Because of Love

17. Supper

11/14/86''/ Grecia's House

~ Grecia

I sighed and tossed my cooking apron into the dirty laundry. I had just finished preparing dinner, Risotto Milanese along with ciabatta. The occasion was that my cousin Liam and Michael were paying a visit to my house. I hadn't seen Liam for a long while, he was the only family I had left.

I thought I would surprise him by cooking my mothers recipe. It was our favorite, and I know that my cuisine doesn't compare to hers. I guess I'll never know what her secret was to making it so delicious. I got carried away in my thoughts before I noticed the time on the clock. It was a little past four and I still hadn't set the table.

That meal took a long time to make and I put my all into it. I'm no chef, but I needed it to be perfect. I placed all three napkins down on the table with silverware rolled up inside it. I wasn't sure if Michael drank wine but I still set the bottles down in case. Sangiovese was my favorite wine.
"Ow ow ow." One of the hot plates burned my fingers and I lost grip of it, watching as it fell to the floor. "No!" The plate shattered and the food was on the kitchen floor. I sighed, trying to hold myself together.

I swept it up and threw it away, shaking my head at my stupidity. At least the other two plates were fine, but I hadn't made enough Risotto to get another one. I guess Im going to eat something else. The doorbell rang, taking my attention away from the food.

I unlocked it and was happy to see Liam behind the door. "Come in." He smiled and looked around. "I love what you did with the place." He said kneeling down to pet my cat.

I walked over to my record player and slipped in a James brown record. "I try." I said giggling. He sat at the wooden dining table and observed the food. "Isn't this your moms famous dish?"

I grinned and nodded, happy that he noticed. "There was a little accident so those are just yours and Michael's plates." Just as I sat down there was a knock on the door. Liam got up to get it before I got a chance. I looked at the door and waited.

Michael walked in with a bouquet of orchids. It was clear he was trying to impress Liam. "Showing off I see." I teased. Michael blushed. "It's an, um, accessory for the table."

I shook my head. "Well, they're beautiful." I said placing it down to be centerpiece of the table. The aroma of candles and flowers filled the air. "I hope you guys like wine." I held the bottle giving them an excited look. They nodded and I filled up their bottles.

Michael stared at me. "Where's your food?" He asked.

"I broke it." I joked. I mean I technically did.
He gave me a smug look and raised his brow in curiosity. "Now how do you break food? That's not even possible."

"I made it possible. It's fine, I have bread." I said stuffing my mouth full of ciabatta. "You know me, I'm clumsy."

Michael nodded his head to the music. I knew he likes James brown, so I picked that record.

"So how long have you guys been together?" Liam asked.
"Not very long. But i know there's more great years to come." I said. Michael looked down shyly.

"What do you do Michael?"

He fidgeted in his chair. "Well I'm a professor, but I want to be a musician. I know it sounds silly, but it's my dream." His eyes lit up just talking about it. I smiled proudly knowing that one day his dream would come true.

We sat and chatted for about two hours until the sun went down. "I should get going, I'm glad you invited me over Grecia. It was nice seeing you." He said goodbye and headed home. Michael helped me put the dishes away and we sat down on the couch.

"Do you think I made a good impression?" Michael asked moving a strand of hair out of my face.

"I think you did, flowers and all."

He blushed. "Sorry i wanted you to have them."
I kissed him on the nose and lay my head on his shoulder.
"I didn't tell you how delicious that food was. It's a shame you didn't make more." He said sadly.

"Wanna make more?" We both turned to look at each other excitedly and nodded, jumping out of our seats.

"Okay we need chicken stock and onions." I grabbed the onions and handed them to Michael. "You're in charge of chopping these." I instructed.

Michael gave me a confused look and begin chopping the onions. He was a bit slow at it but I didn't mind. I heated up the pan and poured in the chicken stock.

All the sudden he threw the knife. "My finger!" He yelled.
I gasped and quickly grabbed his hand to see how bad the cut was. He started laughing and picked up the knife off the floor.
"You should've seen your face."

I scoffed and gently shoved him. "Not funny, I thought you chopped your finger off or something." I acted like I was mad and cooked with my back towards him.

"Greciaa, I was only playing." He said walking over to me, putting the onions on the pan. Then I took some cheese and threw it at him before running into the other room.
"Oh no you didnt."
He chased me around with the parmigiano "Michael stop!" and I ducked behind the chair and got slapped with a big slice of cheese on my face. I peeled it off and threw it back at him. "The foods gonna burn!"

His eyes widened and he threw the cheese at me. "I guess I better go check on it then." I shook my head.

Before he walked away I pulled him back towards me and kissed him, flashing him a smile.

We both calmed down and finished cooking. I think we missed a few ingredients, as it didn't turn out like the first time. It was still good and I enjoyed the rest of the evening with Michael.