touch

He smiled and led me to the table. I didn’t like knowing Ahgred watched us, but hid my nervousness.

Morik helped me sit and then went to the oven. He reached in and pulled out two plates covered with old time silver domed lids. Probably relics from his cave of wonders.

“Careful,” he cautioned, “the plate is hot.” He set both plates on top the charger plates already on the table and removed the domed lids with a flourish.

A tiny little bird, with its crispy brown legs stuck straight in the air, did the dead man’s float in a shallow pool of white sauce. A fluffy hill of rice rescued the crossed spears of asparagus from drowning. Flakes of green dusted the sauce. Tiny shreds of yellow sprinkled the rim of the plate. It looked delicious and smelled divine.

Morik set the domes on the kitchen island and joined me. I waited for him to sit before dredging a forkful of rice through the sauce. It touched my tongue and I groaned.

“This is so good. When did you learn to make this?” I quickly took another bite.

“I didn’t. Lurel prepared this.”

That didn’t stop me from forking in another mouth full. “Please tell her this is heavenly.”

I caught him watching me as I worked my way through the rice while peeling tender juicy pieces of meat from the bird.

“I didn’t eat much today,” I mumbled around my cloth napkin while checking my dress. The sauce didn’t like my fork, but thankfully, it stayed away from my dress.

His brows drew down. “I apologize for that.”

“It’s not your fault,” I said eying the picked over the carcass on my plate. It really was a tiny bird.

“I let your grandmother know my plans for dinner. She promised she wouldn’t let you eat too much.”

That explained the skimpy crackers. “It was worth it. This really was delicious and special. Thank you.”

He stood and took both of our plates to the sink. “Do you have room for desert?”

Did I ever! “Always.”

He laughed and carried over two smaller plates. Each held an individual pie. Thin slices of apples had been artfully arranged before baking to form a perfect blooming flower. Brushed with a glaze the tart glistened. A dollop of cream topped with a sprig of green waited on the plate beside the tart.

“Lurel?”

He nodded, and I picked up my fork. “Is she really your sister?” I asked before taking the first bite. The buttery flaky crust melted in my mouth.

“No. She was the one created just before me.”

Her reference to him as her brother made sense then. I took another bite. The tangy apples played with my taste buds. The tart disappeared, and I sat back with a sigh.

“Gran would love to take lessons from Lurel,” I said with a content sigh.

“Lurel is too… captious.”

Yeah, I could agree with that. “Too bad. Gran would have been impressed.” I inspected the dress again for any wayward buttery crumbs.

“There is a bag for you on your bed if you’d like to change.”

I looked up and caught his amused gaze. “That might be a good idea.” He stood when I stood.

In the bedroom, I discovered not clothes, but pajamas. Hopes high, I quickly changed. I’d thought after dinner he would return me home for a postponed chant. I detoured to the bathroom to wash the makeup from my back as best I could and peek at the mark.

The two lines spun together in an artful twist ending just short of my neck. So close. I needed to ask Mona about her policy on body art. Soon, with any luck, it would show when I pulled my hair into the usual ponytail for work.

The angry stub of red at the base of my spine pulled my attention. I tugged my shirt down over the marks and left the bathroom. Time was too precious to waste.

Hearing sounds coming from the kitchen, I found Morik cleaning up the remains of our dinner. Watching him stand before the sink, hands sunk in dishwater, barefoot, dressed in flannel sleep pants and a tee did funny things to my insides. Padding toward him, I grabbed a towel and began drying.

Time flowed around us in quiet harmony. Last dish dried and put away, he took my hand and with a grin led me to the game console. We competed against each other in a racing game until my jaw cracked with a wide yawn. No wonder Gran hadn’t appreciated his driving the day he rushed to school for me.

“Time for you to sleep,” he said softly turning off the game.

The clock flashed one in the morning. Six hours of sleep before work. I probably should have cringed at the thought, but instead focused on the fact that I would be sleeping next to Morik. Not the unnatural sleep I despised, but the kind where I could snuggle against him throughout the night.

I nodded and willingly took his hand.



The touch of his hand gently running through my hair woke me with a yawn. I didn’t feel like I’d slept at all, but the soft light pouring through the bedroom window told the truth.

“What kind of price would there be to roll back time to give me two more hours of sleep?” I mumbled grumpily.