The Chicken Sisters

Due to the knowledge that celebrity chefs have come to judge the restaurants, Amanda comments on how busy their dinner service is the next night. One of the chefs, Simon Rideaux, claims he does not eat alone, and since Sabrina is not in the restaurant, Amanda sits down to dine with him. He advises her that she “can love a town and still leave it” after telling her about growing up in a similar small town (178). As the other famous chefs arrive, Amanda worries that she ruined her mother’s dinner service with the chicken scheme. As she tries to focus on other things, one of the chefs asks her if the mozzarella sticks, along with other menu items like the biscuits, are frozen, which causes Amanda to panic. Amanda tells them the chicken is fresh, and when she talks to Sabrina, she learns that Mae made sure to tell the chefs that their biscuits are made fresh just like everything else on the menu at Mimi’s—unlike Frannie’s. Andy texts Amanda asking to buy her a drink, and she realizes that Gus most likely saw the text message. After dinner, Amanda and her kids go home, and she hides her art supplies in a drawer.