Flames shot up from the cherries jubilee in a sudden surge, springing unexpectedly at the ancient waiter's face. Zeno screamed and stumbled backward, knocking over a table for two.
Jean-Claude watched the action from Table Nine, where he was pouring coffee for a party of three. He noted with satisfaction that he had added enough extra alcohol to the cherries to boost the flames to the right height...and then some.
His heart pounded as the old man screamed and clutched his face, staggering around the dining room. For the space of one more breath, Jean-Claude drank in the scene, relishing the suffering of the wasted old toothpick who had dared f**k him over on his own home ground.
Then, he slammed down the coffee urn and raced over to join the rest of the staff in dealing with the emer
