Abby.”
His face fell, “Can I please stay with you tonight?”
He looked so cute standing there, crestfallen. Right then I decided, “How about I take you someplace new for dinner tonight?”
He smiled, “Alright, where do you want to go?”
“It’s a surprise… I’ll pick you up tonight.”
“Do I have to get dressed up?” he asked nervously.
“No. You’re fine just the way you are,” I said, kissing his nose and hurrying off. I had some shopping to do.
I hauled the grocery bags up the metal staircase, hurrying down for the boxes from the kitchen store. I’d decided to cook Ethan some Chinese food, a favorite dish of mine that I’d learned from Li Wei, one of Evie’s most talented personal chefs.
Li ran the best restaurant in Hong Kong, and she would fly into San Francisco regularly to orchestrate the sumptuous banquets served at Evie’s posh dinner parties. Under her command, the kitchen staff always turned out an amazing variety of elaborate Chinese dishes. I used to lurk around the giant butcher block counter, excited by all the hustle and bustle; intrigued by the exotic ingredients. Stern but patient, Li tolerated my childish questions and instructed me on a few simple cooking techniques.
She taught me how to cook rice and stir fry, taking the time to instruct me in the basic knife skills required to make a whole menu of Chinese specialties. Eventually, she let me carve vegetables into garnishes and centerpieces, nodding ever so slightly when my attempts met with her approval. A nod from Li Wei was as good as a standing ovation at the theater, and she had an authoritative way about her that made everyone value her approval.
I would do her proud tonight, I thought, unpacking a new rice cooker and an electric wok. I set up a work table and put some music on, humming to myself as I chopped the vegetables and set out my ingredients. I arranged some fresh flowers in the vase and started the rice, checking the clock and smoothing my hair. I took one last glance around and left to go pick up Ethan, locking the door behind me.
“Where are you taking me?” he asked, looking around suspiciously as I pulled to a stop behind the coffee shop. He was confused when I parked the Rover between a dumpster and the fire escape in the gloomy little alley.
“Come on,” I took his hand and led him to the stairs.
Bewildered, he followed me up, “What are you up to now?” he asked. He sounded apprehensive.
I smiled at him, turning my keys in the lock. “This is my new art studio,” I told him, throwing the door open wide.
He followed me in and stood looking around silently, finally walking over to the window to look down, “We’re right over the coffeeshop.”
“I’m renting this place from Bill…” I explained, “Well… What do you think?”
He turned around, taking it all in, “So this is where you’ve been spending all your time.”
I nodded, “I needed a bigger space to make bigger paintings.”
He took another look around with a serious face.
“It needed a lot of cleaning up… Shayla helped me,” I searched his eyes, unable to read his face, “I didn’t want to put you to work…”
He came close and wrapped his arms around me, “I knew something was up.” He sighed with relief as he slumped into me, “I was afraid you were back to night surfing.”
“Oh,” I said, my voice small. I suppose I should have confessed right there, letting him know that his instincts were dead on, but I didn’t want to ruin the night with an argument about the relative merits of day vs. night surfing. I had no plans to stop either one.
He took my face in his hands and kissed me, and I forgot to worry about it.
“This place could be dangerous,” he said with a smile, looking at the big plush couch.
“The thought did occur to me,” I replied playfully, “Now why don’t you go kick back, while I make you dinner.”
“Don’t you want some help?” he asked, kissing the side of my neck. He smelled so good I started to melt into him again. I took a deep breath and steeled myself, pulling away and pointing to the couch, “Sit. Stay.”
His eyebrows popped up in mock offense, but I could hear him softly chuckling as I went over to check the rice and heat up the wok. I put a teapot full of water in the microwave and started to mince the