Swimming to the Light (Southern Vampire Mystery)

Chapter 31 - Tacking Upwind

Owatonna, MN:

Sookie found herself up and about by late morning. She kissed Eric's still cheek and pulled her sticky self out of bed. One hot shower and a grumbling stomach later she found herself walking into the Minnesota kitchen. Sookie had half-expected to find the usual near-abandoned feel that seemed to be every vampire building during daylight hours. Instead she found herself walking into a hive of activity. There were people chopping and bringing in produce. The dry sink she'd notice earlier was now filled with flowers and herbs. There was a woman standing in the middle of the room who seemed to be directing. Sookie stood in the doorway wondering if she should come back later when the woman turned and noticed her. " I'll bet you're Sookie Stackhouse, the telepath," she said and walked forward, holding her hand out. "I'm Deirdre, Maude's human second."

Sookie found herself pasting her crazy Sookie smile in place. The way that this woman was just stating things out loud and acting like it was the most natural thing in the world to say was making Sookie a little uncomfortable. Deirdre turned around leaving Sookie standing in the doorway and returned to what she was doing but she never stopped talking. Sookie learned that Deirdre oversaw the running of the household but she also operated as vice president of operations for Maude. Much of the research done for Maude's holdings in agriculture and food processing was done by humans and they worked better when they had a human counterpart. Deirdre also prattled on about how since crops grow during the day having full operations working while Maude and her vampire staff slept were essential.

Sookie watched as Deirdre directed a small group of people working around the twin commercial stoves tasting and testing a new soup recipe. "You like cooking?" Deirdre asked her. When Sookie nodded, Deirdre gave her a wry smile and said, "Me too. 'Course could be I love the eating part of cooking a little too much," and she winked.

"Lucky," Sookie said. "Gets too easy for me to forget sometimes." Deirdre's look turned all business then and Sookie wondered what the woman had been told about her. Sookie peeked into Deirdre's head and found that Maude had told her second quite a bit about her guest's background including her relationship with Eric Northman. Deirdre pressed Sookie to sit down. Sookie found herself faced with a large bowl of a creamy soup. Deirdre used the excuse that they needed an impartial opinion on the recipes they were testing. Sookie smiled and dipped in. The taste was somehow familiar and yet unexpected. She looked up, the question on her lips.

Deirdre chuckled and beat her to it. "It's a cream based soup made with butternut squash and lime. Unique taste signature. You like it?"

Sookie nodded. "It is different but delicious," she said. Deirdre nodded to one of her assistants and another ladle of soup was poured into the bowl. Sookie smiled, accepted the bread offered and cleaned up every drop. She waved off a second helping and asked, "How did you come up with the idea? I never would have thought to pair those together."

Deirdre wiped her hands and sat down. "Part of it is science. I have a degree in biochemistry. It's what attracted Maude to my resume. I use my knowledge of chemical interactions to predict how combinations will meld. Of course I also collect recipes from everywhere I go and from anyone I meet. Most cultures have a book of phenomenal food that they've been preparing for generations. A lot of it is disappearing right now so I've been in high gear on the collection side." Deirdre glanced at a young man who was busy at a cutting board. He smiled and brought over two bowls of fresh diced fruit. "Try this," Deirdre said. She handed Sookie a fork and took one for herself. There were chunks of mango and pineapple and kiwi. They were all dusted with some kind of powder. Sookie thought it might be cinnamon but the flavor was sharp and hot. "Chili powder," Deirdre told her. "And I just use fresh squeezed lime juice as a dressing. Folks in Central America have known about this forever. Now I'm finding a way to market it here."