Chapter Nine
Cale had just set the microwave running again for the sixth time when he heard the knock on the door. Knowing it would be Bricker, he hurried out of the kitchen with relief and strode up the hall to open the front door.
"Hi," Bricker greeted cheerfully. "I brought-" He stopped abruptly when Cale flipped open the lid of the small cooler he'd just lifted and snatched out a bag of blood to slap to his teeth.
"Hungry I guess," Bricker said wryly, following him into the house when Cale turned and led the way back up the hall to the kitchen. "I only brought four bags. I figure you can't keep it in the refrigerator here anyway, and I can bring more by tomorrow if you can't get away to get your own."
Cale grunted agreement around the bag in his mouth as he went through the kitchen door, then cursed aroundit as well and rushed for the microwave when he spotted the sparks flying off the pan inside.
"What the hell are you doing?" Bricker asked with horror, setting the cooler on the kitchen table and rushing to his side in front of the microwave. The minute Cale hit the clear/stop button, Bricker jerked the door open and then glanced around for a towel to pull out the pan. "Cripes, you never put metal inside a microwave."
"Well the plastic kept melting," Cale muttered, tearing the now-empty bag from his teeth as the younger immortal dropped the pan in the sink.
"Jesus, you don't put plastic inside either unless it's microwaveable," he said with disgust, then stopped talking and turned slowly, his mouth dropping open as he peered at the various plates around the room. He moved to the closest one and asked, "What's this?"
"Exploded lasagne," Cale said on a sigh.
"Exploded?" Bricker asked, arching an eyebrow.
"The plastic wrap burst and the lasagne kind of exploded all over the inside of the microwave." He grimaced with disgust. "It was a hell of a mess."
"Ah," Bricker murmured and gestured to the next dish. "And this?"
"Melted meat loaf," Cale admitted, moving to take a second bag of blood from the cooler.
"Melted? It looks fine." Bricker poked at it. "The cheese feels kind of weird though."
"That's not cheese, it's a plastic lid that melted when I microwaved it," he explained unhappily. When Brickerraised an eyebrow, he added defensively, "I plan to replace the container tomorrow."
"Hmm." Bricker moved on to the next dish. "And this?"
"Rock-hard penne. Since the plastic wrap exploded and the Rubbermaid melted, I tried cooking without either. I thought maybe you weren't supposed to cover the food at all, but it came out all shriveled and hard as rock," he pointed out grimly. "That's why I tried the pan for the next one. I figured you must have to cover it with something more solid than plastic."
"How long did you cook it?" Bricker asked.
"Only ten minutes."
"Oh man." He laughed. "You're lucky it didn't burst into flames. It only takes a minute or two to reheat dishes when you have it on high."
"Well, that explains things," Cale said, and slapped the second bag to his teeth.
Shaking his head, Bricker moved to the refrigerator and opened the door. "There's still some kind of pasta dish in here. It looks like an Alfredo of some sort. I'll heat it up for you if you like."
Unable to speak with the new bag in his mouth, Cale nodded.
"Before I forget, Lucian found a cook to replace Alex tomorrow night," Bricker announced as he pulled the Alfredo from the fridge. "Is she sleeping?"
Cale nodded again and watched as Bricker removed the plastic wrap at one corner of the dish, and then set it in the microwave.
"You only use microwaveable plastic wrap, which I'm pretty sure this is," Bricker explained as he began to push buttons. "But you have to leave an opening for the steam to escape."
Cale grunted his understanding around the bag, and then tore it from his teeth as it finished emptying. "Who did Lucian find to replace her?"
"Actually, it was Lucern who got the guy. Lucian called everyone to set them on the task and Lucern called back to say he'd gotten-you won't believe this-Chef Emile agreed to take Alex's place."
"Is he any good?" Cale asked, moving to set both empty bags back in the cooler.
"You're kidding, right?" Bricker asked with amazement. "He's a famous chef, Cale. He has his own show and everything. Emile's Kitchen. He's not only good, but this will have the media rushing to La Bonne Vie for interviews and such. It will be good press for Alex, probably get coverage of the opening of the new restaurant too since Lucern invited him to that as well."