The Judges

It's Saturday, and it's the day of the chili competition. Rae has asked a day off from both the pizzeria and the bakery, so she can be in the competition.

It's a warm day. Rae pulls her bouncy brown hair into a bun. She wears her black short-sleeved T-shirt and a blue apron. It's only 9 in the morning, but she's sweating a little. Dan is also wearing a black T-shirt, he also has an apron on. He tells Rae he borrowed it from the Irish Pub where he occasionally cooks at. Rae can't believe Dan looks even sexier with an apron on.

Rae has already made the bread, so she helps with the prepping. She dices the vegetables into small cubes for Dan to use in the chili. Dan adds his spices and sauces. Then, they place all the ingredients in a big pot that Dan brought from his apartment. Dan puts it on a simmer. The chili should be cooked just in time to be assembled into a sandwich by noon, which is the judging time.

"Rae!" Marina Barnaski waves as she walks over to their booth.

"Hi Marina! Thanks for coming!"

"Oh my God, Rae, you have to win! The Food Central Channel is actually here! They are actually filming this. The celebrity chef Lucia is here."

"What!? Really!?" Rae wipes her hands on her apron. She pokes her head out of their tent, and she sees two broadcasting vans and a team of people wearing T-shirts that have the Food Central Channel logo.

"Oh wow!" Rae put her hands on her cheeks.

"And you're not going to believe this, the actor Christopher Evans is here! I saw him. He's so hot!" Marina squeals.

"What!? What is he doing here?" Rae yelps.

"Does he even know how cook?" Dan asks, a corner of his mouth goes up, forming a mocking smile.

"He knows how to eat, I'd say!" Marina laughs. "I think it's all because of the hype on the internet. It actually made Good Day in the Morning Show nationally. I didn't even know until last night when I scrolled through some top posts on the social photo app. You and Dan are in the photos."

"Oh god!" Rae smacks her own forehead. That's the post Z told her about.

"Yeah, apparently, someone starts a post about you two, making it a romantic reunion slash missed-connection story. And now you guys meet again, you guys come up with a new amazing food together, and now everyone is rooting for you two...to win and to be together and whatnot. It's like the cutest story that just seems to appeal to a lot of people." Marina explains.

"Ah, it's my fire chief's wife who started all this. She is a friend of a nosy customer at your bakery. The friend was in Boston to run errands and saw Sudbury firefighters, including myself, at your bakery. She snapped the photo. Shared on her page, saying how she was surprised to run into the firefighters of her own town in Boston. And my chief's wife saw it. She learns from my chief that you are my high school friend, decides to share it, adding our yearbook photos, calling it a love story." Dan makes a face and rolls his eyes.

"Do you not like it, Dan?" Marina asks. It's a question that Rae wants to ask, too, but she doesn't think she wants know the answer.

"It's stupid though. Not everything is about romance." Dan shrugs.

"Is your ex-wife going to be mad?" Rae sneaks in her question.

Dan looks at her, seemingly surprised. But he quickly shakes his head and laughs, "Oh my gosh, I don't give a damn what she thinks."

Then, the judging time comes. They are told there are a total of five judges. So Dan and Rae prepared five sandwiches. Rae finishes each plate up with a small side salad garnish.

"I don't think it'll hurt. They don't have to eat it if they don't think it's related to the contest," Rae looks up at Dan, hoping he doesn't mind. It is after all, his competition.

"This is good, I like it. I think you have brought the competition level way up." Dan uses his finger to try the vinaigrette that's left on the work station. "I really do like it. Oh and, do you know? Last year, we only had three judges."

They put all the plates on a small cart and roll over to the judges tent. Rae gasps.

What. The. F.

It's Wes Warren. He is sitting at the judging table, talking with the celebrity chef, Lucia. They are the two extra judges this year?

Wes Warren looks almost just like the first time she saw him. He looks happy, carefree, like he just got off from a yacht after a good early morning sailing. Blue button-down shirt, but the top two buttons undone this time, showing his toned chest just a little bit. No pocket square this time, but a pair of sunglasses is hanging onto his shirt. He has his sleeves carefully rolled up, showing his fore arms and an expensive watch on the left wrist. His light brown hair is combed back and parted casually. His blue eyes reflect the sunlight. That shade of blue in his eyes is waking up a lot of emotions in Rae's body.

"Rae?" Dan nudges her. He has finished putting all the plates behind the designated number placards on a long dining table. The judges will go to the table and help themselves with the food in buffet style later.

"Sorry, let's go." Rae puts one hand on Dan's elbow, and they walk back to their booth with the cart.

Does he know I am here? Rae asks herself.

"Dan, who invited all these people?"

Dan rolls his eyes again, "My fire chief's wife. She's super excited about this year. My fire chief did rave about the sandwich I gave out, so she made it her mission to broadcast this event as much as she could."

"Well, that's nice of her. I'm sure we're going to raise a lot of money this year."

"Yeah, that rich dude is here, too. " Dan casually points at the judge's tent.

Rae is nervous. She hopes Wes doesn't know she's here. Why? Because, Rae doesn't want Wes personal feelings about her—probably negative at this point—to affect his judging.

Wait a minute. Oh, Crap.

"Dan, does it matter if I know one of the judges? Do I have to forfeit or something? Because it wouldn't be fair?"

Dan laughs, "I don't think so. This is a small town. Most people know each other. The mayor of Sudbury probably knows all the contestants today. And one judge is the retired Home Ec teacher from our high school. Mrs. Munn. Is that whom you're talking about? You worry she's going to favor you? Did you take her class?"

"I never took Home Ec actually."

"Then don't worry," Dan puts a hand behind her back, stroking her briefly, then leaves his hand over her shoulders.

"It's... It's that rich guy, Wes Warren, I know him." Rae looks up at Dan's face, "But since you say most people know each other, then I am not going to worry if it's against the rule or anything." Rae quickly finishes her sentence.

"Oh, interesting," Dan retrieves his hand, "How well do you know him?"