Blue Heaven (Blue Lake)

by Cynthia Harrison

She’d never had a meal at Daniel’s. He had a huge island in the kitchen with stools, which is where they ate.

  “Would Bryman approve of an island?”

  Daniel shrugged. “It’s functional. I update anything I think is really worth it. And feeding Bob all these years, this island is the only way I can get him to sit down. We never use the dining room. My parents used it every weekend, seems to me.”

  “But it’s so pretty.”

  “Yes, well, feel free to organize a dinner party or anything else you’d like while you’re here.”

  “Really?” Maybe that could be the special thing she’d do for Daniel. But it was hard to know. When would she be stepping over boundaries? “I’d like to know your friends better. Can we have a few couples, and maybe Luke and a few other singles?”

  “Yes, of course. I want you to feel like this is your home, too.”

  This was more than she’d hoped for. He hadn’t acted jealous over Luke. He trusted her. Of course, she wanted even more. But for Day One, she’d take it.

  After they ate, they took a walk on the beach. Daniel's house was only a block from the water.

  “I like having you in my house,” he said.

  “And I like being there.” She pulled her cardigan tighter against the lake breeze as they walked. Not too far down that shoreline other people were sleeping in her house. It didn’t feel quite like a home to her anymore. Would it ever again?

  ****

  Eva got right to planning her dinner party, sitting in the dining room with a pad of paper and her cell phone. There was no way she’d survive an entire winter here without friends. Meg and Steve were free the next night. So was Luke, but his friend was not. Meg suggested a single female they all knew and liked.

  “She’s divorced,” Meg said.

  “Will Luke feel he’s being set up?”

  “I don’t think so. Her divorce is recent and she’s not any more interested in being set up than he is.”

  “Okay, so that’s the six of us. Perfect number for my first dinner party.”

  “I’m so happy for you and Daniel. We were all shocked at how out of control Jane got when she went off her meds.”

  “The police report says she may not have gone off them, but was taking more than she should along with drinking way too much.”

  “Horrible for you.”

  “Yeah. We were tight. It hurt when she backstabbed me like that. But she’s not well, and I need to let it go.”

  “Well, don’t worry, I do not have the energy to plot any great drama like Jane, not that I’d ever want to.”

  Eva laughed and asked a few questions about menu things. Who was a vegetarian? Who didn’t eat fish? Anybody hate broccoli? After talking to Meg, she felt a lightness that had been missing lately. Even with the family back together, she still hadn’t been able to shake Jane’s betrayal.

  And she’d also realized that her family was not going to come back together in the way it had been before. She’d see them for one week in the summer, not for three months. And that was fine.

  Her final entry in the “losing” column was Daniel. She’d be losing him to Georgia in a few short months. She had promised herself not to think about it, to live every day fully alive to the moment. Living that way really did help her to realize how happy she was. How fortunate. How deeply in love. And lots of lovers lived far apart these days. She didn’t know how they did it, she didn’t think she could stand it, but even more, she could not stand to lose Daniel.

  ****

  The next day, Eva did all the shopping. A woman came to clean while she was on her way out. “She’s been cleaning for us for twenty years.” He gave Eva a brief kiss. “I’m going down to the museum, but my housekeeper knows her way around the place.”

  The three of them stood in the front parlor, a room rarely used but kept in grand readiness for special occasions, like a dinner party.

  “I’ll leave you to it, shall I?” Daniel quickly exited.

  Eva explained to the housekeeper about her moving in, about the bungalow being rented to guests, and about how she would likely find messes and things out of place. “We’re still organizing.”

  “Anything in particular you’d like me to do today?”

  “Focus on the public spaces and leave the upstairs alone for now. If you could get out the good china and crystal and make sure none of it’s dusty…”

  “It’s not!” The housekeeper seemed scandalized. “I keep the silver polished as well.”

  Eva smiled at her. “You’re a wonder. I didn’t even know there was sterling silver!”

  The housekeeper opened a drawer in the dining room cabinet and flipped up a cloth to show gleaming forks and knives.

  “And vases? I’ll need a few for flowers.”

  “I’ll have them ready for you.” The housekeeper was already examining imaginary dust inside the china cabinet.

  Eva drove forty miles out of her way to buy from a store that had the freshest and the best meats, seafood, produce, and baked goods. Her car trunk already had a cooler full of ice for perishables. Daniel’s idea.

  When she got home, Daniel helped her unpack the car. “Thank you for making me feel so at home,” she said. “I’ve been trying really hard to come up with something special for you. You’ve planned all our dates, and each one tops the next.”

  “Well, I’d never be able to organize a dinner party. But I damn well want Luke to see you are here, let him know you’re with me. Not that he’s out of his ‘down with women’ phase yet, but if anyone could bring him out of his funk, you could.”

  “What about someone named Holly Spring?”

  “Ha! The pair of them will cry on each other’s shoulders.” Daniel’s face went from farce to serious in seconds. “Don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost you!”

  “That’s not going to happen.” The truth was, neither of them knew what the future held.

  They gave each other a big hug and a long kiss and then went each to their own tasks. Like newlyweds, just without the ring and the wedding and the legal documentation. Eva willed herself to think of what was happening now instead of what she wanted to happen in the future. Now was dinner party time.

  The housekeeper bustled into the kitchen. “The house is done, but I’ll stay and help you clean up pots and pans, if you like.”

  “That’s so sweet of you! I decided to buy a ham. Then I’m making my Mom’s potato salad, and I bought a yummy fruit tart thing for dessert. So, not much clean up. You go on home and put your feet up.”

  “Thank you, Eva. I was at your open house, you know. What you have done for this town, well, we all love you like you’re one of our own, honey.”

  “Aw. Thanks.” Eva was not sure about the etiquette of hugging the hired help, so she put her hands together in prayer pose and did a little bow. In yoga, they followed that with “namaste” which means, very loosely translated, have a good day.

  “Well, dear, everything you need is in here. Just look around and get your bearings. And call me if you can’t find something. Leave the mess for me to come in and clean in the morning.”

  “Oh, but why? That doesn’t seem fair.”

  “Daniel pays me overtime for cleaning up after parties.” This was said in a tone that indicated she preferred the overtime cash.

  “Well then, of course I’ll leave the clean up to you.”

  “You are so good for Daniel. He has never had a lady friend over for dinner. And certainly not anyone to live in! Only had football things, with the guys. Lots of dips and chips and beer mugs. I like to see him moving on. You’re the reason he’s starting to settle down.”

  “Well, I’m only moving in for a week. Because I’ve rented out the bungalow.”

  “Loads of people have been asking me about that. They want reservations! You should think about it. There’s plenty of room here and once you and Daniel set up house it would be a shame to just have it end in a week.”

  Eva was touched. Her eyes welled a bit
. “Thank you,” she said. “I love him very much.”

  “I know he loves you too, my dear. This is the start of something very special. I always know these things. And that’s why you must stay. Talk to Daniel.”

  Of course they’d talk, but Eva didn’t want to mention the part about renting out the bungalow and living together all summer. They needed to discuss that maybe, if things went well this week.

  But no more thinking about the future. She was having her first ever dinner party. She needed to get to work. The ham was simple. It was a spiral cut thing with a brown sugar glaze. She really didn’t even have to bake it. She could make her mom’s potato salad blindfolded. And all she had to do with the fruit and cheese platter was make sure the cheese was out about an hour before company arrived. Easy as pie. Not that she’d ever actually made a pie.

  She cooled the white wine and chose a few reds from Daniel’s stash of thirty or so bottles. He’d given her full access, and since she knew nothing about wine, she picked the ones with the most writing on the label. And made sure they were French.

  Maybe one or two bottles were special. And he’d forgotten to tell her. She called him , hoping he wouldn’t think she was a pain.

  “Hi honey, what’s up?”

  Honey. Well, she guessed he didn’t feel as if she were bothering him after all.

  “I just have these French red wines, and I know I need to open them to breathe, but I wondered if you had any special bottles you didn’t want opened?”

  “Nope. Don’t you know you’re worth the best wine in the world? Not that I have any of that on hand.” He laughed. She relaxed.

  “Okay then, thanks.”

  “Love you.”

  He said “love you” in front of the work crew. She could clearly hear them, so they must be able to hear him. “Love you, too.” That felt good to say.

  After they hung up, she remembered she’d bought an apron and had totally forgotten to put it on. She checked her list. Everything was set except the roasted vegetables. Eva had never roasted vegetables. She’d bought beets and carrots and onions, because she’d asked Daniel his favorites and those were what he liked. She had a recipe that didn’t seem particularly difficult. She decided to get ready first, just in case someone came early, then set the table, then get the vegetables in the roaster. Oh shoot! The bread. She’d bought brown-and-serve rolls and the temperature for them was different than the one on the recipe for the veggies. She’d figure something out. Unlike Jane, Daniel didn’t have two ovens.

  ****

  Relaxed from her bath, she dressed with care and used a light touch of makeup. Her hair had been super frizzy as she ran around the kitchen, so she wrapped it up in a messy twist.

  Setting the table with fine linens and exquisite china made her remember she hadn’t ordered flowers. Did she have time? God! Everyone would be here in less than an hour. And where was Daniel? She told herself to take a chill pill, but that didn’t really work unless you actually took a pill.

  She called Daniel again.

  “Everything okay?” From the sound of his voice, she knew he was on the blue-tooth phone in his car. On his way home.

  “Yes, but, I’m so sorry to be such a bother.” She’d wanted to pull off this dinner party like it was second nature. She wanted everything perfect. She felt an utter fool to have forgotten flowers.

  “You’re not a bother. I like you needing me. What can I do?”

  “Pick up flowers?”

  “Not a problem.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. And anything else you need before I get home, you just call and ask. I am yours to command.”

  She giggled. “Even later, after everyone’s gone?”

  “Even then,” he said in a low sexy tone.

  They hung up eventually and she didn’t feel quite so bad anymore about bugging him. He absolutely wanted to be consulted on every little detail she felt unsure of. He was a keeper.

  After thirty minutes with no Daniel, she got worried. Does choosing flowers take that much time? And Daniel time was a little different from clock time, especially when he was involved in one of his beloved restorations. She hoped he hadn’t gone back to the site. And really, had she been sure he was in his car when she’d talked to him?

  She sat down and took a few deep breaths. She was being silly over nothing. She did not need to call him again. He would be here. On time. With flowers.

  She got up and pulled herself together. Okay, where had she put that apron? She found it still in the store bag tucked in the laundry room. She pulled it out, cut the price tag off and wrapped it around her waist. She got the oven pre-heating. Roasting called for a high temperature. 425 degrees. That couldn’t be right. She checked Google on her phone.

  According to FoolProofCook.com, the temperature was right for roasting. Okay, then. She scrubbed the veggies, then peeled and cubed them. The carrots and onions were easy, but the beets were so hard to do she ended up not peeling them except to trim off the ends. Then she quartered them.

  As she oiled the beet quarters, one of them flew to the right and hit the refrigerator on it’s way to the floor, the other did a ricochet into the dining room, leaving a big red stain on an antique tablecloth and a broken crystal wine glass that probably cost $200. There were more wine glasses, so she cleaned the glass up and got another one out of the cabinet, but she still felt bad.

  At least the flowers would cover the stain. Or should she re-do the table and get to work on the stain? Probably or it would never come out.

  She could feel herself winding up with anxiety again as she stacked the dishes and took the tablecloth into the laundry room along with the housekeeper’s phone number. She answered and told Eva exactly what to use, a mixture she kept on the shelf in the laundry room.

  “You want to soak it overnight and I’ll take care of the rest of it in the morning.”

  “Will it be okay?”

  She promised it would be fine, and added that there were lots of tablecloths, all old and cherished, and Eva could find another one in the linen closet just off the pantry with the napkins and rings.

  Napkins and rings? She’d set out paper napkins. Okay, she saw the napkins and threaded them through the shiny silver rings.

  Daniel came in just then without flowers.

  Right behind him were Meg and Steve. Followed shortly by Luke and Holly. Crap. She’d forgot to set out the cheese. Still, she had to greet them. She was the hostess.

  “Hi!” She put enthusiasm into her hug for Daniel, but he held her a bit away from himself.

  “Is that beet juice on your apron?”

  She blushed. She had forgotten to take the damn apron off. Well, she still needed it on, because she had to mix the vegetables with some olive oil. She hadn’t quite got the rolls sorted yet either. Still, she had to carry on, carry this off.

  “Hi everyone! Sorry things are a little chaotic.”

  “Just going to dash up for a shower,” Daniel said. Nobody acted like that was in any way odd.

  “Come on in.” Eva asked for drink orders as she held her hands to indicate that they should all sit in the front parlor. Nobody got the gesture and they all followed her through the dining room into the kitchen and gathered around the island.

  “Eva, do you want me to set the table?” Meg asked.

  “No way. You put your feet up and relax.”

  Everyone stood at the butcher block while Eva poured wine and handed out beers and got Meg a fruit juice she’d bought special. They showed no signs of leaving the kitchen, so she put all her chopped veggies in a bowl and removed them from the island. She popped the cheese tray down with some pretty grapes on the side. She threw a basket of crackers together, and got them in, too, darting between elbows. Finally, she handed Holly a dish of salted nuts. “Can you squeeze these in there?”

  Then she went to the area by the sink and oven and finished prepping those damned beets.

  “Wow, looks like a few of your
beets took a flier,” Luke said. She noticed the areas splashed red and threw him a damp cloth.

  “Could you get those before they set?”

  Everyone laughed at that. “You’ll fit right in here, Eva.” Meg beamed at her. “We like to keep the men on their toes.”

  “Well, my man forgot the flowers!” Eva said, while finally spreading the ridiculously work-intensive vegetables on a baking sheet and sliding them into the oven.

  “Oh, sorry, sweetie.” Daniel came down from the shower, his hair still wet. The doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.”

  Eva wondered if he’d invited more guests, but he walked through the dining room with a huge bouquet. “Where do you want these?”

  She should never have doubted him.

  “Do you know where the vases are?”

  Daniel looked stumped. Holly got up and searched the upper shelves of the pantry. “In here. Luke come help. I’m too short to reach.” There was a smashing sound of breaking glass. “Sorry!” Holly called out as she returned to the kitchen with a beautiful vase of blue glass.

  By then Daniel had opened the flower arrangement and they discovered it already had a vase.

  “I’ll just need a broom,” Luke said, coming in with a sheepish look on his face. “Hope it wasn’t an heirloom.”

  “Everything in this place is an heirloom.” The words were out of Eva’s mouth before she knew she’d said them.

  Eight eyes looked at her, not sure how to take her words. “I love old things, but I get nervous when they’re valuable.”

  “Not to worry, my love,” Daniel said, coming to her side and kissing her on the temple. “Can I get another round here? And one for the hostess.”

  Eva gratefully accepted the glass of wine and the help as everyone pitched in. She conferred with Holly on the vegetable/roll issue and Holly suggested that she bake the rolls while the vegetables kept warm in a separate part of the oven Eva hadn’t even known was there.

  Eva drank a little wine and ate a little cheese and crackers and then went back in to tackle the tablecloth dilemma. She found another one and got the entire table up and looking swank again in a jiffy.

  “Daniel, do you have candles?”