FEAST

Course 10

A settled feeling descended on me as I leaned back in my chair and looked around the table.  Drew and Santiago were finishing the last bites of their baklava.  Laylah was watching them with what I now deemed her trademark mischievous grin.  Dara had folded her napkin into a neat rectangle and laid it on the table next to her plate.  Aholien sat lost in thought as he stared at the candle nearest to him.  It took me a few seconds to register that the candles were once again burning brightly.

When Drew and Santiago finally set their forks down, Laylah said cheerily, “Good to the last drip of honey!”

“I thought about licking the plate,” Santiago returned in all seriousness, echoing my earlier thoughts after finishing the chef’s stew.

Laylah laughed and told him he was most welcome to do so.  Santiago grinned back at her, picked up his fork and slid it over the surface of his plate, scraping up the last remnants of honey and licking that instead.

“It’s been quite an eventful evening, and we still have one more course to offer,” Laylah began, “so if you’d like to stretch your legs a bit, Drew and I will clean up in here and join you all in the den in a few minutes.”

She rose from her chair and one by one, the rest of us stood as well.  After collecting the plates, she gave me a brief smile just before she exited into the kitchen, followed by Drew.

The four of us made our way into the hall and walked towards the den.  I had thought to take one last look at the painting, but I realized I didn’t really need to because I had the strongest impression that it would be just as much a part of the evening no matter what room we were in.

Dara and I entered the den and the warmth I remembered from the first time I had walked in seemed even more inviting now.  The lights had been dimmed but the fire was blazing, its flames making the shadows of the furniture dance in a steady rhythm.  Although we’d been sitting for most of the evening, I felt a strong desire to lose myself in the marvelous couch, so I plopped myself down and got as  comfortable as I could, resisting the urge to kick off my boots and pull my knees up under my chin.  Santiago and Aholien went to stand by the fireplace in the spot where I’d first seen them.  Dara remained standing behind the couch.

“It’s been some night, huh?” Santiago commented, looking at Dara and me.

“Not really what I expected when I got Chef’s invitation,” Dara responded with a small laugh.

Santiago nodded.  “I just thought it was gonna be really good food and a chance to meet some new people.  I mean, it was that, but, you know—there was, well, a whole lot more.”

Dara and I agreed, then she looked at Aholien.  “Are you doing okay?” she asked in a soft voice.

Aholien gave Dara a tiny smile and said, “I am.  Thank you.  Chef A’s dinners very rarely go as I anticipate they will, but they’re always...interesting.”  His smile widened a tiny bit.

“That’s a good word for it,” said Santiago, his eyebrows rising almost to his hairline.  “I could think of some other words, too.”

Aholien’s laugh was rich and pleasant and I found myself thinking, I really hope he has reason to do that more often.

“It’s too bad Aaliya couldn’t find it in her to stay with us,” Dara said quietly after a few moments.  “I know she wasn’t the easiest person to be around, but I just—she still added something to the evening.  You know?”

Much as I hated to admit it, I knew Dara was right.  Even though her elegance seemed forced and her grace felt more like a costume than her actual personality, Aaliya had definitely lent an intriguing element to our little group.

“I think some people are like onions,” Santiago offered.  “The more you peel away, the more they make you cry.”  He paused.  “Wait.  That didn’t—wow, that doesn’t even really make any sense.”  He groaned.  “It sounded so good in my head.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” said Dara with an encouraging smile.  “I think I know what you mean.  Sometimes people really want to connect but all they end up doing is hurting everyone around them with their noxious fumes.”

I wasn’t sure who laughed first, but by the time Drew and Laylah walked into the den, tears were flowing and sides were aching.

“See, Drew?  We leave them alone for a few minutes and they go and have all kinds of fun without us.”  Laylah was smiling broadly as she set a large but thin block of wood on the coffee table.  Drew placed a stack of small black ceramic plates next to the block of wood.

“I’m sorry, I was just trying to explain how people give off noxious fumes like onions,” Dara began but didn’t get any further because the four of us erupted into another fit of giggles.

Drew and Laylah shared a smile, then Drew joined Santiago and Aholien while Laylah sat next to me on the couch.  Dara moved to sit in the chair next to me.

Laughter gave way to amused grins and Laylah said, “Well, I have to say I’m glad we don’t have onions in our last course.”  We giggled quietly.  “What we do have is fruit and cheese to round out your dining experience.  Not to insult your intelligence as you can probably tell what it all is, but just in case, we have parmesan and pineapple, mozzarella and peaches, brie and apples,” Laylah pointed to each pile on the tray as she named them.

Dara and I surveyed the choices before picking up a plate.  She went for the parmesan and pineapple while I took a small sample of each.  Laylah spread some brie on two apple slices and settled back on the couch.  Santiago and Aholien served themselves, returning to stand by the fireplace while they ate.  Drew followed Laylah’s example with brie and apples.  Instead of joining Santiago and Aholien, he sat in the chair next to Laylah’s end of the couch.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to eat the cheese and fruit together or separately.  Both sounded appealing.  In the end, I decided to go with eating them together.  First was the parmesan and pineapple.  My main experience with parmesan involved a green shaker canister, so I found the texture and hardness quite surprising.  Its sharp saltiness paired perfectly, though, with the acidic sweetness of the pineapple.  Next up was the mozzarella and peach.  It was an interesting contrast with the smooth texture of the cheese giving way to the soft flesh of the peach.  I was completely unfamiliar with brie and at first I thought it was just white butter.  It was creamy like butter but with a little more substance.  Salty and rich met crunchy and sweet, and my mouth found a new gastronomic favorite.

As I crunched the last bite of apple, the realization of that being my last bite of the entire meal flooded my body with almost overwhelming sadness.  The force of my emotion took me off guard.  I felt a strong urge to pile my plate with the remaining cheese and fruit to keep the end at bay.

One of the chef’s assistants walked in at that moment with a tray of small glasses that looked like miniature champagne flutes.  They were filled with a dark liquid that looked like it could be wine.  She moved around the den, offering the tray to us and we each took a glass.  After she left, Laylah looked at Drew and raised her eyebrows slightly.

“My friends,” Drew began.  “At the beginning of this evening, I said that we hoped this would be a memorable experience for all of you.  And while it may be memorable for unexpected reasons, our hope remains the same.  Thank you for your presence with us.  It has been a joy.”  He lifted his glass and we all did the same before drinking together.

What I had thought was wine turned out not to be alcoholic, but it was carbonated and only mildly sweet.  The look of delight on everyone else’s face told me that they were enjoying it as much as I was.  After a few sips, Santiago and Aholien slipped into quiet conversation and Dara stood up to join them after giving me a quick pat on the shoulder.

I watched her and took another sip from my glass.  “Is this sparkling grape juice?” I asked Laylah.

“It is.  The grapes come from the vineyard below the house and the chef juices them himself.”

“Wow.  I don’t think I’ve ever had homemade grape juice before.  This is really tasty,” I said, draining my glass and setting it on the coffee table.

Drew said, “I think the chef enjoys making his juice almost more than anything else, except maybe bread.”

The look Drew and Laylah exchanged reminded me that I still hadn’t quite figured out their relationship.  I knew I couldn’t end the evening without trying to get at least a hint.

With my best nonchalant tact face on, I asked in what I hoped was a very casual manner, “So how long have you two known each other?”

Laylah’s mischievous and mysterious grin returned as she responded, “Seems like forever.”  Drew simply nodded without responding verbally, but he leaned forward in his chair and joined Laylah in grinning at me.

Huh.  I mentally ran through a list of questions I could ask to elicit more information, but I crossed through each of them as being too personal or too intrusive with people I barely knew.  I wasn’t one to admit defeat, however, and I tried one more angle.

“Did you meet through the chef?”

“You could say that,” said Laylah.  “He’s brought a lot of people together over the years.”  She looked at Drew with affection and I decided that whatever bond they shared was incredibly deep but it went way beyond even any of the best marriage relationships I’d seen.  And the way they regarded each other invited me in, like they were including me instead of shutting me out of a private moment.  That reminded me of a question I’d been meaning to ask.

“Did Hannah, when she was painting, did she use models?  I was wondering if maybe that man—you know, the one in the middle holding the bread—I was wondering if that was, maybe, the chef?”  I had trouble spitting my question out because as soon as I started, it sounded ridiculous to me.

“She did model some of the faces after people she knows,” Drew responded after a brief glance at Laylah who nodded.  “The man you’re referring to, though, wasn’t the chef.  It’s her husband.”

Drew’s response took me off guard.  I was really expecting him to confirm my suspicions about the chef and I wasn’t sure what to think now.

“As much pain as she suffered at the hands of so many, she finally found exactly what she was looking for in her husband,” Laylah said and her face glowed with a happiness I don’t think I’d ever witnessed before, especially not in a person who wasn’t even talking about themselves.  “The painting was her way of sharing her joy with the world.”

Remembering what I’d experienced, I commented dryly, “She sure shared a whole lot more than that, in my opinion.”

“I would say that we all have different reactions to art, don’t you think?” Laylah said.  Her face was still glowing, only now it reminded me of the fact that I’d seen her and Drew in the painting.

My eyes widened ever so slightly and I glanced quickly between the two of them.  Both of their faces were now glowing with the same light I’d marveled at in the painting.

“You guys aren’t—” I started, then quickly clamped my mouth shut.  “How do you know Hannah?”

“She’s Chef A’s friend,” was Laylah’s response.  “And ours.”

I sat and stared at them for a moment, realized I was staring and turned my eyes to the fireplace.

Dara came back to sit in the chair and said, “Well, Abs, we’ve got a bit of a drive home.”  That had been our pre-arranged signal to give me an out if I felt the need to leave.  I had been thankful that she’d remembered to set that up while we were on our way to the chef’s house, but now I found that I would gladly have asked to bunk in a spare bedroom for a few nights if that wouldn’t have been completely socially unacceptable.  This place felt like a sanctuary and I was loath to return to the real world.

“I guess you’re right,” I responded reluctantly.  I didn’t want to overstay our welcome and since we’d already been there for close to four hours, I figured it would be only polite to get out of their hair so they could clean up.

We stood up and while Dara was making her goodbyes to Santiago and Aholien, Laylah grabbed my hands and said, “Don’t worry—you’ll be invited back soon, I promise.  We’ve truly enjoyed your company.”

The dam was threatening to burst as I felt Laylah’s arms draw me in.  I clung to her like I’d just just been rescued from a doomed Antarctic expedition.  When we parted, I gave her a weak smile and mumbled a totally inadequate “Thank you” before turning to see if Dara was ready.

I shook hands with Santiago and Aholien and tried to sound enthusiastically positive when I said I hoped to see them again.  All I could think, though, was that I’d been welcomed into something immense and grand and now I was having to leave it.

As we made our way outside, the frigid air slapped my face and left me momentarily breathless.  I was eager to climb into the car and get the heater started.  With a quick wave, Santiago and Aholien darted to their vehicle and were soon making their way slowly down the driveway.

I turned one more time to look at the house and saw Drew and Laylah framed in the doorway surrounded by light.

“You’ll be invited back soon.”

I fastened my hope tightly on Laylah’s promise and let it carry me all the way home.