InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball!"

Elina (ilmatar) wrote in morningstar_mnr,
@ 2008-07-13 14:29:00

Entry tags:

cambion, emily

Sunday lunch time; Apt 7134; Emily and Cambion
The light green collared shirt did not have one stain on it even though Emily had practically prepared the whole lunch without an apron. Her hair was on a loose braid and she was wearing a pair of tight-fitting black trousers with the shirt tucked in.

The round dining table was already set with two plates, forks, knifes and dessert spoons, wine and water glasses, folded napkins and a colorful bunch of flowers in a glass vase. Wayne was sitting on the kitchen floor staring at the flowers hungrily, but Emily had shooed him away from the table enough times to make him not jump on it while she was around.

The dessert was ready in the fridge, and the lunch itself was coming up right on time. The smells of duck breast in the oven and the peach sauce in the pan were strong and delicious, and she glanced at the clock hoping that Cam would be on time.

(Post a new comment)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 12:46 pm UTC (link)
	Bang on time, he was. The doorbell rang at precisely twelve thirty, and there was one sharply dressed blond standing outside. "You banned wine," he told her with an amused smile, "and I didn't want to offend you with dessert or any other edibles - so I brought this instead." 'This' was - well. Salt. Specifically, a jute bag of Amabito no Moshio Japanese sea salt. (Reply to this) (Thread)

ilmatar
2008-07-15 12:52 pm UTC (link)

Emily opened the door and waved for the man get inside with a smile - she had a cat, after all, one that she had already twice collected from the corridor during the last week.

"Right on time!" she commended as she was offered the bag once the door was shut. She frowned looking confused, but after she had taken a look at it, and the note attached to it, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "No way!"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

mm_clare
2008-07-15 12:59 pm UTC (link)

Cambion gave the back of her head a smug grin, but had schooled his features into slightly less of a pleased-with-myself expression by the time she looked at him.

"Oh, I take it that was a good choice? I thought about some of the fancier flavoured and smoked ones, but I decided you'd get more use out of this. And no taking it to the restaurant! Their budget can cover a bit of salt, this is a treat for you!"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ilmatar
2008-07-15 01:06 pm UTC (link)

Emily held the bag against to her chest possessively. "Oh hell no. This is mine," she grinned, and then curtsied bending her knees cutely. "Thank you. Honestly. This was a very thoughtful gift, and I love it. But please, come on in! Lunch is almost ready."

To the right of the short hallway was the spacious living room with a bookshelf and a yellow sofa and armchairs with a flat screen TV on the other end. Walking straight from the hall you got to the dining area and to the left was the modern, big kitchen. Emily set the bag of salt on the counter and found a cork screw to open the wine bottle.

"Are you hungry?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 01:08 pm UTC (link)
	Cambion stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, admiring the view - which of course included his hostess. "I might have had nothing but some toast and coffee for breakfast," he admitted. "Wanted to save room to do justice to your cooking!" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ilmatar
2008-07-15 01:17 pm UTC (link)

Emily smiled and nodded as she took the bottle of Spanish red wine and cut the tin foil away from the cork. She started twisting the cork screw to the cork, but then she noticed Wayne - the cat was underneath the round dining table slightly crouched over, looking wild eyed at Cam.

"Hey silly kitty, what are you doing down there? Come and meet Cam, he's a new friend. Come on," Emily told to Wayne, but she had no idea that the feline recognized their guest.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 01:21 pm UTC (link)
	Whups. Not all animals hated Cam - most didn't, in fact - but he had baited that one. Rather a lot. "Oh, it's okay," he said. "Let him come to me, if he will. Or - you said he was a rescue? Has he hated other blond men?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ilmatar
2008-07-15 01:28 pm UTC (link)

Emily popped the cork open with professional ease, and examined it briefly before setting it and the bottle down on the counter.

"I actually don't know. He gets along remarkably well with a dark man, but of blonds I don't know," she shrugged. "Well, maybe he likes Vincenzo because he was there when I brought Wayne home for the first time. I'm sure he'll get used to you."

As Emily stepped to the kitchen for a moment, Wayne sneaked off to the living room. The woman was right back with two Campari glasses with the bright red liquid and ice in them. She handed one appetizer to Cam and sipped the other herself.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 01:31 pm UTC (link)
	"Thanks," he said, taking the glass and raising it in a slight toast, before sipping. "What have you cooked? It smells absolutely incredible." Which was true, it did. If his stomach was entirely human, it would be rumbling in anticipation. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ilmatar 2008-07-15 01:44 pm UTC (link)
	"I have prepared stuffed duck breast with a peach sauce for you," she explained solemnly. "Do you like duck? Or rather, have you eaten duck before?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 01:48 pm UTC (link)
	"Sounds lovely," he said. "And yes, I do like duck. Haven't had it cooked well in a while, though, I'm looking forward to it!" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ilmatar 2008-07-15 01:53 pm UTC (link)
	Emily smiled and emptied her Campari glass. "Alright. You wander about freely for a while as I hassle in the kitchen. Lunch in five!" she announced and ushered Cam to entertain himself with whatever for a short while as she went to the kitchen to make the finishing touches. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 01:55 pm UTC (link)
	"Um, sure," he told her, amused that he wasn't allowed to watch the last few moments of bustling. Instead, he inspected her book shelves. You could tell a lot about a person from their bookshelves - even more from the books they kept in the bathroom (if any) but he wasn't about to do too much poking about. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ilmatar
2008-07-15 02:10 pm UTC (link)

Not very surprisingly half of the tall bookshelf was populated by books that had to do with cooking, drinking, baking, dining or etiquette. There were several thick books dedicated only to cakes and their decorations, a couple for mixing drinks, and countless for general recipes for different cuisines. At closer examination there were also books from celebrity chefs - Martha Stewart, Gordon Ramsay, Keith Floyd and so on. All of them were signed and had personal dedications to her.

The other half consisted mostly of classics - she appeared to have each and every book authored by Jane Austen, and a couple of them in several different editions. Other worn and evidently loved novels included the Brontë sisters' most famous onces, the Three Musketeers and the Count of Monte Christo, and so on. If you took a list of of Penguin Classic's 100 classic must-read books, you could tick off a fourth from that list that you saw on her bookshelf. On the other hand there were next to none very modern and resent novels, and the few that were, were historical novels.

"Dinner is served!" was the call in an over-acted British accent from the kitchen after a couple of minutes.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 02:13 pm UTC (link)
	She obviously, he thought, was a bit of a closet romantic. As well as very dedicated to her profession - which was more of a calling when she loved it that much. Well, he could work with that. "Coming," he called back, vamping up his own accent so that the original British tones overtook the American veneer that had grown over. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ilmatar
2008-07-15 02:22 pm UTC (link)

Emily was pouring wine to their glasses when Cam reappeared.

The two large sparkling white plates on the table now held identical pieces of art - she had set a cake of rise with a small round mold on with peach slices on top of it symmetrically and a mint leaf on top of them. Beside the rise was two small juicy-looking duck breasts filled with figs, and the colorful, beautifully glistening peach sauce was spread in drops and lines around the composition.

"Take a seat," she told him pointing at the chair beside hers as she sat down.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 02:25 pm UTC (link)
	"You really are an artist," he told her, sitting as he was bid an inhaling. "Mm. It almost looks too good to eat. Only almost, of course." Wink. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ilmatar 2008-07-15 02:40 pm UTC (link)
	Emily smiled clearly very happy to hear the praise. "Well, tuck in!" she urged him and took her silverware. She cut a small piece of the duck and examined it to see that it was not overdone, and tasted with a bit of sauce. Granted, she knew exactly what it was supposed to taste like, and she seemed satisfied with her cookings. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 02:44 pm UTC (link)
	He didn't need to be told twice, and soon he was making no noise other than happy eating sounds. Very happy. Because the food was, of course, very good. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ilmatar
2008-07-15 02:53 pm UTC (link)

Emily did not need to ask if he enjoyed the food - she took one look at him and she smirked victoriously as she took a sip of her wine. And the wine was naturally carefully selected to go with the duck - she had even debated the choice with Mr. Avery, the sommelier of the restaurant.

"Have you given any further thought to the talent show we talked about?" she asked conversationally.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 02:58 pm UTC (link)
	"Not a great deal," he admitted. "I had debated how to get people to turn up, though - I'm wondering if any of the tenants could be persuaded to donate prizes. Do you have any ideas?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ilmatar
2008-07-15 03:03 pm UTC (link)

Emily chewed on a piece of the duck for a while as she pondered, and answered after she had swallowed.

"You could start by thinking about who could perform. Yourself, naturally. Then I believe we have some sort of a rock band here?" she raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "And a professional dancer. Those at least. Maybe all of you could do a number that lasts for... maybe 15 minutes to 30 minutes? And afterwards people could gather around for drinks."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 03:05 pm UTC (link)
	"Oh, we need more than that," he said, shaking his head. "I was hoping people would do all sorts of turns. . . maybe I should sort out the date, and post up a sign-up sheet, somewhere. Hmm." He eyed her thoughtfully. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to offer a meal as a prize? I'm sure that would get people to compete!" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ilmatar
2008-07-15 03:10 pm UTC (link)

"What, 'win a special dinner with and cooked by Emily Brandon'!" she laughed. "Not that, at least. I could arrange a special private dinner for two - for the winner and who ever they want to bring. Possibly at the restaurant, or at some other, more surprising place. That could be fun for couples, for example, or why not a good get away for siblings or a father and son."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mm_clare 2008-07-15 03:13 pm UTC (link)
	"Oh, no, not too personal," he chuckled. "That's exactly the sort of thing I was thinking of! And maybe some of the other tenants could do similar things. I think I should ask the Tenant's Assosciation about it." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)