A Kitten Called Cat

Chapter Twenty Two - ... And A Talk

Our music appreciation thing was interrupted by the sound of the lift and I looked up to see Elroy arriving, accompanied by an unfamiliar man. They were both carrying baskets... food, I guess. "What I have in store has to be cooked immediately before serving," Master explained. So I've asked a chef to come here."

That sounded stupidly expensive but he'd told me not to talk... and anyway it's not my place to worry about money stuff. I guess he really did want this to be a special treat.

Soon Elroy appeared with two glasses... both tall flutes but one a fair bit taller than the other... Master doesn't want a drunk kitten before we even start eating. They contained a purple drink. "Kir Royale," Master told me. "Blackcurrant juice with champagne."

The smaller glass was popped in front of me first but, by now, I knew I had to wait. When Master had been served, we chinged glasses and he said, "A ta santé." I guessed it was the French for 'cheers'... but luckily I didn't have to repeat it because I wasn't allowed to talk.

I sipped at the drink and the blackcurranty taste exploded into my mouth. He kept finding new and delicious things for me to try; this wasn't quite as yummy as the mango stuff but it was very close to the top of my list of favourites.

Master must have seen my reaction. "So, you like it then!" he said with a smile.

I nodded enthusiastically - little nods, very fast - and managed to make him laugh.

We sat together, enjoying the music and sipping our drinks until Elroy called us through. I quickly finished the stuff off - I didn't want any to go to waste - then Master led me through to the dining room and helped me to kneel down on a cushion, next to his place.

Then he stepped behind me and tied a blindfold over my eyes. "Comfy, Kitten?" he asked me as he took his seat.

I nodded enthusiastically.

"And do you trust me?"

I hesitated before I gave another nod. I was just a bit surprised that he might even think that I might not! I'd agreed that he owned me, 'body and soul'... it didn't mean anything not to trust him.

There were some plate shuffling type noises and Master said, "Open wide."

A forkful of delicious salady bits were popped into my mouth. I chewed carefully and could. recognise rocket and watercress but there were definitely other kinds of leaves in there too, some of which were quite bitter. The dressing had a delicate lemon flavour.

When I'd finished the mouthful, Master held a glass to my lips. "Champagne," he told me, "to accompany the salad." He gave me a sip and, in my shut-off state, I could really taste how well the sharpness of the bubbly wine worked with the sharpness of the lemony salad dressing.

I carried on exploring the taste sensation as more leaves and more champagne were popped in my mouth. Mr B didn't say much but I could tell he was watching me as I enjoyed this intense experience.

After a couple more mouthfuls, there was more shuffling of crockery and there was a strange, sharp smell. "This is called an andouillette," Master said, "It looks a bit like a large sausage."

A piece was put in my mouth and I chewed carefully. It was, I suppose, a little bit like a sausage but the lumps of meat were bigger... it had an unusual sour and slightly sharp taste.

I tried a couple more bits of the thing but after the third piece I had definitely had enough. It was interesting but there was something about it that didn't quite work for me. It was a bit like the octopussy thing. Not horrible but I could quite happily live without it.