CHAPTER NINE

Dinner At Elmyra's

What to eat, what to eat? Lightning wondered as she stared up at the ceiling from her bed. Although Tifa was kind enough to offer her a place at their supper table, Lightning hated the thought of taking their food. That, and it would've been awkward if Cloud had been ended up being the one sitting across from her; she wasn't sure if they'd be able to keep straight faces. The idea of this, however, made her grin. Although she wasn't completely over Snow yet, Cloud had taken the place of her new boyfriend… New secret boyfriend, that is. Lightning was more than aware that if Tifa ever found out, she would probably be fired and kicked out onto the street.

When she couldn't take the hollow feeling in her stomach any longer, Lightning got up from the bed and peeked out her window. It was early yet, so the street was clear of drunkards. At least, for the moment. Now would be the perfect time to check out that restaurant that Tifa had mentioned a few days ago.

Lightning drove slowly, about fifteen miles an hour, seeing as the streets were primarily taken up with pedestrians. As she passed the movie theater, she saw a middle-aged woman standing in the square with a wheel barrel full of flowers. The sign read that they were only a Gil each, with the exception of a few mor expensive breeds that were available.

Lightning immediately recognized one particular plant: The Serahnor Blossom-the flower which her sister had been named for.

She parked along the sidewalk and got out of the car. "How much are the Serahnor Blossoms selling for?"

"Oh, you recognize the breed!" said the woman, sounding more than impressed. "Are you a flouriest, by any chance?"

"No, but my mom used to love those flowers. We had them all over our house… I'd like to buy one plant, please."

The woman grabbed her small trowel and carefully dug one of the blossoms out of a large pot, then replanted it in a smaller one. "Here you go. That'll be fifteen Gil."

As Lightning handed her the money, her stomach growled again-this time, quite loudly. Embarrassed, she couldn't help but laugh at herself. "Sorry."

"That's alright," the woman replied. "I'm not sure any of us have too much control over our stomachs anyway.

Lightning chuckled. "I was just gonna go eat at the Wall Market Bar. I just moved here, so I've never tasted their food before."

"Oh, you don't want anything they've got!" the woman exclaimed. "All their food is packed with salt and oil. Most unhealthy!"

"Oh… Do you know of anywhere else I can get something to eat?"

"Of course. A great place, in fact!"

"Mind showing me where?"

"Only if you don't mind driving me. It's on my way home, you see." The woman winked.

Lightning agreed, and opened the trunk of her car. Together, they lifted the wheel barrel and placed it inside before buckling themselves into the front seats. Lightning drove even slower this time, taking great care so that the flowers in the back wouldn't fall out.

oOo

The woman directed her to a two story house in sector five. The roof was completely lined with red shingles, and in the back of the house was a large green garden. There were giant holes in the metal plate above the sector that allowed sunlight to beam down onto the grounds. "How lovely," Lightning commented breathlessly.

"Thank you," the woman replied. "I try my best to keep my home looking nice. Oh! And my name is Elmyra, by the way."

Inside the house, the table was centered in the middle of the living room with two wooden seats and a white table cloth. To the left, there was shelving that contained pictures, a few decorative knick-knacks and books. The cooking area was over to the right in a separate room.

Elmyra headed for the kitchen the moment they walked in. "Now, what are you hungry for, dear?" she asked.

Lightning took a seat at the table. "Something that's not too complicated or expensive to make. I don't wanna inconvenience you."

"You're not, dear-Not in the least! What would you like?"

"Um… Bacon and eggs?"

"Coming right up!"

Moments later, Elmyra came back out with a plate full of Lightning's requested meal, along with a glass of milk. Lightning could tell from the first bit that this woman had to have worked in a restaurant in the past; everything was delicious!

Elmyra sat down in the second seat and watched her eat. "So, Lightning," she began. "I don't recall ever seeing you around here before. Mind if I ask where you're from?"

"Bodhum, Cocoon," she replied with a full mouth.

Elmyra raised both eyebrows. "That far away? What brings you to Midgar?"

"Life." Her flat sounding reply unintentionally made Elmyra laugh. Lightning took a break from eating and asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

Elmyra nodded.

"What are you doing, selling flowers on the side of the road like that? This isn't exactly the safest place for a roadside business."

Elmyra shrugged. "My daughter used to do it for me," she explained. "And after she died, I carried on with the business. I figured that is she could brave those kinds of dangers, then so could I."

"I'm sorry to hear that… About your daughter's death, I mean."

"It's alright. She died more than three years ago."

On that note, Lightning dropped the subject and resumed eating.

A few moments later, there was a knock at the door, prompting Elmyra to stand up from the table. "I better get that. I forgot that I was expecting company… Go on. Keep eating."

Lightning tensed up as she answered the door; a usual reflex for a Guardian Corpse soldier.

Elmyra opened the door wider for the large, muscular guy to come in. "Hello, Barret," she said happily. "Thank you again for offering to help till my soil this year."

"No problem, ma'am" he replied, his voice low and a bit raspy. Then his eyes fell onto Lightning. "Oh, hey! You're that new girl workin' at Strife's, aren't ya?"

Lightning swallowed her last bite of egg. "Yeah. And you're Barret. I remember you." She took note of his prosthetic gunarm. "Nice seeing you again, strong-man."

He made a fist and pretended to flex his metallic arm muscles. "Ya got that right," he said proudly.

Elmyra turned to Lightning again, looking surprised. "You're working for Cloud?"

"You know him, too?" Lightning asked in response. It seemed like Cloud had friends pretty much… everywhere!

Elmyra placed a hand against her chest. "Why, he was one of my daughter's best friends!" she exclaimed. "But I rarely ever see him anymore. Tell him that I said hello, okay?"

"Got it," Lighting promised.

oOo

After he was sure that Tifa was sleeping, Cloud tip-toed out of his room and headed down the hall to lightly tap his fist on Lightning's door. She probably wouldn't be awake at this hour, but he didn't care. He hadn't seen her all day, and he found himself missing her company.

Surprisingly, Lightning was still in her day clothes when she answered to him. "Hey," she whispered as she stepped aside to let him in.

"What're you still doing up?" Cloud asked as she closed the door.

Lightning crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "Clearing out my cell phone," she groaned. "Serah and Snow have been calling me every five minutes. It's getting annoying."

He cocked his head. "How about picking up the phone for once? Or returning a call, at least?"

She chuckled. "You're one to talk. You never return your phone calls."

"Who told you that?"

"Barret. He thought I should know, since we're be working together and all."

Cloud made a mental note to kick Barret's behind for this later. "You hung out with Barret today?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Not really," she replied. "I met him at Elmyra's house-Which reminds me, she says hi to you." Lightning watched as Cloud's face turned completely white. "What? What's wrong?"

"Elmyra?" he repeated. "As in, Elmyra Gainsburrough?"