Cat smiled when she opened the door, finding Dylan leaning against the jam. A bottle of wine in one hand and a bouquet of wild flowers in the other. She?d rid herself of her damnable crutches the day before, over the vociferous objections of Norton and the entire medical staff, and was down to the bulky brace that she wore under loose black slacks.
“Hi,” she said softly, causing chills to run up and down Cat?s spine.
“Hi, yourself. Come on in.” She stepped back and allowed the tall woman entrance.
Hamlet was sure that no one was here for dastardly purposes and left them standing there as he went to his big bed in the living room.
“I?m glad we decided to do this, Cat.” Dylan offered the flowers first then the wine.
Cat took both, blushing at the flowers and looking at the bottle. “I thought you didn?t drink.”
“I don?t really, but one glass of wine with dinner tonight isn?t going to kill me and I thought I would show you I?m not totally weird.”
“Do you like tofu?”
“Love it!”
“Great, you?ll love the soup, but you?re still weird.” She chuckled as she walked to the kitchen with Dylan following behind.
Dylan took a seat on a stool at the breakfast counter. She grinned as Cat removed the trays from the fridge and placed them in front of her, uncovering them with a flourish.
“For your approval madam, fresh vegetables and a vegetable pate. The crackers are also kosher for you meat hating types. I checked just to make sure.”
“You?ve gone all out for me. I?m impressed.”
“Of course I did. I wanted us to have a nice first date.”
Dylan smiled and took Cat?s hand gently, running her thumb over the back of soft skin. “It?s already nice, because we?re together.”
“You?re very sweet. You know that?”
Cat is delighted to see Dylan duck her head and smile in a slightly bashful way. The blonde leaned forward and placed a soft kiss to the lips before her.
When she drew back, she smiled again. “I?m glad you?re here.”
“Me too.”
Cat cleared her throat and slapped back all the thoughts of leaving dinner untouched as she dragged Dylan to her bedroom. “Try the pate.”
The tall woman nodded and took one of the crackers in hand. Cat turned away and rooted around in the drawer for a wine opener.
“Oooo this is good.”
Cat turned around, nearly dropping the bottle and the corkscrew. “Really?” Blonde brows jumped to her hairline.
“Yes, really.” Dylan laughed. “It?s very good.”
There was an audible sigh of relief, which made Dylan chuckle harder.
“Don?t tell me you were worried.”
“Of course I was worried,” she stated as she struggled with getting the cork from the bottle. “My idea of vegetarian is extra tomatoes on my hamburger.”
Dylan took the bottle and easily removed the cork as two glasses were placed in front of her. “Thanks.”
“No problem. After spending all day in the kitchen, that was easy.” Cat sat moved around the breakfast bar and took a seat next to Dylan. Taking her wine glass she held it up in toast, “Here?s to a wonderful evening.”
“I?ll drink to that.” She sipped her wine before turning back to the pate. She offered a cracker coated in the greenish brown paste. “Try it.”
“I dunno?”
“Oh now come on, you didn?t go to all this trouble, just to let me eat it myself.”
Cat tasted the mixture, reluctantly agreeing with a nod that it was pretty good.
“So,” Dylan popped the rest of the cracker in her mouth. “What else is for dinner?”
“Miso soup?”
“One of my favorites.”
“Good. Spinach souffl� and roasted chilies.”
“Wow you did go all out didn?t you?”
“I tried.”
“Thanks. Not many people go to the trouble of cooking for me.”
“I actually enjoyed it.”
Dylan absently scratched her neck. “When will it be ready?”
“Oh it?s ready now.”
“Then let?s eat, but before we do, can I use your bathroom?”
“Sure, you know where it is.”
Dylan got up and headed upstairs, while Cat dishes out the soup. She noticed that it had an extremely tangy smell she hadn?t noticed before, but she figured it must be natural.
“Hey Cat?”
She moved so she could look up to the railing where Dylan was standing. “Yeah?”
“Did the pate have peanuts in it?”
“No why?”
“Well, I?m starting to break out like I do when I eat peanuts. I have a mild allergy. Nothing serious. I was just wondering.”
“No it?s got?” she paused, then dashed into the kitchen, pulling a bottle of oil from the cabinet. “Oh shit!” She ran back out and looked up again. “Peanut oil.”
“That?s it.” Dylan chuckled as she descended the stairs.
“I?m so sorry.”
“Hey, it?s okay, really. I forgot to tell you and you had no way to know.”
“Oh damn.”
“Cat, really, it?s okay. I swear. It?s not serious. I just won?t be eating anymore of that pate.”
Cat nodded ruefully and headed back into the kitchen. “How about soup, I promise no peanuts or peanut extract got within a foot of it.”
“Perfect.”
They went to the small dining table, which Cat had set with a tablecloth and candles. The addition of Dylan?s flowers made it very romantic.
Seated, Cat brought the soupspoon to her lips but stopped just short when the smell assailed her again. Dylan looked at the bowl with some concern.
“Ummm Cat, what?s in this soup?”
“It?s a vegetable stock with tofu.”
“Un-huh. Did you put the tofu in the fridge?”
“No, it?s bean curd for God?s sake?” She stopped and looked to Dylan. “It went bad?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “I?m afraid so, tofu can go bad in a flash.”
“I don?t believe this.”
“Hey, we still have the souffl� and the roasted chilies.”
“Right.” Cat tried to remain positive, but her hopes were slowly diminishing. “Let?s hope I don?t kill you with those.”
“Cat,” Dylan moved closer and wrapped her arms around the smaller woman. “You have no idea how much it means to me that you even tried this. Vegan cooking isn?t easy.”
“Vegan?” Cat slowly drew back. “As in no meat by products?”
“Yeah.”
“Great there goes the souffl�.”
“What?”
“Eggs and milk,” Cat sat back down. “God, this has got to go onto your list of hellish dates.”
“No,” Dylan returned to her seat. “It?s not hellish. I could stand to lose a little weight.” She joked hoping to lighten the mood. “We still have roast chilies.”
“Are you sure you?re that brave?”
“Absolutely, bring them on.”
Cat wasn?t sure why Dylan was being so gracious about the whole mess, but she hoped that she wouldn?t go screaming into the night. Well, at least not running away. Screaming into the night was high on Cat?s list of things that she wanted to hear Dylan do.
Dylan looked at the dish, smiled and speared a huge amount of the colorful vegetables that had been prepared just for her. She smiled at Cat as she started to chew.
Cat watched as Dylan?s eyes grew wide and panic crossed her face as chewing got slower and slower and it was obvious she was desperate to find a place to rid herself of the food. The napkin in her lap was the only option, once the food had been disposed of, she grabbed her wine glass and drank it straight down, then blindly grabbed for Cat?s glass as well.
She was coughing and choking, her face was bright red and tears were steaming down her cheeks. Cat dashed to the kitchen and poured Dylan a glass of soy milk, she didn?t even have time to turn around before Dylan reached passed her and grabbed the regular milk and gulped it straight from the carton.
After nearly finishing a quart of milk in one long gulp, Dylan sank to the floor sliding against the wall as she did.