I join Tally in the car and set our boxed dinners on the back seat. “How you doing?”
“I’m mostly embarrassed and annoyed that Mother Nature ruined a really nice dinner and an expensive dress.”
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You don’t have control over your period any more than you do the moon cycle.” She laughs, and I squeeze the back of her neck. “And I’ll send the dress to the dry cleaners.”
“I thought I had another day to go,” she mutters.
“You need me to stop at the drug store to pick up supplies?”
She shakes her head. “I have stuff at your place.”
“Okay, good. So home it is.” I pull into traffic. “You want me to pick up dessert since we didn’t have a chance to order any?”
“Oh, maybe. I would give my left pinkie toe for one of Rix’s chocolate lava cakes.”
I smile. “You’re in luck. I have a few in my freezer. You want me to stop for anything else?”
She folds her hands over her stomach. “I think I’m okay.”
“You think of anything, you just let me know.”
A little while later, we pull into the underground lot. I’m thankful the elevator is empty and stays that way on the trip up to my apartment, even though most of the people in the building know me and wouldn’t post pictures on social media to create drama.
The people in the restaurant are a different story. That’s tomorrow’s problem, though. I’ll message Hemi later, once Tally is taken care of.
I let us into my apartment, and Tally disappears into the bathroom. While she cleans up I pull the lava cakes out of the freezer and turn the oven on. Tally reappears a few minutes later wearing joggers and one of my T-shirts.
“Better?” I run my hands down her arms.
“Much.”
“Feel like finishing dinner?”
“Definitely.”
We grab plates and cutlery, and I open the boxes.
“So.” I spear one of the seven artfully arranged green beans and offer it to Tally. She nibbles the end. “I gotta be honest. The presentation is great, even boxed up.” I pop the rest of the bean into my mouth. “And it tastes awesome, but the portions are small.” I motion to my cupboard. “I was thinking maybe some spiral KD might be a decent addition.”
“That sounds like literal heaven.”
“Awesome. I’ll break out the good stuff, just for you.” I kiss her cheek.
Tally and I make the noodles together and put the lava cakes in to heat while we polish off dinner.
“Why are these always so good?” Tally spears a cheesynoodle and pops it in her mouth, followed by one of the maple-braised carrots.
“Comfort food? When I was a kid, we used to buy elbow noodles, powdered milk, and cheese sauce in bulk. It wasn’t until I went to the Hockey Academy that I learned most people just used the KD packets and bagged milk.”
Her expression softens. “Bagged milk was more expensive.”
“By a lot, yeah.” We were always trying to stretch grocery money. “And my appetite was endless.”
“It must have been so hard.”
I shrug. “It was all I knew.”
“Is it difficult to go out for a nice dinner like we did tonight? Places like that are super expensive.” Tally strokes the back of my hand.
