I just smile, unsure how to respond to such earnestness, especially when I can see Ares and Josh scrunching their faces out of the corner of my eye. Prescott and Jeremiah are difficult to read, and Catalina is too smooth to give away anything.
“Are we getting pizza?” Bryce asks.
His brothers look up with sudden interest. Even Jeremiah’s eyes sparkle a little.
“Pizza?” Akiko looks horrified. “Takeout, for a formal family dinner?”
The two men visibly deflate. Jeremiah looks away, puffing her cigar.
Bryce and I sit across from Prescott, Akiko and Jeremiah. Bryce pours some sake for me, then leans over. “Akiko has the best sake and plum wine, cold or warm, doesn’t matter. The food tonight, though… I’m not sure. I’ve never seen her demur about it so much.”
“It’s fine,” I whisper back.
“So cute together!” Akiko says brightly. “So lovey-dovey.”
I flush. Bryce laughs. “You think we’re cute because you know I’ve been complimenting your alcohol.”
“That too.” Akiko grins as the first course is served.
I look down at the beautiful, large, white bone china edged with complex fleur-de-lis gold patterns. It’s the kind of plate Sherry would be envious of. Some sort of dark purple sauce encircles two bite-sized slices of smoked duck, each topped with caviar and a dot of yellow sauce. I count five green alfalfa sprouts on the right to balance out the colors. On top of the sprouts is a thin line of orange-colored dressing.
If everyone else weren’t getting the exact same thing, I might think that Akiko was trying to show how much I don’t belong by starving me.
“You’ve outdone yourself, my love,” Prescott says to his wife with a warm glow. Is he used to this kind of portion?
Ares cuts one of the slices in half with his knife and eats the tinier piece. Guess that’s one way to stretch it out.Oh wait.He’s swapping his plate with his wife. Why? Lareina looks at him like he’s just single-handedly filled every hungry child’s belly with delicious food. I glanceat Prescott and Akiko, wondering if plate swapping is some kind of family custom I’m not aware of, but they don’t do that.
“If you want to start a new tradition, give half your food to Bryce,” Josh says, his tone less than friendly.
“Don’t be a jerk,” Lareina says.
“Cut it out, Josh.” Bryce turns to me. “Lareina can’t eat food that hasn’t been sampled first,” he explains quietly.
“Seriously?” My eyes widen with shock. “Why? Did Zoe try to get you too?” I ask, then squirm when everyone’s eyes focus on me. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to mention her, like Voldemort.
Lareina gives me a small, reassuring smile. “No. My aunt and her family tried to poison me because I had an inheritance I was supposed to receive. So it’s become a habit. I mean, I know the food here is fine. But it’s a mental hangup.”
“I understand.” My voice softens with sympathy. “I hope your aunt and her family got what’s coming to them.” If reincarnation really exists like Sherry believes, they might be reborn as slugs.
“Oh yeah, they did.” Lareina smiles, then rests her head on Ares’s shoulder. “Thanks to my knight in shining armor here.”
He kisses her temple. “Queen.”
I flush, feeling like a voyeur. There’s such emotional intimacy to their interaction.
“They’re always like this,” Akiko says dreamily. “Isn’t that sweet?”
I nod, my throat clogged with longing and loss of my own. I had something close to this with Bryce, and it could’ve grown into something more if I hadn’t shattered it with my own hands. I look down at them resting on the table, wishing I could go back in time. If I’d had the strength of character and experience I do now, I would’ve chosen differently.
Since most people are done, I pick up a fork and take a bite.Mmm…The food is very good—hard to believe she made it just this afternoon after finding out about Bryce and my marriage. Too bad she cooked so little.
The next course comes out: three slices of white fish, topped with a light brown sauce with a hint of freshly ground wasabi. Again, the plate is gorgeous—the kind you have to hand-wash—and enormous. To theright of the fish are little dots of green sauce and tiny blue, purple and pink flower petals laid out to look like a river flowing past a field of wild flowers. Very artistic. It must’ve taken Akiko so much time to plate this.
“This is a new design,” Jeremiah remarks. “And the fish?”
“Suzuki. Japanese sea bream in English.” Akiko turns to me. “You can’t go wrong, believe me.”
“I’m sure.” I take a bite. The texture is firm and slightly chewy but delicious.
