Love's Last Embrace

Chapter 10

Roderich smoothed out the non-existent creases in his duck-egg-blue dress shirt for the hundredth time that evening, before glancing at his watch, as he had been doing incessantly since arriving back from Gilbert's.

The fresh red salmon fillets were cooked to perfection and being kept warm in the oven, as well as the new potatoes which Roderich had just melted butter over. Luscious green mange tout was also gently steaming on the stove. There was even an expensive bottle of vintage wine in a bucket of ice by the table.

At precisely 6:30 there was an obnoxiously loud and flamboyant knock on the door. Roderich took a deep breath, steeling himself, before walking to the door and opening it cautiously.

"Hi Specs!" Gilbert almost shouted, giving Roderich a shock.

"Please, calm down Gilbert. And there's no need to practise percussion on my door – there is a bell, and I do have fussy neighbors!"

"Aww, they won't complain – my awesome presence will be enough to scare them off!"

"Could you at least try not to be so egotistical?!"

Gilbert snickered childishly at the last word.

"What?" asked Roderich, confused.

"Just something my old English middle school teacher said to us to help us pronounce 'egotistical'."

Roderich cocked his head to one side as he led Gilbert to the couch and perched daintily on the edge of it. Gilbert flopped down onto it, clearly making himself at home, before continuing.

"She told us it sounded like 'egotestical' we were all like, twelve, so found it funny."

"Your sense of humour doesn't seem to have changed much then." Roderich remarked dryly.

"Hey! Not fair!"

"I never said I was. Now, do you want a drink first, or dinner?"

"Oooo! Food!"

"I guessed as much."

Roderich stood up from the settee with ease, then sighed at Gilbert, who was completely stuck on the cushions.

"You look like a bug stuck on its back." he commented, offering a hand to help Gilbert to his feet.

"Thanks. I think you need to call environmental health – your Venus fly trap's grown so big it could almost pass as a sofa."

Roderich merely rolled his eyes and showed Gilbert the way to his kitchen diner.

"Talk about confusing layouts!" commented Gilbert, as they walked – the apartment was bigger than it looked.

"I said it was easy to get lost here." smirked Roderich victoriously.         

Gilbert sat down on the chair he was offered in the kitchen, whilst Roderich pulled the plates with the salmon and potatoes out of the oven, before laying the mange tout alongside them on the plate and bringing over a lemon and a knife.

Gilbert looked at the plate with a hungry gleam in his eyes as Roderich cut the lemon in two and gave half to Gilbert to squeeze onto his fish. He took it gratefully, and grinned as Roderich produced the bottle of wine from beneath the table.

"Prosecco?" Gilbert inquired, impressed by the choice.

"Uh huh..." Roderich was battling with the bottle cork, which was stubbornly refusing to come out. Finally, with a loud pop, it burst free before ricocheting off of Gilbert's wine glass which promptly disintegrated into a pile of fine crystal shards with a delicate tinkle.