Dixie froze when the doorbell rang, her eyes scouring the multiple pots and pans on the hob. Each was simmering away quietly, and were many minutes away from boiling over, but still…. she didn't trust them. Dixie found that cooking was an adventure at best. It was almost like taking care of a bunch of overly hyperactive kids. Devote your attention to one for half a minute, and the rest are spitting mad. Literally.
Wooden spoon in hand, she shuffled on the kitchen tiles, the bottoms of her pig slippers squeaking against the floor. Could she leave the pans for a minute to answer the door? Surely the wouldn't all boil over if she ran?
The doorbell rang a second time, closely followed by a third, and Dixie was knocked out of her reverie. Little Abs jumped up from where she had been flat out under the kitchen table, watching her owner cook. The overly large Labrador bounded through the lounge and down the hallway to the front door, barking excitedly.
'Abs!' Dixie gave a cry of frustration, and gave chase. She caught up with the dog quickly and grabbed hold of her collar, pulling her aside before opening the door. 'Rita!' She exclaimed the woman's name in delight, and then mentally berated herself. Why? Why sound so excited? Tail wagging, Abs woofed her own welcome, only to get shoved into the lounge out of sight. 'Come in… you must be freezing.'
She watched as Rita stepped into the hallway, pulling her black leather jacket more securely around herself. 'Thanks.' Rita shot Dixie a quick, almost shy smile, holding out an expensive bottle of wine and a box of malteasers. 'I wasn't sure what to bring, and you don't seem like a woman who would be overly excited with flowers so…'
Dixie took both items politely, shaking her head. 'You didn't have to bring anything! But thank you. It's a lovely idea.' She paused for a moment, finally taking in what Rita was wearing – a pair of skinny black jeans with a satiny, deep blue blouse, the hem of which sat on her thighs. She had on her leather jacket and a long necklace hung around her neck. Her feet were clad in black peep-toe shoes that had a short, chunky heel. She'd crimped her fringe slightly and applied some mascara to bring out the azure colour of her eyes… all in all, she had scrubbed up well. Really well. 'Wow.' Dixie muttered, meeting Rita's eyes before blushing slightly. 'You look amazing.'
'Thank you.' Rita grinned and bit on her bottom lip, eyeing Dixie up and down too. 'You look great as well. I am especially loving the piggy slippers.'
'Oh!' Dixie glanced down at her feet and groaned. 'I'm sorry. I meant to take them off before you got here…'
'Its fine, forget about it!' Rita laughed, waving a hand dismissively. 'Besides…' she sniffed the air, baring a striking resemblance to a meerkat, Dixie thought. 'Whatever you're cooking smells good!'
/
'You're so cute. Oh yes you are! Oh yes you are!' Rita babbled, in a voice she reserved for speaking to babies and animals only. She was playing on the floor with Little Abs. They were taking turns to tussle over a ragger in an impromptu game of tug-of-war, and on more than one occasion Little Abs had succeeded to pull Rita over from where she was kneeling, so that she was splayed uselessly across the carpet on her stomach.
Dixie poked her head round the kitchen door, clutching a large pan. 'Abs isn't hurting you, is she?'
Rita sat up, grinning from ear to ear. 'No, its fine! She's lovely, aren't you?' She cooed, scratching the dog under the chin. Abs responded by trying to sit on her lap, licking her face eagerly. Rita gave a shrill squawk, and pushed Abs away. 'Ugh! Doggy, your breath stinks. Stay well away.' She bounded back to her feet and picked up her heels, pottering through to the kitchen.
'Need any help in here?' Dixie turned to see Rita leaning against the wall, wobbling slightly as she pulled her shoes back on.
'Not really, I'm about to dish up now…. Actually, open that bottle of wine you brought and pour two glasses.'
'On it!' Rita grabbed a corkscrew and efficiently yanked the cork out of the bottle… only to squeak in surprise when it flew across the room, and bounced off of Dixie's head.
'Ow!' Dixie's hand flew up to her head and she massaged her scalp, looking over at Rita indignantly. Rita just shrugged innocently, muttered 'oopsy' and burst into a gigglefit. Her hands shook as she tried to pour the wine.
Five minutes later they finally made it into the dining room, after cleaning up a rather large wine spillage, and battling together to shut Little Abs in the kitchen. They could hear her whining and scratching at the door.
'Mm!' Rita mumbled in delight, shovelling a forkful of carbonara pasta into her mouth. 'This is actually really good!'
Across the table from her, Dixie raised her eyebrows satirically. 'You sound surprised.' She stabbed a piece of pasta with her fork and chewed it, smirking at the nurse.
Rita shot her a pointed look. Unable to speak for a moment with her mouth full, she forced the food down. 'Jeff warned me of your "cooking skills." He said not to have high hopes.' She grinned widely, wrapping her slim fingers around the stem of her wine glass.
'Oh well Jeffery is just mean!' Dixie retorted. 'Don't listen to a word he says. Everything that comes from that man's mouth is a lie.'
Rita lowered her glass and rolled it between her palms to make the wine swirl. There was a smudge of pink on the rim of the glass where her lips had met it. She froze for a second and then coughed, one hand flying to her throat.
'Are you okay?' Dixie frowned in concern. At first there was no reply; Rita just coughed harder, tears starting at the corners of her eyes.
'Are there- are there pine nuts in this pasta?' She stuttered hoarsely, pushing her chair back from the table.
'Yes, why?' Dixie stood up to and moved round to Rita. She was struggling to breathe, her face flushing a bright shade of pink.
'I'm allergic!' Rita gasped breathlessly, standing up a little too quickly from her seat. She wobbled on her heels and Dixie caught her, lowering her back into the chair. The wine glass tumbled from her fingers, and smashed on the floor. 'Oh no! Shit, I'm so sorry!'
Dixie crouched down in front of the nurse. 'It's fine, don't worry.' She grabbed Rita's upper arms and squeezed them comfortingly. 'Look at me. Come on, focus. Do you have an epi-pen on you?'
Rita shook her head, rubbing her sore throat in discomfort. 'No…I-I can't remember…' she mumbled, her eyes fluttering closed. Her head fell forwards and she went limp, toppling forward into Dixie's arms as she slipped into unconsciousness.