A Meeting of the Minds, Part 2

Posted on Fri 14th Apr, 2023 @ 8:23am by Makila i'Hartelhai & Lieutenant JG Kellian Michaels

1,563 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Neither Yours Nor Mine
Location: Kellian Michaels' Quarters
Timeline: MD -8, 1830 hours

Authors' Note: This series of posts takes place perhaps a week before Dangerous Baggage.

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Makila's tongue drifted over her lower lip, making it glisten as she looked at him. There was a lot of emotional color in the room because he spent so much time in it...and she wouldn't read deeper without his permission.

"Would you be interested in dinner at Orchids & Jazz when he visits?" Kellian asked and tried not to pay too close attention to the way Makila nibbled at her lip. It was entirely too tempting. "I've wanted to take you there for a while, but the last time I went was a bit, er, spectacular, and I've been too shy to go there, since."

"That sounds like a story you need to tell me" the young woman teased still warming her palms with the cup, she wasn't sure why her hands were chilled today and the cup was quite pleasant. "But I would be happy to join you there."

Kellian smiled and gave her a look that was part amused, part sheepish. "It is definitely a story worth telling." He sipped from his tea, exuding enjoyment of the beverage before he set his cup down. "Thank you very much for that sheet music you brought me. I've really enjoyed learning the piece. It's difficult enough to be interesting, and it has a motif I like a lot."

"Tell me of it". Makila wasn't going to ignore such a smooth change of subject but she was not required to push for information immediately. "I enjoy music, but I have no ability to perform, so I know very little".

"It's a catchy tune, and the composer plays with it, tries variants of it in a different key or two, gives each movement of the piece a different tempo--Earth music does the same thing in classical pieces--and made some of the parts difficult enough to be a lot of fun to play," Kellian said.

"As for the interesting story...The last time I went to Orchids & Jazz I took a co-worker of mine who's an Arachne, and we danced. It didn't occur to me until we were well into it that everyone else was taking pictures of us. I wasn't thinking about that at the time, because I was too busy trying to follow her lead in the dance and not step on her."

"Your Arachne coworker?". Makila blinked at him, then a smile began at the corners of her lips "I...I see."

"Yeah, it was an 'I...I see' kind of experience," Kellian agreed with a soft chuckle. "But aside from it being a really enjoyable evening--for me, at least. I hope it was for her, too--it also forced me to open up more. Before that night, I would never have put myself out in public in a million years. After that night, well, I was out there. There was no getting away from it or going back to how I'd lived before." He grimaced for a moment and then shook the mood off. "I wasn't ready, but I had to deal with it. We had to deal with it. And, in about a week, it was old news."

"It's good to show your humanity to people, one thinks. It's important to show it, so people don't strip it away in their minds because they have you labelled in a mental container based on previous behavior."

"That's a good point," Kellian said after a startled moment. "I hadn't ever thought of it that way before. You've said something I need to think about."

Makila appreciated philosophy on a level deeper than most, because she saw more of people than those people ever knew. A smile ghosted over her lips before she changed the subject purposely. "What are you making? It smells divine."

"For supper we have shepherd's pie, only slightly scorched, a garden salad, and a kind of fruitcake for dessert," Kellian said. "How hungry are you feeling?"

"Oh, quite. I forgot about lunch because I got a little engrossed in my work." Blushing charmingly, Makila smiled up at him. "Occupational hazard one would guess."

"That happens to me, too," Kellian said with a nod. "Have a seat at the dinner table, then, and I'll bring out the food."

Settling down at the table, she poured water from the pitcher into the glasses that were intended for that, and settled a lemon wedge into her water. Makila's eyes followed Kellian's form into the kitchen and a smile hovered on her lips.

"This is what my Gran would call stick-to-your-ribs food," Kellian said as he set the shepherd's pie down onto a trivet and laid a serving spoon beside the casserole dish. A colorful green salad with tongs came next, and a bottle of dressing, and then Kellian joined Makila at the table. The fruitcake awaited them on the kitchen countertop.

"I think I would have liked your Gran".

"I think she would have liked you, too. She had merry eyes, and she'd have approved of yours." Kellian paused, suddenly uncertain. "I don't know much about Romulans. Do you say a prayer of thanks before you eat?"

"Not traditionally, no."

"Okay. I do. It'll just take a moment, and I'll say it silently," Kellian told her. He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and was still for about ten seconds. Then he tapped his forehead, shoulders, and chest with the fingers of one hand and was done. Kellian grinned at her. "Humans are strange, yes?"

"They can be" Makila admitted with a smile. "No stranger than a Romulan swearing by the elements. "

"We've all got to have something to swear by," Kellian said and began cutting into the shepherd's pie. "How big a piece would you like?"

"It looks deceptively filling, I think a small piece to start. I can always have a second serving. I do not like to waste food even in the age of the replicator." Makila giggled under her hand, before passing him her plate.

Kellian cut Makila a section of shepherd's pie and scooped it onto her plate. "It goes really well with H&P sauce," he said, offering her a small bottle of the condiment. Then he scooped out a helping of shepherd's pie for himself and offered Makila the salad. "Any interesting patients today?"

Opening the small bottle, she sniffed it. It was a unique smell, with a sharp tang to it that she found extremely appealing. She drizzled a little bit over her pie, and then set it within reach of him. Taking the bowl of salad, she served herself a portion before thinking of his question "Yes. Couple of genetic abnormalities I had to research. I enjoyed that."

"Now I'm curious to know what genetic abnormalities," Kellian said as he shook out some H&P sauce onto his shepherd's pie and then laid some salad greens and tomato slices onto his plate. "Do you want any salad dressing? I usually just order from the replicator. Much better variety, that way."

"I could do with some, yes." Cocking her head to one side, she considered the dish and said softly "What are you having with yours?"

"Olive oil, herbs, honey, and lemon vinaigrette," Kellian said. "I like to try things I've never eaten before, and when I tried that, I decided I had to have it in my life."

"I am open and appreciative of new things" she said, saluting him with her teacup with a grin. "I shall try it."

"All right. Computer, make two servings of Gilbert's salad dressing, please."

Working, the computer intoned. A moment later, two small, stainless steel pitchers sat on the replicator's build tray, filled with a mostly transparent, green liquid. Kellian brought them to the table. "Gilbert, the steward at my lodge, makes this stuff." He offered a pitcher to Makila, handle first.

Taking the handle, she poured a small amount over her salad, mixing it in with a fork and then pouring a little more. She just wanted enough to keep the flavor on all the pieces of salad. It smelled divine, and she inhaled the scent of it gratefully. "Smells lovely."

"Glad you like it," Kellian said. "I look forward to trying Romulan food sometime."

"Papa cooks it decently, but I've heard that the Hangman's Noose is starting to put out damn fine Romulan meals."

"Really? That's weird. They have an Earth medieval theme going. Why serve Romulan food? Want to go there sometime and try it out?"

"I would love to. As for why, that I can tell you. The proprietor is getting ready to marry one of the Romulan Ambassador's Aides; he's also her Nephew, if memory serves. Theirs was a bit of a whirlwind romance, I hear...love at first sight from his side. She is building a refuge without even being aware of it because she's embracing his culture without hesitation. They genuinely love each other, and have gone through a lot to be together."

"That's amazing," Kellian said. He smiled at her. "You're up on all the good gossip."

Makila laughed and shook her head. "First-hand information, I'm afraid. Let's just say that Romulans can be unkind to those who are embracing the new universe we find ourselves in."

(To be continued.)

 

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