to Lisa. “It went about as well as could be expected. There are always issues the first night, and we had a minor hiccup when the fry station power didn’t want to work, so it looked like we weren’t going to be able to do any fried food. But Henry James of James electric got us up and running before it got busy.”
“That’s a relief.” Lisa knew that fried seafood would be a popular and expected item on the menu. It was something people always wanted on Nantucket.
“So, if you have a craving for a fried fisherman’s platter tonight, we can hook you up.” Rhett winked, and she laughed.
“It’s been a long time since I ordered one of those. What do you recommend?” She looked at Gina and Michelle. “What did you both have?”
“I had the shrimp and scallop scampi. It was good and lemony,” Michelle said.
“I had a stuffed lobster.” Gina smiled at Rhett, who missed it entirely as he was glancing at the newspaper as he sipped his coffee. “I knew it would be good because the one at his New York restaurant is to die for. It’s a seafood stuffing, scallops, shrimp, crab and Ritz crackers.”
Lisa smiled. “The secret ingredient.” Many of the restaurants on the Cape and Islands used the buttery cracker crumbs in their stuffing.
Rhett looked up. “We do a lazy lobster casserole. That’s nice if you don’t want to do any work. The swordfish is my favorite though. It’s an inch and a half thick, lightly dusted with crumbs and broiled in butter.”
“It all sounds good to me. Are you staying through the weekend?” she asked Michelle, who was spreading peanut butter on her bagel.
“No, I’m heading back today, actually. I’m meeting friends in Boston for the weekend, then taking the train back to New York on Sunday.”
“Jillian and I are going to try to come in again tonight. We’ll sit at the bar.” Gina smiled sweetly at Lisa who had to fight the urge to kick her under the table. “The bar is sleek, black and gray granite with black leather stools. In a big semi-circle. Gives it a cozy feel.”
Rhett chuckled. “I stole that idea from Keeper’s. Adjusted the design after we had dinner at the bar. Mine’s about four times the size though.”
He looked at Gina. “If you want to sit at the bar, I’d advise you to come early. I won’t be able to hold the seats there, and I have no idea what to expect tonight. I’m hoping we will be very busy. We have an encouraging amount of reservations already.”
“I’m not worried about it,” Gina said blithely. Lisa was annoyed that the woman was going again, two nights in a row. She didn’t stay long at breakfast though. She only had coffee and as soon as Michelle was done with her bagel, she wanted to leave and dragged Gina with her.
“She’s making me go shopping,” Gina complained.
Rhett laughed. “You poor thing. Have fun.” He waited until they were gone and then said, “I have plans for us tomorrow afternoon, if you can sneak away for a few hours.”
Lisa was intrigued. “I’m free. What are we doing?”
“We’re going to be in a parade.”
Chapter 17
The restaurant already looked busy when Lisa, Sue, Kate, and Kristen arrived Friday night around six. The outside of the building looked very Nantucket with its new blue-gray wood shingles, white trim and flower boxes that were spilling over with wildflowers. Lisa smiled at the sight of Rhett’s Jaguar parked on the grass out front, with a sign that said to come to the parade on Saturday.
Rhett was by the hostess stand when they walked in and was looking over the reservations book. The restaurant was already three-quarters full and there wasn’t a single empty seat at the bar. To Lisa’s dismay, Gina and her friend Jillian were already firmly ensconced in their seats. Rhett smiled when he saw them.
“Jamie, my guests of honor are here. I’ll show them to the Captain’s table.” He grabbed a stack of leather-bound menus. “I’m so glad you could all make it. Right this way.”
“Captain’s table, how fancy.” Sue whispered as they followed Rhett to the table. It was a big, round table that could comfortably seat up to six people and it had a good view of the open kitchen.
Rhett handed them all menus. “Sandy will be right over to tell you the specials and get your drinks order. I’ll be back to visit in a bit.”
They all settled