FEAST

Course 2

I expected to be led to a rather large dining room for the rest of the meal.  Instead, Drew and Laylah led us from the den through an open area that had a loveseat and two chairs, along with a coffee table, out onto a spacious covered patio with a breathtaking view.  The mountains I thought I was so familiar with looked different, somehow, from that patio and I had to stand still for a moment to take it all in.  Dara and I had been talking while we were driving up to the house, and I hadn’t really been paying much attention to my surroundings.  I now saw that the valley just below the house was actually a vineyard.  I had no idea how many acres there were, but it looked fairly large.  The sun was low in the sky, backlighting some of the vines, and I found myself wishing I could stay in that moment for a really long time.

When I was finally able to tear my eyes away from the view, I noticed that the table on the patio had been set for seven.  I guessed that meant Drew and Laylah would be joining us, and I found myself feeling glad about that for some reason.  Santiago and Aholien seemed like nice enough guys, but I didn’t know them at all and I didn’t think Dara was going to be enough of a buffer between me and awkwardness where they were concerned, nor did I think she would be able to save me from myself if Aaliya continued on her current trajectory of irritation.  Both Drew and Laylah were so much at ease with themselves and each other that I felt unusually relaxed in their company.

There weren’t any placecards at the table, so we all sort of naturally drifted to a chair and sat down.  Santiago and Aholien chose the chairs facing away from the view, which I thought was gentlemanly of them.  But that meant that Dara and I had to sit on the same side as Aaliya.  I was not at all surprised when she chose the middle seat, forcing us to be split up.  Maybe the guys had chosen their places more knowingly than I realized.

I looked down at the place settings and almost let out a sigh of relief.  My one foray into formal dining hadn’t been a pleasant one, mostly because of silverware, and I was not eager to repeat that unpleasantness.  I was most happy to discover that not only did I recognize all the cutlery before me, there was only one of each—knife, fork, and spoon.

Drew and Laylah saw to it that we were seated, then they disappeared into the house.  Aaliya was the first to speak.

“I will never get tired of this view,” she gushed.  “I’m sure you men don’t mind sitting with your backs to it.  Men don’t usually care about beauty in the same way we women do.”  She looked from Dara over to me as she said this last sentence, apparently expecting that we would readily agree with her.

I just stared at her, not quite believing what I had heard.  I was quite thankful when Santiago said, “Oh, it’s no problem, really.  I grew up with these mountains always in the background.”  He looked over his shoulder and commented, “I do like that view, but anytime I want to see it, all I have to do is look out our window.  Or at our walls.”

“Your walls?” Dara asked.

“Yeah, we’ve got Aholien’s photos all over our walls,” Santiago explained. “He’s an incredible photographer.  In fact, that’s some of his stuff hanging in the living room here.  Chef A was really impressed with his work.”

“Those are your photographs?” I hoped I didn’t sound unpolitely surprised.  “Wow, those are gorgeous.  Some of the best I’ve ever seen.”

“Thanks,” was Aholien’s simple response.  From some people, it might have sounded terse, but he seemed sincere and I got the impression that he just didn’t feel the need to add extra unnecessary words to his gratitude.

“Ever since I’ve known him, Aholien’s always had a camera in his hands,” Santiago said.

“Have you known each other for long?” Dara asked.

“Yeah, seems like forever,” Santiago grinned at his friend.  “We met when we were kids.  Aholien’s family started coming to my dad’s church.”  He paused, then said, “I mean, the church my dad is pastor of.”

“Your dad is a pastor?  Mine was a chaplain!”  Dara always got excited when she found she had something in common with someone.

“I was born on a Saturday and in church on Sunday,” Santiago said.

Dara started to giggle, thinking he’d meant it as a joke, but then she looked at him and realized he was serious.  “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you were kidding,” she apologized quickly.

“No, it’s okay,” Santiago said.  “My mom always said I was the easiest of her kids from the moment I was born.”  His face flushed a little.  “Our church is pretty small and my parents do just about everything,” he rushed on, “so I guess it was good that my mom didn’t have to take too much time out on my account.”  He flushed even more.

“Your parents always work incredibly hard for their congregation,” Aholien said.  “They are good to their people.”  He gave Santiago a nod of encouragement.

At that moment, Drew and Laylah reappeared, both bearing trays with bowls on them.  Drew moved to serve Santiago and Aholien while Laylah served our side of the table.  Lastly, they placed bowls in front of their own chairs, set the trays down on a small table next to the door that also had pitchers on it, then sat down, Drew at Santiago’s and Dara’s end, Laylah between Aholien and me.

“On behalf of Chef A, Laylah and I want to welcome you, again, and thank all of you for joining us tonight.  We hope it’s a memorable experience for you.”  Drew looked at each of us, then without skipping a beat, he added, “We also thank You, Father, for Your bountiful provision that allows us to serve our honored guests.  Thank You for being here with us, as well.  Amen.”

Santiago, Aholien, Dara, Aaliya, and Laylah murmured, “Amen.”  I, on the other hand, was completely taken by surprise and hadn’t even realized he’d slipped into a prayer.  By the time I realized what had happened, the moment passed and although I opened my mouth to say the word, I shut it again right away for fear of looking foolish.  Like sitting there with my mouth open and nothing coming out didn’t look a little whacky, but whatever.

“Dig in, everyone!” Laylah said, and I was happy to have something to do other than sit there feeling silly.

I looked down at the bowl and saw a clear broth that had green and red peppers floating in it along with bits of onion.  I could smell a hint of garlic, but I was unfamiliar with whatever was sitting on the bottom of the bowl.  I don’t know if my hesitation was that obvious, but I heard Laylah say, “It’s quinoa.”

“Keen-wah?” I repeated, looking up from the bowl.

“The Inca called it ‘mother grain,’ although it’s not really a grain.”

“What is it, then?”

“Would you believe it’s a seed and it’s in the same family as beets and spinach?  Most people would probably call it a weed if they came across it in the wild.”  This seemed to amuse Laylah because she was grinning again.  “Can’t judge a plant by its leaves.  Beauty and usefulness can be found in the most unlikely of places.”

Not being in any way a brave person when it comes to food, I wasn’t entirely sure about this faux grain that looked like it belonged in a bird feeder instead of my bowl.  I didn’t want to be rude, though, and I noticed that everyone else had tucked in with gusto.  With a brief prayer that I wouldn’t gag, I lifted the spoon to my mouth and took a timid bite.  The salty, garlicky broth was just the right temperature, and I was so busy enjoying the flavor that I almost forgot there was more than just liquid in my mouth.  I crunched the peppers while at the same time beginning to chew the quinoa.  The little pellets were pretty small, so I’m not sure I got in more than a couple chews before swallowing, but those chews were a revelation.  To make sure I actually experienced what I thought I had, I took another bite.  Yep, there it was—firm and slightly nutty to the taste, surrounded by that delicious broth.

“Looks like you’re a fan of the Sopa de Quinoa,” I heard Laylah comment.

“Is that what this is called?  Yeah.  Definitely a fan.”  I couldn’t wait to take another bite.

“This is certainly one of the best soups I’ve ever tasted,” Aaliya offered, and I had to agree.

“If this is just the soup course, I can’t wait to taste the rest!” Santiago exclaimed.  I think he finished his bowl in about three bites.  Which, to be fair, was not that difficult to do because the bowls were on the small side.

I was finishing my last bite when I realized that I could hear music.  I hadn’t noticed it before, so I wasn’t sure if it had been playing and I just missed it or if it had started while I was focused on keeping the deliciousness train speeding into my mouth.  I’d missed the first part of the song, but I could hear the word “Hallelujah” being repeated at this point.

Dara obviously noticed the music, too, because she said, “This song is really nice.  I don’t know, it just seems to compliment the soup in some way.”  She looked at her hands quickly.  I knew what that meant.

But before I could come to my friend’s defense, Santiago said, “I totally agree!  I was just thinking the same thing.”

Dara glanced up at him, trying to assess if he was merely being polite.  I could tell by the genuine smile he gave her that it was not mere niceness, and I felt a rush of gratitude towards him.  I had always been a little protective of Dara because she had a lot of beauty to offer the world, but I could never seem to convince her of that.

“The melody is kinda...warm,” Santiago continued, “you know, like the soup.”  He looked at Dara a little nervously as soon as he finished, but she smiled and said, “That’s it!”

“We all have Laylah to thank for that,” Drew said.  “She’s the creative force behind most of this evening.”

Laylah beamed in Drew’s direction and did a little curtsy in her chair (which was quite an impressive feat).  “Thank you, my friend, but you know very well that it was a joint venture.”

Drew acknowledged Laylah’s return compliment with a little nod of his head.  “We are definitely better together.”

I glanced at both of them.  I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was going on between them.  There was no sense of romance, but it also seemed like more than friendship.  I made it my mission to figure out their relationship before the evening was over.  The others made me curious as well, but Drew and Laylah were much more of an enigma to me, and I thought of them as a challenge.

The soup had been gone for a while, but I still had a warm feeling in my stomach, which was a nice contrast to the crisp autumn air.  Conversation continued and I was content to let it flow over me like a breeze while I observed.  As so often happens when there are more than two people sitting at a table, two smaller groups formed out of the larger one.  Drew, Santiago, and Aholien engaged in what seemed to be a rather lively discussion about music and preaching.  Aaliya asked Laylah about the recipe for the soup and that got the two of them talking ingredients with Dara adding a few comments here and there.

Laylah’s hands did as much talking as her mouth as she mimed various ingredient preparation techniques.  Onions, swift hand chops.  Peppers, smoother hand slices.  Garlic was an interesting one as she moved her hands in what I assumed was supposed to mimic a garlic press.  The closest I usually got to cooking was rubbing a stick of butter between my hands to warm it up enough so it was spreadable, so I wasn’t paying that much attention to the specifics of the recipe, but Laylah’s lively demonstrations kept me fascinated.  Dara seemed as entranced as I was and even Aaliya interrupted only a couple of times.

Slowly, my attention was drawn to the other side of the table.  Since I missed the first part of the conversation, I had no idea what they were talking about initially.  Drew had one arm on the table, leaning towards the other two.  Santiago was sitting all the way back in his chair.  Was that politeness?  He wasn’t contributing to the conversation at all.  As I watched, he started fidgeting ever so slightly, placing his hands on the arms of the chair, removing them, putting one back, removing it, not making eye contact with either Drew or Aholien.  Those two were getting more and more animated as they went along.  I noticed that the more into what he was saying Drew got, the faster his hands moved.  Aholien was more reserved but although he wasn’t as expressive with his hands, I noticed that as his voice rose in making a point, his eyebrows lifted in emphasis.  Curious, I honed in on what was being said and caught phrases like, “Exactly, it can be just as effective at teaching as speaking,” and “I kind of think it’s time for it to stop being relegated to second fiddle.”  That last remark elicited a bark of laughter from Santiago, which surprised me not only in its volume but because I had assumed he was either disinterested in what was being said or it had made him uncomfortable in some way.

Dara, Aaliya, and Laylah looked at the men.  Santiago turned five shades of vermillion while Drew said, “I love it when a pun comes together.”  That set Santiago off again, but this time, Drew and Aholien joined in, which made Laylah smile and say, “Sounds like we’re missing a good one.”

“The master is at it again,” Aholien said as the laughter died down.  “It’s not just sharing history he excels at.”

“I don’t understand.  What’s so funny?” Aaliya looked from Aholien to Drew.

“We were talking about how music in the church is often seen as second in importance to preaching and teaching, and Drew pointed out it shouldn’t be treated as second fiddle,” Aholien explained.

Santiago chuckled.

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow,” said Aaliya.

“Because they were talking about music and a fiddle is a musical instrument,” Dara offered.  Aaliya looked at her blankly.  “You know, fiddles.  And music.”  Dara kept trying to no avail. Finally, she added, “It’s a little play on words.”

“Play on words.  I like it.”  I wasn’t sure if Drew was just trying to diffuse the situation and get the attention off Aaliya’s failure to understand the joke or if he genuinely appreciated Dara’s comment.  Either way, it turned into a wee bit of a fail because almost everyone started laughing again, leaving Aaliya looking more bewildered than before.

I felt a slight twinge of compassion for her.  I leaned over and said quietly, “Don’t worry about it.  Puns definitely aren’t for everyone.”  She glanced at me and didn’t say a word, but a faint smile crossed her lips and I took that as her way of acknowledging my gesture.

A not uncomfortable silence descended for a few moments and then Drew asked if anyone needed their drinks refreshed.  Only Santiago indicated that he did, and Drew went to the table with the pitchers and came back to refill Santiago’s glass.  I assumed by the color and lack of carbonation that it was tea.

As Drew returned the pitcher to the small table, Laylah said, “I suppose we should check and see if the next course is ready, yeah, Drew?”

“Sounds good.  If you’ll all excuse us.”  Drew and Laylah collected our empty bowls, then Drew slid open the glass door and allowed Laylah to enter first.

I’d done a quick Google search on multi-course dinners shortly before I left to pick up Dara just so I wouldn’t be caught completely by surprise, so I knew that some sort of fish was most likely to come out, but I wondered what the chef would do with it.  Not being a huge fan of anything seafood, I settled into my chair going through some polite apologies in my head for not partaking in the next course.