to land on the counter to spin, roll, or drop to the floor. Time was skimming by much quicker as the evening approached; his guests would be arriving in a few hours and there was much to do. He did not want to disappoint.

Finally, gleaming from the back shadows, a glass jar with a hastily scribed label of masking tape and marker - coriander.  Of course, he’d forgotten the special jar he received from Betty was labeled with the American name since it was from her own little garden of herbs. He made a mental note to change the label sometime in the future when he wasn’t under such a deadline.

Measuring out ½ cup and emptied into the food processor. He prayed he didn’t come up short for the rest of the ingredients as he had already had to race to the bodega for a serrano chili pepper and some mint. Finally he chopped up 1 and ¼ cups of Italian parsley and added it to the rest of the ingredients for a delectable homemade chimichurri sauce. He switched the processor on and gave the ingredients enough smashing, rending magic to produce a coarse marinade that could double as a dressing. 

The flank steak was already suitably trimmed and ready to cook so the really hard part was over. Luckily that messy bit had been less work than he had imagined. 

He poured half of the chimichurri sauce over the steak and then placed it in the fridge for two hours. He might need to cut that a little short if he was going to make the dinner target. Guests arriving in three hours. He’d be cutting it close.

He used the slight reprieve to finish cleaning the bathroom. It was a mess and he knew his guests would surely have to use it at some point. Best to have it spotless and shiny. He set about the task, his eyes always double checking the time.

A shower, shave, and a change of clothes and he pulled the cold steak from the refrigerator. It looked good. The grill was preheated and he dropped the steak onto it with an enticing sizzle. Four minutes per side and then back to the fridge to cool it down. One hour until they arrived. Of course he imagined Betty would be early. That woman just couldn’t help herself.

Assembling the parts for the salad, he would leave the actual plating until it was time to eat thus preserving the freshness. He uncorked the wine, poured the glasses and then placed them in the fridge as well, a chilled glass of fine cabernet with the cold salad would be perfect.

He switched on his apartment’s sound system and chose a mix of light songs for background noise. He found it invited conversation by reducing awkward silences. He rounded the dining room and living room to make sure the place was up to his exacting standards. It was.

At a quarter to five the door chimed and he looked at his watch. Betty. Fifteen minutes early.

“Welcome!”

“Oh Danny, thank you so much for the invite. This will be so fun.”

“I hope so,” he smiled. “The rest of the gang should be here soon.” He forced a larger smile, “You’re just a little early.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” she excused herself. “I always like to show up early in case there’s some last minute detail I can help with.” 

“No need. Everything is ready. Cocktail?”

“That would be lovely. Harvey Wallbanger, please.”

“Sorry, Betty, I’m out of Galliano. Second choice?”

“Oh, sure, a rum and coke.”

“That I can do. Have a seat, one rum and Coke coming up.”

“I was surprised to hear from you, Danny. I mean, after that last blow up.” Danny smiled politely and nodded. “I’m not criticizing, mind you. Charles is a right bastard but don’t you think you went a little over the top?”

“I did get too emotional, Jeff. He really triggered me. Making fun of me during the staff meeting. That was uncalled for.”

“Yeah, he went pretty low,” added Steve. “That bit about your ex-wife made me embarrassed.”

“So, telling him to ‘Fuck off’ wasn’t warranted?”

“Apparently not since he fired you. Sorry.”

Danny waved off the pity. “He fired Shirley because she wouldn’t sleep with him. I got off better.”

“That was unfortunate. She tried to sue but his lawyers shut that shit down.” Jeff looked around. “Is she here?”

Danny shook his head. “She had to move to Pittsburgh to get a new job.”

“I heard about that,” interrupted Ben. “Poor woman, uprooting her kids. Heard her husband left her.”

“What? Why?”

“The rumors. He thought she was actually having an affair with Charles.” 

“Man, I hate that guy,” continued Jeff. “He always manages to escape any kind of justice.” Danny flashed through a mental scrapbook of incidents against him, the friends he invited to the dinner. Since Charles took over the company seven years ago he had done nothing but belittle, abuse, and crush them. And always he managed to slip through the offenses unscathed and somehow even more embolden. They all deserved some modicum of justice, some payback for the bullying. 

Danny turned as Ben gripped his shoulder. “You got the shaft too, buddy. You tell him to fuck off and he immediately fires you. Cold. How many years?”

“Twenty-eight.”

“Fuck,” mumbled Jeff. “He practically stole your wife. Oh, hi, Pam.”

Pam eased up to the group, “You guys talking about Charles?” They nodded. “He groped me in the hallway last week.”

“The hell?”

“Yeah, just came right up and grabbed my breast. Said he’d wanted to do that ever since he hired me. What a perv.”

“What’d you do?”

“What could I do? I can’t afford to get fired. If I called HR they’d say I was just upset I didn’t get that promotion last month.”

“So? What happened?” Her face grew red. “I…” she turned her face away from them. “I kind of laughed it off.”

“No.”

“Yeah, I panicked. Luckily Janet came around the corner and he stopped. But I know she saw it. She gave me one of those judged-and-convicted looks she likes to use.”

“I wonder what she has to put up with as his secretary?”

“God only knows. I’d feel bad for her if she wasn’t such a bitch.”

Jeff looked at Danny, “Prospects? I heard Burns and Weathers is hiring.”

“No luck, he black-balled me.”

Pam looked at him shocked. “What? He did, really?”

“Yup. I can’t even get a call-back on a resumé. He really burned me.”

“Shit, I’m sorry, man. I didn’t know he cut off your livelihood as well. Who the hell does that?”

“Him, I guess.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I came up with a way to get back at him.”

“What is it?” asked Pam.

“Later. Right now it is dinner time, my friends.” He called out to Betty and George. “You guys grab seats, I’ll get the dinner ready.”

Danny tossed a pound of organic Spring Mix with a pint of teardrop tomatoes he sliced neatly in half earlier and then added some of the chimichurri sauce. He cut the chilled flank steak into thin layers. Plating the salad, he laid the slices on top, drizzled the remainder of the sauce across the dish and topped it with fresh feta he purchased the night before. He brought the plates out and placed them in front of each of the six guests. A minute later he returned with their wine and then sat at the head of the table. He raised his glass in toast.

“I thank you all for coming out tonight. I’ve missed you since I left and wanted to let you all know that I have appreciated the support you’ve given me and each other. I wish Shirley could be here tonight to join us so we need to make sure we remember her difficult situation and that we all continue to reach out to let her know we haven’t forgotten her.” They clinked their glasses. The dinner began and appeared well received. Danny wasn’t a cook by trade nor hobby but he was proud of the food he served them and the difficulty it had entailed. At one time there had been 12 of them, close friends conjoined by hard work and later, dissatisfaction and cruelty. But necessary attrition was steadily reducing their numbers. From those who were fired, quit, or moved away. And the one that died.

Rick had been with the company since inception and his role was diminished after Charles took over. He had it the worst being COO. But his continued pressure for Charles to relent made his life a tragic mess. No one ever knew exactly what caused him to take his own life but Danny had his suspicions and he was now sure it had been Charles’ relentless harassment and iniquity that almost literally pushed him over the edge. And yet Charles remained untouched while Rick’s wife and three children would understand true grief. 

“This is great wine, Danny,” remarked Betty. He nodded acknowledgement with a smile.

“And this salad! Wow, this dressing is so tasty!” said Joan.

“Thanks. I made it myself. Well, with some help from Betty.”

“How’s that?”

“I used your cilantro.”

“I have cilantro in my garden?

“Coriander. Same thing.” She gave a tilt of her head in recognition.

“And this steak! I’m not a fan of cold steak but this is damn fine, Danny!”

“Thanks, Jeff. It was hard to get.”

“Where did you get it?”

“From Charles.”

“He bought you steak? That’s not like that selfish prick.”

“He didn’t buy it for me. It is Charles.” He took another fork of salad. The room was quiet for exactly one minute and then Betty got up and dashed for the bathroom.

Good thing I cleaned it up,” thought Danny.

END