Part Deux:
Misha had bunched her hair into a bun behind her head, the streaks of red and purple swirling along the bun’s formation which was held in place with a pair of chopsticks. It was her Qipao, though, that drew Lynda’s attention.
Red with a violet and pink flowering design that roamed along the cloth, Misha’s bare arms and lower legs shone like moonlight in the room. The garment hugged her curves well, accentuating her impressive chest and well shaped hips just as well as Lynda’s dress did her own, lankier curves.
“You look great!” Misha chirped to Lynda.
Lynda blinked, her brain frozen in awe, “you…you…”
“Congratulations, Mikado-sama,” Will interjected, “this is the first time I can remember Long-dono ever being speechless.”
Lynda glared at Will and smirked, “cute,” she jumped forward and kissed her girlfriend, wrapping one arm around her in the process. Misha’s plump moist lips met her own as she mirrored the gesture, and for a moment they just enjoyed the contact. Only for a moment, though, and they slowly broke apart before things could escalate.
When they broke apart, Lynda glared at Will and smirked, “actions speak louder than words.”
Will rolled his eyes, nodded and bowed, “touché. Would you two like to take your seats?”
“We would,” Misha said, her voice intoned with a hint of firmness Lynda rarely noticed, but always enjoyed hearing; it showed she had come out of her best friend’s shadow.
Will nodded and moved over to the table, pulling out Misha’s chair first. Misha moved over to the chair and took her seat. When Will had finished pushing her in place, he stepped behind Lynda’s chair and waited. Lynda, still a bit awestruck at the situation, took a moment before carefully taking her own seat.
The table was clear except for an assortment of flatware, a napkin, and two electric candles near the center. The dim lighting glittered and danced in Misha’s amber eyes, and Lynda quickly lost herself gazing into them. Misha did the same in Lynda’s alluring brown gaze, which also reflected the light.
“How…” Lynda managed to sputter. Collecting herself, she managed to finally ask, “How long have you been planning this?”
Misha smiled, “since December. I got the idea from Shicchan, and she and her cousins helped me plan it. Then Will, Henry, and my roommate Jenny fine-tuned it. Will did most of the hard work; I just decorated and made the food. Speaking of which, Benson-san?”
“Of course, Mikado-sama,” Will retreated into a corner, returning to place two wine glasses and two drinking glasses in front of each young woman. He withdrew again and returned holding a pitcher filled with ice water.
“Our menu tonight,” Will explained as he pored the water, “will be a cheese fondue with bread, roasted duck l’orange with a garden salad and roasted carrots, and a fine assortment of imported Japanese desserts. All of which will be accompanied by both my dulcet violin tones, and a 1989 Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by… other activities.”
Lynda raised an eyebrow, “other activities? Where did you get wine?”
“Lilly’s sister,” Misha said, “she helped me sneak it through customs.”
Lynda grinned, “Sounds like my kinda person.”
“You two would get along,” Misha mused, “speaking of which…”
Will nodded and grabbed the bottle of wine, which he placed on the serving tray so he could open it. Once it opened with a mild pop, he carefully pored each of them a glass. Noticing Lynda warily eyeing the deep red liquid, he stated, “If you are concerned about interference with your medication, Mikado-sama has suggested a two drink maximum.”
Lynda smirked and nodded. When both glasses were filled, Misha lifted hers, “happy Valentine’s Day, Lycchan.”
“You, too, Mi…Shii-chan,” Lynda said
The two toasted and sipped, Lynda raising an eyebrow at the strong yet complex flavor, “good stuff.”
“Akira’s more of a beer person, but her family has tons of money, so they know stuff like fine wines and things. My Mom told me what kind would go well with duck, and Akira picked out the specific year.”
“You got a lot of help with this,” Lynda observed.
Misha nodded, “yeah, yeah~; it felt great knowing I could depend on so many people~.”
“It is nice,” Lynda mused. She leaned forward and clasped Misha’s hand in hers, “thank you, by the way. This is… way better then I deserve.”
Misha pouted, “Don’t say that. We both deserve this. You were there for me when I needed someone, and I’ve been there for you when you needed someone. That’s how rela-tion-ships work~.”
Lynda sighed and nodded, “fair enough. I heard something about music?”
“One moment,” Will replied.
While Will set to work preparing the appetizer, Lynda leaned closer to Misha to whisper, “I can’t believe you got him to wear those clothes! The only time he wears a suit is when he goes to church, and he only does that when my mom is in town.”
Misha grinned, “that was the only thing I had to really push on him~.”
“He always looked good in formal ware,” Lynda declared, “speaking of which, what gave you the idea to do…this?”
“Pardon me,” Will interjected, placing a small white crockpot onto the table. The crock was filled with a fragrant yellow cheese, which, while not bubbling, was clearly very warm. Will quickly placed two small plates on the table as well, each one holding a circle of small cubes of bread, with several toothpicks in the center.
“Very good,” Misha stated, “the first song, please.”
Will nodded and retreated to a corner. While he tuned and fiddled with the violin, Misha inhaled the delicious scent of cheese, “I was so busy getting everything ready, I didn’t get to eat much of a lunch~.”
“It’s pretty late, too,” Lynda remarked.
With that, the two dug in, carefully spearing the bread and dipping it into the cheese. While they started eating, Will muttered a prayer and
started playing a violin solo. Lynda listened as Will worked his way through the song, occasionally going slightly off key. Her eyes widened partway through a piece of bread and she swallowed.
“I know this piece,” she declared, “Sergei Rachmaninoff composed this…”
Misha grinned and nodded, “Will said you were a fan.”
Lynda smiled and went back to eating, the music cascading over the two as the picked at the pieces of bread and the pot of melted cheese.
“This isn’t too much, is it?” Misha asked.
Lynda shook her head, “it’s perfect. I’ve never had a Valentine’s Day like this, that’s for sure.”
Misha nodded, “Will mentioned that, too. I’ve never had one at all, you know…I guess that’s part of why I went all out; I wanted us to have an amazing, unforget-able first Valentine’s Day. Not just as a couple, but at all~.”
Lynda nodded and sipped her wine, only then noticing they had run out of bread, “that was good. This was Jenny’s crockpot, wasn’t it?”
Misha nodded, “she really likes cheese, and it seemed fun to do~.”
“Well, it is,” Lynda declared, “though I am curious about the duck.”
Will stopped playing and appeared at the table, “ready for the main course?”
“Yep~!” Misha chirped.
Will nodded and carried off the crock and plates. He came back briefly to refill the waters, then reappeared holding a large bowl. He set the bowl on the serving tray and once again withdrew.
“I should have borrowed the trolley from the lobby~,” Misha mused.
“Quite alright, Mikado-sama,” Will stated.
Lynda’s gaze turned from the food to Misha, the lights still glinting and shimmering in her amber eyes. Caught off guard, when Misha noticed, she looked away for a second. Grimacing, she turned back to look Lynda in the eye.
“Does it make you uncomfortable that I make so much eye contact?” Lynda asked.
Misha shook her head, “I was prepared for it when I came here~.”
“That doesn’t answer the question,” Lynda stated as Will placed salad bowls and a bottle of Italian dressing on the table; Lynda mentally noted how easily he blended into the background in his waiter persona.
“Well…” Misha sighed as Will scooped salad from the larger bowl into the smaller ones, “At first, it did make me nervous. Not just you, but everyone~. I kept having to mentally remind myself ‘this is normal here, it doesn’t mean anything bad.’ It even made me a bit self conscious, like I was being analyzed or something~. It was kinda inti-midating at first… the height difference didn’t help.”
Misha’s eyes darted up and down Lynda, as if to demonstrate the several inches of height difference; Misha was barely over five feet tall.
Lynda nodded slowly, absently noting her salad was ready, “well, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. You do have beautiful eyes, though. Like orbs of molten gold…”
Misha smiled, flustered at the compliment, “thanks. Yours are nice, too. Such a deep brown, it reminds me of chocolate~.”
“You’re not the first one to say that,” Lynda said with a smile.
Misha looked down and started picking at her salad. Will had retreated back to the corner to play, waiting for the two to finish their salads before serving the duck. Lynda also went for her salad, a well crafted mix of lettuce, spinach, and even slices of bok choy.
“Did you make the salad?” she asked.
Misha smiled and nodded, not looking up from her food. The silence between the two was threatening to drown out the music. After a few sips of wine, Lynda sighed and asked, “Is something wrong?”
Misha looked up, “not wrong… but~…”
“Yes?” Lynda prompted.
“Well… I think another reason I wanted to have this dinner, is because not only have I never had a Valentine’s Day date before, you have. In general, you have so~ much more relation-ship experience then I do~. It inti-midates me sometimes.”
“I see,” Lynda said, “trying to compete with my past partners?”
Misha shrugged, “maybe~. Carla said that might be part of it. She also said it might be me trying to make up for last year, when you were in Toronto~.”
“Ah,” Lynda said, nodding, “that makes sense. I think you succeeded, by the way; both in outdoing my previous partners –though it’s not a contest- and in making up for last year –sorry I couldn’t make it, by the way.”
“It’s okay~,” Misha said, a bit more relaxed now that she had sorted out a bit more of why she had gone to so much effort.
“Although,” Lynda mused as she finished off her salad, “there is a much simpler reason you went to much effort.”
“Really~?” Misha asked.
Lynda smiled and once again clasped Misha’s hand in her own, “because you love me.”
Misha giggled, “Will said I was over thinking it.”
“You tend to do that,” Will declared, still in his refined voice, “would you care for duck?”
Lynda and Misha nodded, and Lynda pointed to her empty wine glass, “Top me off, er, Benson-san?”
Will nodded and took the bowls away, returning to refill the wine glasses before placing two dinner plates on the table. Clearing his throat, he placed the platter on the table and with a flourish of his wrist, declared, “Presenting, a roasted duck l’orange.”
