Chapter 14

Edith and Anthony talked and laughed non-stop on the drive back to her house. It had been a wonderful day (at least as far as Edith was concerned), and now as she pulled into her driveway she had a happiness about her knowing that he had agreed to stay for dinner

Anthony couldn't remember feeling like this before. As he opened the door to his car to put his purchases on the seat, he gently rubbed his hand over the soft leather of the passenger side. She had sat in this seat before and he wanted her to sit in it again, and again. He quickly chided himself for this giddy feeling he had; after all he wasn't some 20 something schoolboy, he was 48 and divorced; divorced because he couldn't seem to make his wife happy. Did he have it in him to make any woman happy ? Turning and looking at Edith's house he suddenly hoped so. He liked being with her. He knew when he went home from the cocktail party that she had made an impact on him and that he wanted to see her again. And now he was going to have dinner with her, at her house, because he had swallowed his shyness and asked her to spend the day with him.

He closed the door and locked it then walked up the back stairs to her kitchen.

"Finally, she laughed. "I thought you had changed your mind and decided not to stay for dinner after all."

"Absoutely not! I haven't had a home cooked meal in a long time and if it tastes as good as it smells then I will think of this dinner as the perfect ending to a most perfect day."

He was flirting with her, just like he had done earlier in the day – and just like then, Edith liked it.

"Well, unfortunately I don't have any paid staff, so you will have to help me pull this together. Think you are up to the task?", she asked giving him a little smirk.

"Just tell me what you want me to do and I will try to the best of my ability to do it correctly," he laughed.

Edith's kitchen was a perfect square. When entering through the back door her table and chairs were to the right nestled under two banks of windows that met in the corner and bathed the whole kitchen in light. Down from the table was a large pine buffet, that was on the same wall as the windows and adjacent to the archway that led to her formal dining room. Her refrigerator was recessed between two tall pantry cupboards, nestled between the dining room arch and the arch that led into her main hall. To the left of the back door was a long white marble counter. A washer and dryer were situated under the counter next to the door. Banks of cupboards and drawers marched up the wall to the dishwasher. Next came a large farm style sink and finally Edith's pride and joy, a nine burner, double oven Wolf commercial grade gas range. This was a serious kitchen and much to her family's surprise, Edith had become a serious cook.

Walking to the table, Edith moved Anthony's bouquet to the pine buffet. She opened one of the cupboards and took out a tablecloth and four napkins.

"Can you set the table for me, or whatever you call doing it in England. The silverware is in the drawer next to the dishwasher, and the plates and glasses are in the cupboards above."

Anthony was a little stymied. He had never set a table before. He had grown up in a household with live-in help and when he and Maud were married they had a couple that worked for them. But he had a general idea of what to do, so as Edith watched him out of the corner of her eye he proceeded to set the table for four. When he was done, he stood back and looked at it. Not too bad, pretty good if I say so, he thought.

By the time Elsie and Charles arrived, dinner was almost ready. The kitchen smelled marvelous. The roast was sitting on the counter resting, waiting for Charles to carve it. Edith was finishing up with the gravy, and Elsie was uncovering her homemade dinner rolls and green beans. Edith and Elsie got the dinner on the table and then the hungry four sat down to eat.

Anthony had never eaten "family style" where all the food was on the table at once, but he quickly got the cadence of passing each bowl or platter of food around the table. The conversation flowed freely, Charles asking questions about Anthony's job and if he still had family back in the UK. Edith listened intently as Anthony talked proudly about his father and brother and Strallan Industries. He explained about how he had always wanted to be a doctor and how his family had encouraged him. Since Charles was a retired English Literature professor, he and Anthony talked endlessly about how difficult it was to make the great English poets and authors interesting to twenty-something American student; students who were probably only taking the course because they needed it for under-graduate work.

As dinner was winding down Edith looked around the table and said, "Now I hope all of you have saved some room for dessert. They are small so believe me when I say they won't overwhelm you."

As she and Elsie were clearing the table, Anthony got to his feet and started to help. Taking the dishes from him she turned him around and said, "Please sit down, I have something you can help me with later."

Dessert were small individual strawberry cheesecakes in ½ pint canning jars. She had gleaned the receipe from a friend of hers who was the new chef at a lovely tearoom called the Albertina Kerr. Albertina had been married to Alfred Kerr who manufactured the canning jars and their family had donated the family home to the city . Because it was on the list of historic houses , it had been turned into a place that housed one of the busiest children's societies in San Francisco. They helped children with physical and mental disabilities, foster care and in a very few instances private adoptions. The tearoom had been started a few years earlier and because of one of Edith's Whisper columns had become one of the hottest places to have lunch in the city. The revenue raised from the tearoom along with the antique store connected to it was poured back into the society.

"This is absolutely wonderful." Anthony gushed as he quickly finished his little dessert.

Edith leaned on her hands looking at him. "Would you like another? I know they aren't very large and believe me, I made more than enough. After all having a second dessert is O.K."

"Well, if Sir Anthony is going to have another one, than I would like another one too," Charles exclaimed giving Elsie the look that said, I am a big boy and can have seconds.

"Do you play chess, cribbage, or any card games, Sir Anthony? Charles said as he finished off his second dessert.

"Why yes, yes I do, although I haven't played anything for quite a while," Anthony answered. There was always a game of some kind going on at the club I belonged to in London. One of my colleagues at the hospital has invited me to join his poker group. They meet once a month. I haven't given them an answer yet but I am considering it."

"Would you like to play a fast game of cribbage?" Charles asked.

" I would like that very much but I don't want to appear rude to my hostess,"

"You wouldn't mind if we played a game of cribbage, would you Lady Edith?", Charles said as he and Anthony got out of their chairs.

Edith and Elsie looked at each other. They knew that since retiring, Charles hadn't had much of a chance to play the games he once played on a regular basis with his cronies from the university. Meeting Anthony had been good for him and Edith thought maybe for Anthony as well. Being new to the city, she was positive that he hadn't had a chance to meet or make many friends.

"Of course not. Why don't you play in the library while Elsie and I finish up and have a chance to catch up on our news. The coffee is fresh and I will bring you a tray in a little while."

Edith and Elsie finished up the dishes from dinner and Edith put together a Care package for Anthony. She put roast beef, potatoes, green beans in 2 metal pie tins. She covered it with heavy duty foil and put enough gravy for both in a small container. She also put two desserts in the package as well. Then she wrote out simple instructions for heating them up.

"Well, that should hold him for two days at least," Edith laughed.

"Yes, we wouldn't want him to get too weak from lack of food so that he wouldn't be able to call you up and ask to see you again," Elsie mentioned as she took the package and put it in a paper bag.

Edith said nothing but Elsie noticed that she was blushing as she gathered up the tablecloth and napkins and put the bouquet back on the table.

Time went by quickly and before long Edith noticed an hour had passed. Elsie got to her feet saying, "I think they have played cribbage long enough. You and the doctor need some time alone."

Walking into the library they were surprised to see that the game was over.

"That was quick," Elsie said while motioning with her head to Charles that it was time for them to go.

"I'm afraid that I am rather rusty, Charles beat me soundly." Anthony said smiling at Charles and the two women.

"Anthony gave me his cell number. We are having him for dinner next week and then we can begin a serious chess game," Charles said smiling from ear to ear.

Elsie looked at Edith with a knowing smile. Her Charles wasn't any dummy. He had sized Anthony Strallan up earlier in the day, and had come to the conclusion that this just might be the man for their Lady Edith. Edith was the daughter they never had, and Charles wanted to see her happy, and as he had told Elsie, it wouldn't hurt if they helped a bit in bringing that happiness about.

Good-byes were said and suddenly they were alone again in the kitchen and Anthony noticed that the clock above the sink said 10:30.

"Well, I best be going too," he said. But his feet wouldn't move.

"Wait a minute," Edith said as she went to the refrigerator and took out the paper bag with his two dinners inside. "Remember I told you if you stayed for dinner you would get a Care package to take home – well here it is."

"You really didn't have to do this," he said smiling that somewhat crooked smile of his.

"Oh yes I did. You probably eat your main meal in the cafeteria at the hospital each day and while the food is good you need something other than a soup or sandwich in the evening, " she said taking his arm and walking him to the front door.

"How did you know," he laughed.

Opening the door she walked out on the front porch with him. "Thank you for such a nice day. I usually go to the Alameda by myself but I am glad that you wanted to go. I had a very nice time.

Edith had noticed that they could talk on and on about many different things but then suddenly there would be a deafening silence, as if one or the other was thinking seriously about what to say next.

Without fail, Anthony was the one to start talking again. Looking at her and smiling he said,

"Edith, would you think me presumptuous if I asked to see you again?"

"No, not at all. I would like that very much." She answered

"How about dinner tomorrow night. You could take me to another one of your favorite places," and this time he was giving her a full smile and she could see the sparkle in his blue eyes.

"Yes, that would be nice," she replied and she was sure he could hear her heart beating through her chest.

"What time then?" and he feared that he might appear too anxious.

"Why don't you pick me up around four o'clock. It isn't dark yet and we can go down to the wharf and walk around with all the tourists. Then you can take me to one my favorite restaurant. Is that okay with you?"

"I will see you tomorrow at four. Thank you again for the excursion today and the wonderful dinner. Goodnight."

Anthony lingered just a heartbeat. In that one brief moment Edith thought she might reach up and kiss him on the cheek, but she stopped, put her hand on his arm and said simply, "Goodnight then, until tomorrow."

She watched him get into his car and she waved as he drove away. She suddenly had an odd feeling. For the first time in two years she was letting her guard down, and she shivered as she thought about it. She had deliberately kept herself out of harms way as far as relationships were concerned, but now within the space of eleven hours, she had allowed herself to fall under the spell of a very charming man. She could have said no to his dinner invitation, but tonight her brain wasn't in control – her heart was.

The last two weeks in August is when our immediate and extended vacation together. The reason there is so much food in this chapter is because that is what my sisters-in-law and I do during this two week camping vacation, cook. But we also drink, laugh and talk and enjoy family. I promised my husband that I would leave Anthony and Edith home and I did except that I cheated and penciled in this chapter, and then typed it when we got home. What can I say!