Four weeks later, the team met at Speed's apartment. As he opened the door to let Eric, Alexx and Calleigh in, he was already busy preparing. Horatio was already there. Speed had an apron on and a towel in his left hand, as he let them into the living room. "Sit down, make yourself at home."
Eric got him a bottle of single malt whiskey, while Calleigh and Alexx went for the kitchen.
"Hey! Stay out of there!" he shouted towards them, then he turned to his co-worker. "Thanks, but you didn't have to buy this. Horatio also brought a bottle of wine."
"No worry. You don't have to drink this alone. But, if I were you, I would take care of those women", Horatio said and motioned towards the kitchen.
Speed raced into the kitchen where both women stood surprised to meet another elderly couple. "Girls, I said stay out of there…" he sighed.
"I'm disappointed, Speed. I thought you were doing this on your own, but instead you hired someone to cook…" Calleigh said.
"I can explain this…it's not what you might think…" he said numbly.
"Care to tell us who this is?" the white haired man asked.
"Tim, where are your manners? Since he forgot to introduce, welcome. My name's Susan Speedle and this is my husband Arthur. Nice to meet you", the woman said and shook Alexx and Calleigh's hand.
"…nice to meet you, too…" both replied, slightly shocked.
Arthur, who also wore an apron, stepped besides Tim and whispered: "Didn't tell them that we are here, did you?"
"No."
"But why are you in here? Please take a seat in the living room. They take care of the food", Susan smiled.
"We thought he would need a little help since his wrist was broken, he would be some kind of handicapped. So we came straight in here. Besides, I wanted to see him in action, but…" Calleigh answered.
"Hey! Don't get this wrong, ladies. I'm just observing. He did this", Arthur said and motioned towards the oven, "on his own. I'm afraid to admit, but he's just as good as I am."
"Well, in that case I'm forgiving you", Alexx said smiling and went with Susan to put the dishes on the table.
Speed looked at Calleigh. "What!"
"Move, I want to see it on my own."
He shrugged and continued his work. Calleigh watched fascinated as father and son spoke during the cooking activities. "Garlic?" Arthur asked.
"Yep. Can you hand me the parsley, too?"
"You know, last month, I went to the wine brokerage. Got some amazing bottles. One of them is a 50 year old French wine. Superb quality. Want to keep it for a special occasion."
"Stop it. You're making me thirsty."
Arthur
chopped some more herbs. His movement was smooth and
controlled.
"Arthur, by the way, what are you doing for
living?" Calleigh asked.
"I'm a cook. And the owner of a few restaurants. Why?" he smiled.
The great Speedle smile, she thought. "Oh, just curious. I guessed by your movements, that you have experience with sharp knifes."
"Smart woman", he said. "Alright, I'm going to meet the others. You're doing fine, son."
Horatio looked up as both came back. "So, everything's alright in the kitchen?" he asked and stood.
"Yes." She frowned. "You don't look surprised to see him. You already met?"
"Yes, this afternoon. I picked them up at the airport."
"So you knew they were coming?"
He held up his hands. "Okay, you got me. I confess. Speed asked me to do him a favour, so I found myself waiting at the airport." Then he introduced each other. "Since Speed's busy", he smiled, "Arthur, Susan that are Alexx Woods, Eric Delko, and Calleigh Dusquesne."
"He's also our supervisor", Calleigh smirked. "Just in case he didn't mention it."
They shook hands. "So, after all these years we're finally meeting", Arthur said. "It took him quite some time to give in, but in the end he agreed to this meeting."
"I can hear you!" Speed shouted and his head appeared in the doorframe. "Be careful what you say", he held up a finger.
"I'm
only doing some small talk. Go and fix the dinner" Arthur
grinned back.
"Speed mentioned a younger brother before? Is
he here, too?" Eric wanted to know.
"His name's Andrew. Unfortunately he's in the middle of studying physics at Columbia right now. So he can't be here tonight."
"Luckily"
could be heard from the kitchen.
"Timothy!" Arthur shot
back. "Watch your tongue."
Susan sighed. "The two of them never got along. Maybe it's because they are 13 years apart. But you know one can't live without the other. They always sticked together like glue if they wanted something."
Short time later they all sat together at the table. Speed and his parents served the soup.
"Smells good", Alexx said.
"It's carrot soup, our famous family recipe", Speed said as he sat down. "Simple, but delicious. Please. Enjoy."
By the faces and their silence Speed suspected that they liked it so far.
"This is so good, I have to get one more bowl", Calleigh said.
After that, everyone got up to get the used dishes back into the kitchen.
"Hey, I'm supposed to do that!" Speed smiled.
"Relax.
You already have enough to work. Besides, that way it's much faster",
Horatio answered as he came back. "But I can see where you're
coming from. You seem to be used to it."
"Earned my
first bike that way", he said proudly. "Tough time, but it
was worth it."
"The poor boy worked for hours, his friends were enjoying their holidays, but he stayed at the restaurant", Susan told them. "I would have given him the money, but Arthur denied it."
"Well, it wasn't for bad, was it? He's still proud of his first belongings", Arthur said and opened the wine bottle from Horatio. He sniffed at the cork, then did the usual ritual for tasting the liquid. "Very good. You seem to have a good taste, Mr. Caine."
"It's Horatio and thank you", he replied.
"Alright, who's up for round 2?" Speed asked and went to serve the main course.
Again,
silence came up, as they worked through the meal. It was a vegetarian
lasagne with spinach, carrots, peas, cheese and a fantastic sauce.
Then they tried a fishcake.
"What's in there?" Eric
asked.
"It's fish, bread paste, garlic, eggs, bacon, onions…" Speed listed the ingredients.
"It's delicious and so was the lasagne", Alexx smiled. "Who would have thought that you are a fantastic cook?"
Speed shrugged. "Yeah, well…I can't help it. But he's the one who should get the compliments" he said and looked at his father.
"Enough. Let's eat", Arthur simply stated and reached for some more lasagne.
Dessert was next and they enjoyed the Italian Panna Cotta in the living room, sitting at the couch or the armchairs while the TV ran in the background, showing a basketball game.
Calleigh slumped back into the couch after they cleaned the table. "I'm done. If I eat one more bite, I'll explode", she sighed.
"The same here", came Eric's reply. "What about you, H?"
"I could use some more of that cream", he laughed as they stared at him, not believing what they just heard. "Just kidding, guys. I'm filled up."
Alexx sat next to Arthur. "That was fantastic. Could you give me the recipe for the Panna Cotta? Is that milk in there?"
"No, just cream, vanilla and gelatine. The sauce was made of raspberries. That's all."
"Sometimes the simple recipes are the best", Susan said. "Want some coffee?"
They all agreed and ended up talking for hours about many different themes.
Later that night, long after Horatio, Calleigh, Alexx and Eric had said their goodbyes, Susan came into the kitchen, while Speed was finishing the dish washing. "Arthur, Andy and I had a long talk after you called me that day back then. I just wanted to say that we are terrible sorry for you loss." She sounded sad and then hugged her son.
"Thanks.
I'm sorry too. I shouldn't had blocked you out. After all, Lisa was
your daughter in law and Emily…your granddaughter…" he
answered quietly. They stood in silence for a few moments.
Susan
let him go and looked at Tim. She wiped away his tears. "I only
wish from the bottom of my heart that someday you'll find a woman who
makes you happy again."
He only nodded.
tbc…