“Yes. He knows how weak I am for beautiful things, and accommodates that far too often,” Julien said with an affectionate smile. “He complains too, of course, but he’s one of those beautiful things I could never let go of. I moved countries and rearranged my whole life to keep him, so.”
“That’s, wow. I’m glad you two found each other,” Luis said and meant it. His own feelings aside, there was no denying how well-matched they were.
“Me too,” Julien said. His fingers drifted over the smooth wood. “You know, we’ve been together for so long. Once I would’ve said that Karim was it for me, I was satisfied. But the thing about appreciating beauty, appreciating life, is that sometimes something new comes along to surprise you.”
His words had slowed to a wandering pace, but Luis was lost.
“What do you mean?” His heart sped up, like it knew something he didn’t.
His eyes met Luis’s again, and he looked amused. Then he shook his head. “Oh nothing. Just thinking out loud. Speaking of surprise, have I ever told you about how Karim and I met? He almost staked me on our first date.”
Luis froze. “What?”
Julien chuckled. “I forget what country it was, they’ve changed names so much, but we were in Europe, somewhere with a white population. I’d heard rumors of a ‘monster’ in the area.” Julien frowned, “I’m censoring this part because the local dialect used far unkinder descriptors,” he said.
Luis nodded.
“I’d guessed the monster had to be a vampire and I was… still newly Changed and reckless. At that time it was rare to meet another vampire. Well, one night I managed to find him picking the lock on a barn. Karim took one look at me, thought I was with the village pitchforks and, well… I daresay the only thing that spared me that night was the Urdu I’d picked up during my travels. Karim had a sharp bit of the barn door aimed at my heart before I managed to ask him not to kill me.”
“Your exact words were, ‘Please don’t kill me, beautiful, dark god’,” Karim said, striding in with three plates of food balanced in his hands.
“I admit I was working with a limited vocabulary,” Julien said. “But it was effective.”
“I was so caught off guard hearing my mother-tongue I stopped trying to kill him long enough for Julien to explain he wasn’t with the villagers,” Karim said. “In very broken Urdu.”
Julien nodded. “We spent the week together trying to bridge the communication gap, and I finally convinced Karim to come with me to a town where I’d set up something with a local doctor to exchange blood for my services. Karim and I helped move stone for a new construction and Karim had his first guilt-free meal of his new life. Then–”
“Julien please,” Karim whined as he brought the first plate to Julien, setting it down.
“No, this is the best part, I have to tell him,” Julien said, batting his lashes up at Karim.
“Tell me what?” Luis asked, riveted. A plate was set down, but Luis was focused on the story.
Julien looked to Karim, who sighed and dropped his shoulders. “Fine,” he grumbled.
Julien’s eyes brimmed with delight. “So, we finish, Karim has a drink, and then he disappears. And I assume, well that’sit! He’s gotten a meal and I’ll never see him again. I was already head over heels, so it was quite the heartbreak.”
“Jules,”Karim groaned as he took his own seat.
“But then, four days later, who should show up on my doorstep with a bushel of white roses?” Julien smiled at the memory. “Roses that, I should mention, grew nowhere near us at the time.”
“I had to go to the coast,” Karim explained gruffly, “That’s why it took so long.”
“Needless to say, I kissed him immediately,” Julien said. “And made him promise to never disappear on me like that ever again.”
“And I haven’t, have I?” Karim said.
“No. No you haven't, dear. But you’ve never given up on romantic gestures either,” Julien’s eyes fell to the plates they’d been given. He hummed, “So why don’t you tell us what you’ve made tonight?”
Karim gave Julien a look that Luis couldn’t decipher. “It’s fish fry with khichdi,” Karim said, “I hope you like it.”
The last part came stiff, and Luis chalked it down to Karim being put on the spot by the story. He was clearly uncomfortable being cast that way.
Luis turned his attention to the plate. He’d been served two deep fried filets with lentils; all artfully arranged like something one would order at an upscale restaurant. It smelled warm and vibrant with spices.
Luis’s mouth immediately started to water.
“Wow,” Luis said. “It looks amazing.”
