FEAST

Course 8

“Do you think Laylah will be able to get Aaliya to come back?” Dara was finally able to ask.

We had stood in stunned silence for what seemed like an eternity.  I shrugged noncommittally.  I’d seen my share of angry outbursts but they always involved family and since I didn’t know Aaliya, I was unsure of what to expect from her.

“I feel kinda bad for Aholien.  This was supposed to help him get his mind off everything he’s had to deal with,” said Dara.  We both looked in his direction and saw that he and Santiago were still deep in conversation.  She gestured in their direction.  “Maybe we should—?”

At the same moment, Aholien noticed us looking at them and said something to Santiago, which he seemed to agree with and we all ended up meeting halfway.

“So, yeah, wow.”  Santiago’s statement summed up how I was feeling.  His eyes were a little wide with shock.

“Are you guys all right?” Dara asked, her face full of concern.

“I’m still not sure what exactly happened,” Santiago said in a hushed voice.  “We were just talking about the painting and then Drew said something about light illuminating darkness and all of a sudden, Aaliya was shouting at him.”

I guessed there had been a few more steps between a comment about light and dark and the minor meltdown we had witnessed, but I didn’t think it was my place to go digging for details.  I was half-hoping that Dara’s natural curiosity would impel her to ask a few pointed questions when we were interrupted by Drew coming into the dining room.  His face looked careworn and I could almost feel the weight he seemed to be carrying into the room.

“I think we’ll be waiting for a bit before we continue onto the next course, if you are all okay with that,” he said, waiting until we all nodded before returning to the kitchen.

After Drew left, I noticed that the rain was lashing the windows with a ferociousness that seemed to demand attention.  In the reflection of a window I saw that the flame on one of the  candles was sputtering.  I turned my head slightly to look at the table and saw that the other candle had almost gone out.  I stared at both candles and felt an almost overwhelming desire to will both flames back to steady brilliance.

“I wonder if we should offer to call it a night,” Dara almost whispered, pulling me back to the moment.

“Might not be a bad idea,” Santiago agreed.

Surprisingly, Aholien said, “I think we should wait and see what happens.”

“Yeah?”  Dara looked unsure.

“Chef A doesn’t extend dinner invitations lightly, and I think he would want us to stick with him until the end.”

Dara looked at me, an unspoken question in her eyes.

“Well, I don’t really know the chef, but if you’re sure—” I glanced at Aholien and he gave a slight nod.  “Okay, then.  I’m willing to stick it out.”

Somehow, I sensed that Aholien was right, even though I had no discernible reason for feeling that way.  Maybe it was because pretty much nothing about the evening had been what I’d expected and I was curious to see what other surprises were in store.

“Did—did you—” Dara hesitated, looking away for a moment.  She continued, “Had you guys met Aaliya before tonight?”

“Not me,” Santiago responded immediately.

Aholien shook his head.  “I know she’s been a guest of Chef before but never when I was here.”

“I just wish, you know—I just wish there was something we could do to help.”  Dara’s expression was full of anguish and I knew she was feeling for Laylah and Drew as well as Aaliya.

“Me, too,” said Santiago.  “I guess I didn’t realize anything was even wrong until too late.”

“I’m not sure you or I could have done anything even if we had realized,” Aholien commented softly, his eyes down.

“Yeah, probably not me, especially.  Not after what I said about lemonade.”  Santiago’s face took on a pained expression.

I was completely taken off guard by Aholien’s low chuckle.  For such an apparently sensitive guy, laughing at what was clearly causing his friend discomfort seemed wildly out of place.  Suddenly, though, Santiago was joining him, and I heard a small twitter from Dara.  I found myself smiling, then giggling.  We all looked at each other a little guiltily.  But the smiles remained on our faces.

“Did someone tell a joke?  I could use a good joke right about now.”

Dara and I turned to see Laylah walking into the dining room.  She was moving slowly and looked tired.  I couldn’t help but notice that she was alone.

“Is Drew—?” she motioned towards the kitchen.

“I think he’s waiting for you,” Dara said.

“Right, then.”  Laylah gave us all a half smile and excused herself.

My eyes caught the look on Dara’s face and I could tell she was fighting the urge to run after Laylah and give her a huge hug.  I had to admit that I was feeling much the same way.  I didn’t really know Laylah at all, but it was somehow disturbing to see her looking so exhausted.

“Poor Laylah,” Dara murmured, mostly to herself.  Then she said a little louder, “I guess it would be kinda silly to hope that Aaliya’s just in the bathroom.”

“Not silly,” I responded, “just your endearing optimism.”

“You mean annoying optimism,” Dara countered, trying to pass her comment off as a joke.

“I think optimism is a really good quality to have,” Santiago offered.  He looked sheepishly at Dara, smiled, then went on quickly, “People get on my case a lot for being too positive.”

“The world would be a much better place if more of us were like you, my friend,” Aholien said.

Santiago ducked his head while saying, “Thanks, man.”

I was not a little amazed to discover that I didn’t feel awkward at this short exchange between Santiago and Aholien.  Naked compliments usually left me squirming and looking for the nearest door.  There was something so genuine and unforced about Aholien‘s words, though, and I actually nodded in agreement.  Not because I knew Santiago specifically, more because I had long been dealing with the drag of the ugliness of the world and thought we could all use a bit more optimism and positiveness.  And because I had often said the same thing to Dara.

The door to the kitchen swung open slowly and Laylah walked in, followed by Drew, both of them carrying trays.

“Apologies for the minor delay,” Laylah said as she made her way to the table.  She seemed to have recovered somewhat although I still saw a weariness in her eyes.  “I expect it won’t be a galloping shock to hear that one of our guests has chosen not to continue the evening with us.”  Neither she nor Drew looked at us as she made that statement.  They focused on setting bowls at each of our places, then Drew removed the chair Aaliya had used, placing it along the wall.  He moved the other two chairs on that side of the table slightly closer together.

“Please, come,” Drew said, motioning towards the table.

As we sat, I cast a quick glance at Laylah and almost wished I hadn’t because at that exact moment, a lone tear trickled down her cheek.  I’ve never been able to see anyone crying without losing it myself, and my eyes welled up.  I looked away quickly and took several deep breaths.  I hadn’t meant to intrude on her privacy.

“It’s okay,” I heard her whisper.  She wiped the tear away and reached out to grasp my hand.  I didn’t pull away.

“Obviously, we had hoped this evening would go a bit differently,” Drew said quietly.  Laylah gave my hand a squeeze and turned her attention to Drew.  “But the chef, Laylah, and I are very thankful that you are all still with us.”  He graced each of us with a warm look and a smile.  “Our salad course is simple, but we hope you’ll find it to your liking.”

I had quite honestly forgotten about the bowls sitting on the table in front of us.  Each bowl was a delicate cream-colored ceramic with sides that just barely curved up.  They looked more like plates that someone had bent rather than actual bowls.  Drew wasn’t exaggerating when he said the salad was simple.  It appeared to be nothing more than finely shredded cabbage and kale with generously sprinkled almond slivers.

“Is this olive oil?  Is there anything mixed with it?” I heard Dara ask.

“Just the oil,” Drew replied.

Kale had never been a favorite of mine, and cabbage was only tolerated when smothered with Ranch dressing.  With nothing but a drizzle of olive oil, I expected the salad to taste like the ground, but I attacked it with enthusiasm out of a sincere desire to be as non-confrontational as possible and, maybe, do something to help cheer Laylah up.

My first mouthful had a satisfying crunch and I was delighted to discover that olive oil and just the right amount of salt and pepper made for a much more pleasant experience than I was anticipating.  I thought the cabbage had a hint of sweetness which I’d never experienced before with that particular vegetable.  I couldn’t tell if my desire to be a model guest was changing my tastes or if my brain was merely being unusually cooperative because of the earlier rather unsettling events, but I realized that I was actually enjoying the salad.

“That was pretty good,” I said when I had crunched the last bite.  When my comment was met with silence, I looked around and saw that everyone else was still eating.  Santiago and Aholien were grinning at me.  Laylah chuckled softly which made the warm flush creeping up my neck and across my face well worth it to me.  “Guess I win,” I added with a brief smile.

“Wow,” was all Dara said as she stared at my empty bowl with a comically incredulous look.

Laylah’s laugh filled the room, its infectiousness matched by its genuineness.  Dara looked slightly startled at first, but then she, like the rest of us, joined in until we were wiping tears from our eyes.  Even as I laughed, I acknowledged that nothing had been side-splittingly funny, it simply felt good to laugh.

As the laughter died down and everyone else went back to finishing their salads, I settled back in my chair and thought about how I might have had to explain what everyone was laughing about to Aaliya.  I wasn’t sure I could honestly say I missed her, but she had been part of the evening from the beginning and I definitely felt her absence.

Quiet conversations had begun at the table and as before, I was content to observe and listen.  Laylah had engaged Aholien in a discourse about the benefits of simplicity in food preparation, while Drew was regaling the other half of the table with stories about...something.  I tuned my ears in to what he was saying and heard him mentioning almond blossoms and menorahs at which point I decided I’d missed too much of that conversation to try and jump in now.  I let my mind wander.

The rain was still beating against the windows but without its earlier ferocity.  My eyes strayed to the painting almost without me realizing it.  I thought about Hannah and her story.  Her search for a foundation.  A family.  Without warning, Aaliya’s face appeared in my mind and I thought, She’s been searching for the exact same thing, only she hasn’t been able to find it.  I looked at the ordinary man in the center of the painting and wondered what he would have done if he’d known Aaliya.