to have something. A knock sounded before I reached the front entrance. I hurried to answer and smiled at Fyllo as he held up two bottles. As I’d guessed, one was garlic and rosemary-infused oil. The other bottle, though, had me extending a hand.
He surrendered the sherry and watched me open it and take a long drink.
“Will that work for tonight?” he asked.
“It sure will. You’re officially in, but Emily said no one should come before dark. I’ll just hold onto it until then, okay?”
He nodded and smiled. I gave a quick smile in return, closed the door on him, then did my best to drown the memories in sherry.
The door opened, pulling me from my semi-stupor.
“Hey, Hannah,” Emily called. “I brought goodies from Mary.”
I sat up from my comfortably prone position on the couch and dutifully looked at Emily, who was holding up a plate of baked goods.
Merdon closed the door behind her and met my gaze.
“A stray followed you in,” I said, not paying any attention to the food she carried.
“Be nice,” she said with a laugh. “I told you I was making dinner for Merdon.” She glanced back at the fey. “Shoes off at the door, please. You can hang your jacket on the hooks there.”
While she instructed him, I resumed my relaxed recline and let my world continue to drift. The sherry was gone, and the buzz from it was starting to fade. But I wasn’t worried. It was almost dark, and people would start showing up soon enough.
“Hannah, come join us,” Emily called.
“No, thank you. I’m not hungry for dogloaf.”
“Good, because that’s just for Merdon. Get your butt over here and eat something, or I’m turning everyone away tonight.”
Sitting up again, I narrowed my eyes at her then got up to help her set the table. Sometimes Emily’s mothering stifled me to the point I wanted to tell her to lay off. In the end, I could never bring myself to say the words. She put up with a lot from me. Putting up with a little from her was the least I could do.
“Mary said you should come over tomorrow,” Emily said, placing the dogloaf on the table. “She said she has something special set aside for you.”
I hoped “special” was code for aged Cognac. She and James had gifted me with a nice bottle once before. That stuff had kicked my ass hard.
“I’ll try to stop by tomorrow,” I said, not committing.
Emily pulled something else from the oven. Wrapped in foil, the food was a mystery until she removed the covering and revealed a stir fry looking jumble of veggies and chicken.
“You’re welcome to try this, too, Merdon,” she said, “But I know most of you don’t enjoy your veggies.”
She took the seat nearest the kitchen and gestured to the chair to her right. Merdon sat and glanced at me. Suppressing my sigh, I sat across from Emily, to his right. Hopefully, the position would make it harder for him to stare at me throughout the meal.
“This smells amazing,” Emily said, scooping a large portion of stir fry onto her plate. She was obviously hungry.
“Here,” she said, handing the plate to Merdon. “Pass that to Hannah. Hannah, I’ll take your plate.”
My stomach twisted as I stared at the mound of food. If I ate it all, I’d have no room for dessert of the liquid variety.
Disgruntled, but knowing better than to argue, I surrendered my empty plate to Merdon in exchange for the full one.
Emily did her typical hostess shtick where she made conversation.
“What’s it like outside the wall today? I haven’t heard a single moan,” she said to Merdon.
I zoned out and focused on the food.
Methodically, I chewed, swallowed, and scooped up some more, working my way around the plate and shrinking the pile. I didn’t taste the meal. Food had lost its flavor long ago. When I’d eaten at least half, I pushed my plate away.
“I can’t eat more. If I do, I’ll throw up.”
“Hannah—”
“I’m serious, Emily. That was a lot. Big meals are a relic from before the quakes. My stomach can’t handle all of that at once. I’ll save what’s left for later.”
She glanced at my plate then at Merdon’s. The dogloaf pan was empty, and his plate was clean.
My stomach gave a threatening heave.
“I’m not a starving fey, so don’t even try to compare us,” I said in annoyance.
The first knock of the night echoed on the front door, and I sprang up to answer it.