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After they drank the tea he had made them, he asked her what kind of foods she liked to eat.
“I’ve got a lot of Earth cuisine meal cubes but if you have a special meal that you want, please let me know what ingredients to get and I’ll try to cook it for you,” he told her.
“Meal cubes?” Abbey frowned. “What are those?”
Solon explained that they were instant meals which rehydrated and expanded when placed in a rehydrator machine, which was apparently an appliance he had in his kitchen.
“The packaging becomes a plate in the rehydrator which holds the food. Afterwards, you can throw everything away together,” he told her. “I know it’s a lazy way to cook, but it’s also convenient and the meals are often quite delicious. The Kindred go to the most popular restaurants and dehydrate and shrink the fresh food while it’s still hot down into cube form for indefinite storage.”
“I’d like to see some of those cubes—or feel them, at least,” Abbey said thoughtfully.
“Of course—let me get you some.” He rose for a moment and then came back. “Hold out your hand please.”
Abbey held out her right hand, palm up, and he placed several small square cubes in it.
“Oh—they feel like dice. Or sugar cubes,” she remarked, rolling them carefully in her palm. “But how do you tell which meal is which?” she asked, running her fingertips along the smooth surfaces of the cubes.
“It’s written in tiny black script—too small for you to make out, I’m afraid,” Solon said apologetically. “I can tell you what each one is though. You’re holding one cheeseburger and fries meal, one pepperoni pizza meal, and one taco fiesta supreme meal.”
“So…all fast food?” Abbey smiled.
“Yes, they’re all extremely fast to prepare,” he rumbled, clearly not getting her reference, which made her smile even more. “Is any one of those to your liking? I asked the clerk at the Meal Cube store for a selection of the most popular Earth cuisines that people from The United States liked to eat and this is what he gave me. I have plenty of Kindred meals too,” he added. “I even have some grieza worms from Twin Moons.”
“Grieza worms?” Abbey made a face. “Uh—no thanks.”
“Many Earth women claim they taste like dark chocolate,” Solon told her. “But you don’t have to try them if you don’t like.”
“No, no—I like trying new things. Maybe later, though—if that’s okay?” she asked. “I’ve had kind of a lot of ‘new things’ today already, if you know what I mean.”
“Of course. You can do anything you want, Abbey.” He said it with such sincerity that Abbey felt her heart flutter. “I want you to feel happy and comfortable here.”
“Okay, well…the pizza might be the easiest and least messy one to eat,” she decided.
“Coming right up.” He picked up one of the cubes and was about to leave but Abbey stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Wait—the rehydrator thingy—how hard is it to use?”
“Exceedingly simple. You just place a cube in the center of the turntable, close the door, and press the button.”
“Then…can you teach me? I like to be self-sufficient and know how to do things for myself.”
“Certainly. Do you want to take my elbow again?” He came around to stand beside her and offered his elbow. Abbey took it, noting as she did so how muscular his arm was. She couldn’t help running her fingers over his thick bicep—he really must be strong. Well, she knew that already, she reminded herself—after all, he’d carried her out of the bathing pool in his arms like she weighed no more than a baby—which was certainly not the case. She also liked the feeling of his short, dense fur against her fingertips—it was so silky and sensuous to touch.
“Oh—you changed clothes,” she remarked. He seemed to be wearing some kind of t-shirt—she could feel the soft, stretchy cotton material on his upper arm and shoulder and see the light blue color against his golden arm. His long legs were clad in some kind of black trousers—though she couldn’t make out any details besides the color.
“I didn’t want to walk around in just my under briefs.” He sounded like he was smiling. “Here, let me lead you to the rehydrator.”
“Thank you. Actually, could you give me a tour of the whole kitchen…er, food prep area?” Abbey asked. “If you’ll just take me around the perimeter of the room and let me touch everything as you tell me what it is and where it is, I can commit it to memory. That way I won’t feel so lost.”
“Of course—I’d be happy to. Should we start from the doorway, as if you were just walking into the room?”
He took Abbey back to the door and, starting at the right-hand wall, walked her around the entire kitchen area. But he didn’t just lead her around the countertops, as she had expected. Instead, they did a detailed tour of every single cabinet and appliance. He even opened the cabinets and let her feel the contents. He explained the spices and seasonings too, making Abbey wish she had her Braille labeler with her because there were so many alien spices it was hard to keep them all straight.
“I have a great memory, but I’m not sure I can remember all these,” she said apologetically.
“You only have to ask and I’ll tell you,” Solon promised. “But you won’t have to worry, since you won’t be cooking.”
“I can cook!” Abbey said, feeling somewhat stung by his assumption otherwise. “As long as everything is organized and I know where all the ingredients are, I’m actually a very good cook.”
