Between the Pipes

Chapter 16

Saturday afternoon was a lazy afternoon. Winter had arrived, and snow swirled madly outside. There'd be shovelling to do tomorrow, but today Sarah planned to stay cozy inside.

Mike had just returned from a series of away games and had tomorrow night off, so she'd invited him over for dinner. She put her hand on her stomach to settle the butterflies. It was the first time she wasn't looking forward to seeing him. Well, that wasn't true exactly. She wanted to see him, but she wished they didn't have to have a conversation about hockey.

Restless, she decided to do something concrete and set the table. It would mean one less thing to fuss over tomorrow.

So first off, what colour for the tablecloth?

Black? Too stark. Pink? Too feminine. Pale blue or green? Too summery. White? Too bland. Yellow? Too bright.

Although she did have one piece of yellow fabric that might work. The darker burnt yellow was the background for printed black Chinese letters. It looked classy, but she had no idea what was actually written on it. She hoped it wasn't something like "eat this meal at your own risk," or "Bad luck to anyone who buys this without knowing what it says." She pulled the fabric off the shelf, shook it out, and draped it over the table. Lovely, really lovely. She added black place mats and small square candles in black and butterscotch, and she placed the bonsai plant from her bedroom in the centre. Perfect. Intimate, with a touch of romance and an aura of peace. She'd need that.

Now, what to serve? She flipped through a couple of recipe books. A Thai lemongrass soup looked easy and delicious. She could make a mango and spicy shrimp salad to start and star anise pork tenderloin, rice, and snow peas for the main course. She wondered how many calories a goalie had to eat. Better pick up some dinner rolls, too. And for dessert? It was too miserable out to make a trip to the bakery today, but if the snow let up, she could swing by the café at Bibb's Bowling Lanes and pick up some turtle pie again. Bad news went down a little easier with chocolate and caramel.

Sunday dawned bright and clear. A blanket of white snow a metre deep covered the driveway and walkway. After breakfast, Sarah threw on old sweats, tugged on a jacket and boots, and headed outside to shovel the driveway. She waved hello to the neighbours as they dug out from the storm. Sarah scraped the snow down to the pavement, and by the time she finished the walkway, the sun was beaming down, melting the residual patches of ice. She headed inside to shower and change.

The grocery store was bustling. Most people had heeded the advice to stay off the roads during the storm, so the store was busier than usual. Sarah worked her way through the grocery list, gathering what she needed. The only item she couldn't find was lemongrass.

"Excuse me," Sarah said to a young clerk unloading bunches of bok choy in the produce section. "Do you have any lemongrass?"

Without looking up, he responded in a bored voice. "Fresh or canned?"

"Ah, fresh."

"Nope. We don't have any in right now. Matter of fact, haven't seen any in a while."

"Oh," Sarah said, disappointed. "Where would I find the canned?"

"We don't carry that either," he responded without looking up.

Crap. "Can't make lemongrass soup without lemongrass," she mumbled ruefully. She glanced at her watch. She was already running behind and wouldn't have time to pick another recipe.

The clerk glanced over. "They sell fresh lemongrass at the Asian market on Rudder Street."

She knew the little store. She'd cycled by it. It was on a busy corner in the downtown core, but it wasn't far. She'd have just enough time. "Thanks for the tip."

Sarah paid for the groceries, and after stowing them in the trunk, drove downtown to Rudder Street. Traffic was snarled, and some of the side streets were still snow covered and slushy.

She saw the Asian market and slowed down, but the parking lot was full. She circled around the block looking out for a parking space, but with the extra snow pushed against the curb, cars were parked less efficiently, and any space between them was too small for her car.

Honestly, if she ever chose a super power, extra strength would win hands down. She'd be out there shifting cars so she could fit in. Look at all that wasted space. She shook her head impatiently. She arrived back at the Asian market parking lot as another car pulled out. Perfect timing.

She accelerated in and then braked. Oh. Just my luck. The spot was reserved for pregnant women. Sarah huffed out a breath. Should she use it? She needed to run in, buy one item, and run out. It would take two minutes, tops. Except that she wasn't pregnant, and the space was clearly marked. Although, with a bulky coat on, would anyone really know? Would anyone care?

The car behind her honked. She looked up and saw a string of cars waiting to get into the parking lot.

Fine.

She pulled in and kept her head down as she ran into the store.

Alleluia, lemongrass.

She paid for it, ran back to her car, and hurried out of the parking lot. Phew, she'd done it. One small broken rule and the world hadn't ended. What wild thing could she do next?

Sarah unloaded the groceries and set aside the ingredients for dinner. She had the meat marinating and the soup on simmer. A light lemon fragrance filled the air. The salad ingredients were chopped and ready to be assembled and the dressing made. The rice was soaking. Time to get dressed.

Sarah decided to leave her hair down and wore navy blue leggings with a shimmery grey sweater. She was finishing her make-up when her phone rang. Danni's number popped up on the call display. "Hi Danni."

"Hey, Sarah. Soo...how are things?"

"Good," Sarah answered slowly, puzzled that she would ask.

"Whatch ya doin'?"

"Umm...actually, I'm just getting ready. Mike's coming over for dinner."

"That's great." Danni paused. "Do you have news for him?"

"Sort of. I planned to talk to him about hockey."

"No...not that. Somebody asked me today if you were pregnant."

"What?"

"They saw your car–"

"Oh, honestly." Sarah shook her head. "Please tell me it wasn't someone from the team."

Danni was silent.

Sarah groaned, then went still. "It wasn't Mike, was it?"

"No, although he seemed pretty interested in the conversation."

Sarah sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and caught sight of her pale face in the mirror. "Great. That's just great."

"Are you?"

"No."

"It's so unlike you. I've never seen you so much as jaywalk."

"I know, I know. I had to run into the store, and parking was impossible. The pregnancy space was the only one open, so I parked there. For, like, two minutes. This town is too small."

"Just explain it."

Sarah sighed. "Yeah, obviously that will be on the menu tonight. Can't wait."

"Just laugh it off. Don't make it a big deal."

"Really?"

"You know, people park illegally all the time and with a lot less guilt."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"But you might want to stay away from a life of crime," Danni said with a laugh. "Have fun tonight and good luck."

"Thanks. I think I'll need it." She hung up the phone.

Okay, that wasn't stressful. She added more deodorant. Just laugh it off; no problem. But maybe she'd chill another bottle of wine.