Dark Or Cream

“Impressive,” he replied, looking around.

Kaja beamed proudly. “Well, now, one of these days I’ll have two or three restaurants under my belt, and then it’ll be impressive.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re twenty-seven years old and you run your own business. Half the folks our age are still struggling to put their shoes on the right feet. It’s mighty impressive as it is.”

Kaja blushed and she glanced down, feeling shy in the face of his effuse praise. “Thank you. I appreciate the nod. You’re not doing too bad yourself.”

She took him into the front of the restaurant and showed him the modest sized dining area. He looked around in awe. When Kaja told people about her restaurant, they usually expected a nice, small, clean space—nothing as decorative and lovely as what she really had to offer. The walls were a rich pomegranate hue and framed pictures of skillfully painted watercolors were artfully placed. The oak tables were round and each had four chairs, and there was one wall lined with booths that seated more. The white tiled floor was shiny and reflected the light from the electric candelabra shaped chandeliers. The area for the cash register was concealed behind a half wall near the front of the restaurant, and Cooking by Kaj offered as close to a fine dining experience as their small town could manage.

“Kaj, this is amazing,” said Eric.

“If you want, you can sit out here and wait while I throw something on the stove.”

“I want to be near the action. Is that alright with you?”

Kaja smiled. “Sure. Come on back to the kitchen, then.”

She was going to pan sear rosemary sprinkled chicken, and she got to work preparing the fresh chicken breasts for the pan. Eric stepped right up beside her to assist. After she cleaned and cut the chicken, he helped her season it and got the olive oil for her. Kaja kept glancing at him, uncertain of what to make of it. Most people knew to leave her be when she was cooking, but there was something sweet and endearing about him trying to help.

“Turn down the fire on the stove for me, would you?” she directed.

He did exactly as told, and he even ran to the refrigerator for the vegetables she wanted to use. Kaja laughed to herself as she chopped onions and added them to the pan. “You’re something else, mister,” she said when he got back.

“Is that a bad thing or a good thing?”

“It’s definitely a thing. Listen, I usually handle the cooking by myself. That way if it’s a bust, it’s all my fault. Ya dig?”

“I understand perfectly. I’ll take my hands off.” He smiled.

“You said you bake. You want to handle dessert? I’ve got some premade crusts and the filling already prepared. Easy as pie.”

“I’m on it, boss!”

He moved to another counter top and got to work preparing the pie to slip into the oven. It didn’t take long before they were seated at the table, sans the cloth for easier cleanup. It was a casual dinner without candlelight, but it was a much more comfortable atmosphere than the romance of the night before.

They laughed and joked about the conversations they had had over the internet, and they mused about the movie they had watched. The meal disappeared bite by bite, and the cherry cheesecake was served. They both had slices of his pie, which turned out not bad—although all he technically had a hand in was pouring filling Kaja had created into pie shells Kaja had created. The hours slipped away, but it was like time was standing still. Kaja couldn’t recall the last time she had had such a blast with a guy.

“Okay, so the question of the night is, what is your five year plan?” she asked out of the blue.

They were in the middle of talking about their separate businesses and how well things were going, despite the somewhat tough economy, and Kaja felt it was appropriate to turn the conversation towards future goals. She already knew what Rashan had in mind for the future. He was going to graduate and move on to teaching school. He wanted a stay at home wife and probably a passel of kids. But, what about Eric?

“Eh…” Eric looked skyward like he had to think about it. “I guess in five years I just want to be happy.”

“Happy? That’s it?”

“That’s not enough? I value my happiness.” He grinned and took the last sip of her famous sweet tea. She had refilled both their glasses plenty of times, and they had come to the end of the pitcher. Kaja realized it must be close to midnight or later. She should really get him back to his car so he could make his way back home, but she wasn’t ready for Eric to leave.

“I mean, you don’t have a direction in which you want to go? What’s your five year plan?” She giggled, thinking it wasn’t that difficult. Everybody had goals for their future.

“I could sit here and spout off a million things I want to have happen in the next five years, but ultimately I just want to be happy.”

“I guess I’ll have to take that…you realize we’re burning the midnight oil now, don’t you?”

He glanced at his cellphone to check the time and made a face like it didn’t really matter. “I don’t want to keep you up all night. You ready to clean things up so we can leave?”

“Am I ready? Nah, not really. But, will I? I guess.”

They chuckled and got the table cleared, the dishes washed and the leftovers packed away. She wrapped up his pie and extra helpings of the dinner for him to take home, which he gladly accepted. As they walked back to the car, he had one more package than what she had given him tucked under his arm, and he offered it to Kaja once she sat behind the wheel.

“What’s this?” she asked. She opened the small brown paper bag and pulled out a miniature cherry cheesecake pie. The cherry filling was drawn in the shape of a heart. “Aww!” Kaja touched her chest and smiled at Eric.

“I made that when you weren’t looking. I hope you don’t mind. It’s not the prettiest, but it’s pretty special to me.”

“It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever been given.” Kaja reached across the center console and gave him a hug. “Thank you, Eric.”

“Wait before you thank me, cause accepting this gift comes with strings attached.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, if you accept this, from now on anytime you see a cherry anything, I want you to think of me cause from now on they’ll make me think of you. We got a deal?”

“Ha! I told you, you are really something! Why would cherries make you think of me? Cause I’m a chef? Or, what? Cause I’m plump?”

“Nope and nope. You’re not plump, honey. You’re delectable.”

“Ooh! Nice vocabulary. So, why the cherry association?”

“Because you’re sweet, and you have a big heart and a tart personality, and cherry is my favorite basically. Now, are you gonna share that?” His eyebrows lifted as he peered in her lap at the pie.

Kaja gave his shoulder a playful shove and broke the pie in half. “Don’t ever say I never gave you nothing.” She stuck out her tongue at him, and then she nibbled the sweet little pie. “Again, thank you. From now on, cherries will make me think of you. Deal.”

They finished the snack and she drove him back to the theater for his car. She watched him drive off before she headed home. Smiling to herself as she got ready for bed, Kaja felt like she was still walking on sunshine after spending time with Eric. If she had to be honest, she would say he blew Rashan out of the water. Rashan wasn’t really even in the race; that was how far behind Eric had left him. And, all the man had done was showed her a genuine, unadulterated good time.