After Olivia

28

Fluttering wings of nervous butterflies tickled Matilda's belly while she stood a single pace behind Bill and watched him fumble with the key to his apartment. The same creatures stirred within his stomach and seemed to have taken control of his trembling fingers, complicating the simple task of inserting a key and turning it in the lock. The door swung open and waited while hesitant feet remained motionless in the hallway.

Matilda had never entered a man's apartment alone and in the preceding three years, Emily and Rachel were the only women to visit Bill's home. As if silently reading from the same script, both minds recited the same words, it's just dinner. It's just dinner.

For any other couple, an evening together, away from the crowds of restaurants and movie theaters, might be a step towards something more. Something intimate. Their feet moved across the threshold in a slow shuffle while their minds repeated, it's just dinner.

"The kitchen is just to the right," Bill said as he followed Matilda through the door.

Both carried green cloth grocery bags into the apartment, weighed down by the items Matilda had purchased to make the meal.

"Oh, this is a nice kitchen," Matilda said as she placed the grocery bags on the island countertop. "I've never seen a kitchen like this in an apartment before. An island and wall oven? Fancy!"

"Well, the truth is, it's probably the least used room in the place. We... uhmm, I hardly ever cook. Unless you consider reheating take out leftovers as cooking. In which case, I could be considered a Master Chef." Bill gestured with feigned arrogance to accentuate his words.

Matilda laughed as she started to remove items from one of the bags. Bill watched as a two-liter bottle was pulled from one of the bags and handed to him. "Do you have space in the fridge for this?"

"Plenty of space. Inka Kola," Bill said as he read the label and turned towards the refrigerator. "I can't say I have ever had a yellow cola before."

"New experience!" Matilda cheered. "I haven't tried it either, but someone told me it's good."

"Peruvian, is it? What do you have planned?"

"I was going to make this beef dish called Lomo Saltado. I made it once before, but I decided to try something else, a chicken curry like dish called Aji de Gallina."

Bill nodded his approval but had no idea what she was making. "I went to a Peruvian place in that food court on Bridge Street just before it closed down. I think I had that lomo thing. Beef with tomatoes and onion, and fries?"

"Yup. And, rice... I was going to make that, but I tried a sample of this at the Latino Market in the mall by my work, then saw this recipe and really want to try it. I hope you like it."

After putting the bottle in the refrigerator, Bill turned and noticed the blanket and pillow that were still on the sofa from his last two nights of sleep. "I'm sure it will be great," he said as he watched other items emerge from the grocery bags. "Does that need to go in the freezer?"

"Oh, yes, the ice cream, definitely better if it stays frozen. I'm going to get the potatoes and chicken started. I'll need a couple pots," Matilda said as Bill put the container in the freezer.

"Pots are in the drawer under the oven," he said as he moved to pull the drawer open. "We should probably give them a quick rinse. I haven't used them in... a while."

"You may as well grab that skillet while you're in there," Matilda said as she received the pots from Bill.

"What flavour of ice cream?" Bill asked as he washed the first of the pots, handing it to Matilda to dry while he cleaned the second. His mind briefly turned to the blanket and pillow he felt he needed to put away without attracting too much attention.