The Strawberry Heart Page 2

  “Yeah,” Anselle replied taking sip from her own glass, “last Christmas a friend gave it to me. I’m not exactly sure what she was thinking, maybe that I needed to expand my tastes. I’m more of a beer girl.”

  “Oh, would you rather have a beer? I have some in the fridge.”

  “No, it’s okay. This is fine. I’m glad it will go well with dinner.”

  “Speaking of,” Niav said rising from her chair, “I should get back to making it before we starve.”

  “It smells delicious. Everything you make smells great,” Anselle caught herself and blushed. “That wasn’t too creepy, was it?”

  “Um…no…not at all,” Niav said rolling her eyes dramatically as she put the pasta into the boiling water and stirring. She had her back to the dining area but Anselle could tell by the tone of her voice that she was smiling. “Actually, I have to confess something,” it was her turn to blush, “I saw you, a couple of times, leaning over the rail and sniffing the air.”

  Anselle hung her head, “Oh my God, I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Please don’t be,” Niav sounded distressed, “I’m sorry I mentioned it. I hope it’s not going to ruin the evening.”

  “No, hey, it’s okay. I’m just embarrassed at being caught and you should be flattered. You’re food smells delicious. You’re previous neighbor didn’t chat with you about the aromas?”

  “I never saw her on the balcony. We didn’t speak when we did see each other. She didn’t give off a very friendly vibe.”

  “Her loss.” Anselle raised her wine glass in a toast to her host.

  Again Niav blushed.

  “If you saw me why didn’t you come out? I mean, not that you had too. For all you knew I was some crazy person leaning over the rail and sniffing at your door.”

  They burst into laughter at the mental pictures they both got of Anselle leaning and sniffing then they were startled as the timer for the pasta dinged. Niav drained the water, mixed the pasta into the sauce, dumped the mix into a serving bowl and brought it to the table along with a smaller serving bowl full of spinach. She served each of them a generous portion returning to her seat. Anselle inhaled the aroma, “I don’t have to taste it to tell it’s going to be fantastic.”

  “Of course it is. I made it.” Niav smiled and winked.

  They ate and talked; Anselle about her job at an investment group, college and meeting Lisa and Gina; Niav about working from home as an illustrator and researcher for a publishing company, her family and their love of cooking. Dessert was home-made strawberry shortcake with fresh strawberries and real hand-whipped heavy cream. Niav apologized that the dessert didn’t go with the Italian meal but explained that she had a craving for strawberries so she passed up on making cheesecake. Anselle teased, “I’ll forgive you this time but next time….well, just watch yourself.” The two women grinned and this time it was Anselle’s turn to wink.

  When they were done Anselle helped Niav bring the dishes into the kitchen. Niav took out a small glass container and filled it with some of the remaining Bolognese, “for lunch tomorrow,” she said holding it out to Anselle.

  “Thank you,” Anselle said taking the container, “So, you never said why you didn’t come out onto the balcony when you first noticed my sniffing.”

  “Well,” Niav led them into the living room to sit on the sofa, “It’s because I…um…really don’t like going out there.” She took a deep breath inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, “It’s not because I don’t want to. I’m not afraid of heights or anything like that. Looking out the windows doesn’t bother me.” She took another deep breath, “It has to do with it being so open. It’s just the short glass and the railing to keep you from falling, I get kinda nervous and dizzy every time I go out there, so, I don’t.” She finished with another deep breath.

  Anselle wanted to pull the girl across from her into a hug but refrained. She asked, “Like vertigo?”

  “No, more than that.” Niav frowned and looked away.

  Anselle was startled by Niav’s confession, “Oh, I’m sorry. So, how did you catch me at your door?”

  “Well, that was easy. Obviously, you had to come home before going onto the balcony so I listened for your footsteps on the stairs. The other night I almost missed you because of the grilling. I couldn’t let the steak stay on the grill too long or it would be too dry but the timing was perfect. Just as I took it off I heard you on the stairs. I didn’t know that you were at my door though. That surprised me, I think, as much as it did you. Why were you at my door? Were you going to knock?”

  Anselle blushed deep red and said, “This seems to be turning into a night of confessions. I usually stop at the door and listen to see if you’re in your kitchen. I can hear if you’re moving pots and pans or chopping or using your food processor. If I heard you in the kitchen I would go onto my balcony. I think you now know every embarrassing thing that I’ve done over the last six months.”

  “Don’t be embarrassed. I think it’s great. You’re my first fan. I won’t even charge you if you ask for my autograph,” she winked. “Have you given any thought to the cooking lessons?”

  “Actually, yes, I have thought about it. I’d like to do it if you’re sure it’s not too much trouble.”

  “I wouldn’t have offered if it was too much trouble. I just would’ve invited you over every night. If I teach you how to cook for yourself you won’t have to come over at all. Wait, I didn’t think of that until right now. I may have to rescind the offer.” Niav laughed, a sweet, infectious laugh and Anselle had no choice but to do the same.

  They exchanged phone numbers (just in case) and made a date for lunch that Saturday for the first lesson. “What would you like to learn first? I’ll see if I have everything or if I have to order some things.”

  “Well, hmm,” Anselle tried to think of something easy so Niav wouldn’t be too inconvenienced. She thought of steak but they both had had steak a few days ago and was that easy anyway? Gina and Niav would probably say no.

  “How about I think of something?” Niav volunteered when she could see Anselle getting a little flustered.

  Anselle was relieved but said, “Are you sure? I don’t want to be too much of a bother.”

  “Anselle, I have to eat too. It’s no bother making lunch for two rather than one.”

  Anselle agreed. They talked a little more until Anselle caught Niav yawning. “I think it’s time for me to go home. I’ll see you Saturday.”

  “How about dinner tomorrow?” Niav asked hopefully.

  “I wish I could. I’m working late again tomorrow. A girl in the office is on vacation and we’re taking turns covering for her but that means we have to work late to keep up with our own accounts.”

  “So dedicated. It’s admirable.” Niav stood and led Anselle to the door. Anselle held out her hand, Niav took it and pulled her into a light hug. “Thank you for coming to dinner,” she whispered into Anselle’s ear.

  “Thank you for inviting me,” Anselle whispered back as she leaned in and kissed Niav on the cheek.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Lunch turned out to be more of a brunch and the lesson turned out to be a little less than that as Niav wanted Anselle to become more comfortable in the kitchen. She had Anselle act as her sous chef, measuring and chopping, mixing and stirring. Niav showed Anselle how to hold a knife properly, thumb and index finger gripping the blade close to the handle, and chop using a back and forth rocking motion while holding the food securely on the counter with the other hand, finger tips curled under. Anselle was sure she was going to lose a finger.

  Anselle chopped mushrooms, green peppers and a tomato, shredded part of a block of cheddar cheese using a cheese grater, broke eggs into a bowl and only got a little of the shell in with, which Niav removed with a spoon. Niav had her grate some potatoes and then put them into a potato ricer showing her how to squeeze just hard enough to let out most of the moisture. The brunette heated some oil in a frying pan, dumpe
d in the shredded potatoes and added some salt and pepper. In another frying pan she melted some butter and had Anselle pour in the lightly beaten eggs. As the eggs started to set the chopped vegetables and cheese were added. Niav carefully flipped the omelet over to briefly set the eggs on the second side before they were plated. She showed Anselle a different way for the second omelet. She had Anselle break the eggs into a bowl, add the veggies right away and then pour the mix into the buttered pan. When the eggs set Niav flipped them to cook the second side.

  Anselle still had all her fingers as the two sat down to eat their veggie omelets with homemade hash browned potatoes and toast (Anselle made the toast all by herself!). The coffee was a Hawaiian blend that Anselle hadn’t had before. She put the empty coffee mug down with a satisfied smile, “That was the best coffee I ever had in someone’s home. I’m never going to one of those chain coffee places again.”

  Niav got up from the table and took their plates into the kitchen. She returned with a bag of the Hawaiian coffee and handed it to Anselle, “they’re whole beans so you’ll have to get a grinder if you don’t already have one.”

  “Oh, wow. I can’t accept this. It must be expensive. Besides I’ll bet you there’s no way I can get it to taste as good as yours.”

  “Nonsense. Get a grinder and I’ll show you what to do. What kind of coffee maker do you have?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ve had it forever. I usually stop and get coffee on the way to work. Do you have any plans for this afternoon? We can go shopping for a new one.”

  “You want to go out?” Niav asked cautiously.

  “Yeah. Why not? We can get me a decent coffee maker and maybe some ice-cream or something, maybe take a walk in the park. Would you like that?” Anselle went over and looked out of the kitchen sliders, “it looks like a beautiful day.” Anselle pivoted around and looked at the woman. Niav was looking straight ahead of her; her eyes wide, her hands gripping the sides of the table. Anselle stepped forward until she was back at the dining table and asked, “You okay there?”

  Niav felt dizzy, her heart rate climbed and she gasped for breath. The woman pushed back her chair and headed for the bathroom as a nauseous feeling rose from her stomach. She didn’t get too far as she fainted into Anselle’s arms.

  When Niav woke up she was on the dining room floor with her head in Anselle’s lap; the blonde wiping her face with a tea towel. She was sweating, exhausted and embarrassed, “oh, God. I’m so sorry.” She tried to get up but Anselle put a hand on her chest to keep her in place.

  “Relax. Everything is fine. You’re okay. Take some deep breaths.” Anselle continued to wipe the woman’s face with the tea towel.

  “I’m so sorry,” Niav repeated.

  “There’s no reason to be sorry. How are you feeling now? Think you can sit up?”

  “Yeah. I’m so embarrassed. That was the last thing I wanted you to see.”

  Anselle removed her hand from Niav’s chest and let the brunette up to a sitting position then adjusted herself so she was supporting Niav’s back on her chest. “Let me help you to the bedroom.” She could tell that her new friend was not feeling one hundred percent yet.

  “Can we sit here for a few more minutes?” Niav leaned most of her weight onto Anselle.

  “Sure, no pressure. Do you want to talk about it?” The concern was evident in Anselle’s voice.

  Niav shook her head, loose curls swaying back and forth in front of her eyes. They sat on the floor until Niav said, “I need to lie down or I’ll fall asleep right here.” She shifted her weight forward Anselle put her arms around the brunette’s chest and lifted her off the floor. Niav swayed and Anselle tightened her hold across Niav’s chest.

  Anselle got Niav situated in the bedroom, “is there anything you need, anything I can get you?”

  “No, I just need to rest for a while. I’m so sorry I ruined everything.”

  “Stop it. You didn’t ruin anything. I’ll let you rest now. Can I call you later?”

  “You don’t have to check up on me. It isn’t the first time this has happened.” Niav was a little defensive because of her embarrassment.

  “Hey, don’t. Okay? We’re friends, right? I’ll call you later. If you answer, okay. If you don’t, okay. I’ll understand. But I hope you will. I’d really like to do this again.” Anselle took Niav’s hand and brought it to her lips for a tender kiss.

  “Except for the whole me passing out thing, right?” Niav’s sense of humor was returning but she was still fatigued.

  “Except for that.” Reluctantly Anselle let go of Niav’s hand. “I’ll see myself out,” and with a wink she was gone.

  Niav waited until she heard the front door click before she closed her eyes and let herself drift off to sleep.

  ***

  Anselle called Niav a little after six that evening. At first she thought the woman wasn’t going to answer but after the fourth ring she heard a soft ‘hello’. “Hey. Do you want to come over for dinner?”

  “Um…what? Who is this?” Niav had thought she saw Anselle’s name flash up on the screen when she looked at the phone.

  “Silly. It’s me, Anselle. So, how about dinner?”

  “But you can’t cook and I don’t mean to sound like a snob but I don’t do microwave meals,” despite not wanting to sound like a snob she kind of did.

  Anselle replied with mock hurt in her voice, “I am really offended that you think so little of me.” She paused for a second, “seriously though, I told you my friend Gina owns a restaurant. I would order from there and go pick it up. What do you say? Let me do this to thank you for dinner the other day and the lesson.”

  Niav was still contemplating the offer when there was a knock at her door, “hold on. Somebody’s at my door.”

  “I know. It’s me.”

  Niav, still holding the phone to her ear, looked through the peep hole. Anselle saw the shadow cover the peep hole, smiled broadly and held up two shopping bags; Gina’ Steakhouse printed on the front. Niav opened the door. “I took the liberty, hope you don’t mind. Now you have to say ‘yes’. You can put the phone down now.”

  “You’re gonna be nothing but trouble aren’t you?” Niav pulled the door further open and let Anselle step inside.

  “Yep.” Anselle put the shopping bags on the dining table, “Sit. I know where everything is. Sit. Sit.”

  “You’re awfully bossy all of a sudden,” but Niav sat anyway and watched Anselle move around the kitchen.

  “Yep.” Anselle set the table, including two beers from Niav’s fridge and removed the containers from the shopping bags. “Do you want the loin of lamb with broccoli and au gratin potatoes or the veal chop with asparagus and whipped potatoes? I’ve had both and they’re excellent. The containers are insulated so everything should still be hot. If not, I can always run it next door and nuke it.”

  Niav was stricken again, “you and your microwave. I’m going to break into your place while you’re out and steal it then I’m going to toss into the dumpster.”

  “I think you’d be breaking at least two laws doing that,” Anselle counted off on her fingers, “breaking and entering and theft. Oh..oh, three laws.” She added another finger, “isn’t there a new thing about disposing of electronic equipment properly? You can’t just throw those things out anymore. They have to be recycled. So, that’s three laws.” She held the three fingers out to Niav and wiggled them.

  The woman shook her head, looked down and sighed, “nothing but trouble.”

  Anselle grinned from ear to ear and was tempted to say ‘you love it’ but refrained, “lamb or veal?”

  “I’ll try the lamb. I don’t often buy that to cook for myself.” Anselle removed the lamb and sides from the container and placed it on the plate in front of Niav. “It smells wonderful. Did your friend cook this herself?”

  “Yes,” Anselle served herself the veal, “she took a cooking class at university and she was hooked. She changed her major to restaurant management, g
o a job as sous chef and worked in kitchens for a few years before going in as a partner on a small place. When that didn’t work out she opened her steakhouse.”

  “Good for her. It’s not often you come across someone following their dream. But what about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “Are you following your dream? Did you always want to work in finance?”

  “I was going to be an accountant. Don’t make that face. Accounting isn’t that bad.” Niav had wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue. “I had to take an investments course and out of all the students I made the most money in the trials we did. Seems I had a knack for it. So, I took more investment classes and when I graduated I started working for the investment group.”

  “Are you the highest earner?”

  “I’m not the highest but I’m up there. I make a lot more than I lose. Do you have any investments? If you don’t mind me asking.”

  “I have a retirement account with a few bucks in it and the rest is in the bank.”

  “You should think about investing. I could help you.”

  “I’m not sure about that. Grandma always said you shouldn’t mix friendship and money.”

  “I invest for Gina and my friend Lisa and so far, knock on wood,” Anselle knocked on the dining table, “everything has been good. It’s how Gina was able to get her restaurant started. Think about it. You don’t have to invest everything. You can start small and see what happens.”

  “So, you’re just after me for my money. And here I thought you were after me for my cooking.” Niav winked.

  Anselle took the empty plates to the kitchen and returned to the table with two more beers. Niav suggested they move to the living room. They sat on opposite ends of the sofa and Anselle told her more about Gina’ restaurant and her university days. Niav showed Anselle the illustrations she was working on and said that her favorite subject to research was history. The brunette asked Anselle if she wanted to watch a movie and the blonde agreed. She opened her Flixe account and they chose one