”No comments from the peanut gallery.” Dar pointed the box at her. ”Okay. I need two pans, a dish for these eggs, and something to mix them up with. She peered in the cabinet. ”No, grits are a bad idea. Last time I tried making them I ended up having to throw the entire pot out.” She chuckled wryly at herself, as she got the two frying pans and a bowl out. ”Okay, first, break the eggs.”

She cracked the white shells and emptied their contents in the bowl, careful not to put shards in there. ”No, Kerry gets plenty of calcium. She doesn’t need to get surprised by little crunchy bits of it.”

She took a fork and mixed the eggs, after piercing the yolks to bleed a sluggish yellow in their depths. ”Do I put anything in them?” She looked at the spices doubtfully. ”Mm, maybe just a pinch of salt and pepper.” She shook a little of both spices in and continued mixing.

”Okay, that looks good.”

She put the flame on two burners, and let the pans heat up. ”Are you supposed to put anything in these, I wonder?” She recalled watching a Louisianan cooking show on one of her last flights out, and 108

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remembered the chef putting half a stick of butter in a pan. ”Oh, right, something to keep it from sticking, okay.” She limped to the refrigerator and retrieved the butter, then cut a healthy sized cube off and let it drop into the pan. It sizzled immediately and spattered her. ”Yeow!”

Chino barked, then hid under the table.

”Okay, okay.” Dar stirred the butter around and watched it melt.

”They don’t warn you about that, do they?” she muttered, pouring the eggs in and turning the flame down. Then she dropped the contents of the sausage box into the other pan.

”I think I’ve got this under control, Chino.” Dar remarked, stirring the eggs with a wooden spoon. ”Yeah, there they go, out of the liquid stage into the Jell-O stage.” She paused and took a fork to the sausages, moving them around when they started to sizzle. ”Hey, that smells pretty good, huh?” She glanced down to see a puppy glued to her foot.

”Oh, yeah, I guess it does.” She stirred the eggs some more. ”Ah, out of the Jell-O stage, into the fluffy stage.” Triumphantly, she removed the pan from the fire. ”Yeow!!” She dropped it back down and turned off the fire hastily. ”Damn it, that’s hot.”

She rummaged for a pot holder, then managed to get the pan off the stove, scooping the eggs off into a plate. ”Okay. So far, so good.” She turned her attention to the sausage, poking them hesitantly. ”Well, they look hot.” She rolled them over. ”Oh, brown, right, I got it, brown and serve. That must be the brown part.”

She let them continue to cook for a moment and stuck a few pieces of bread in the toaster, turning it on. ”Now this, I can’t screw up.” She nodded briskly at it. ”Kerry fireproofed the controls after that damned bagel set off the fire alarm.” She turned the sausages a few more times as the bread toasted, then added them to the plate of eggs, and caught the bread as it popped out.” Hey, we’re doing good here, Chino, doing good, and I didn’t even manage to—”

A gentle throat clearing interrupted her monologue and she glanced up, startled, to see Kerry leaning against the doorway, a thin tshirt covering her to her thighs, her hair loosely disheveled around her face. ”What are you doing?”

Dar felt a stupid grin crossing her face as she regarded her sleep rumpled lover, who was looking at her from under lazy blonde lashes.

”Um...”

Kerry entered the kitchen and glanced at the full, gently steaming plate. ”Where did this come from?”

Dar held out the plate. ”I made it,” she announced proudly. ”I was going to surprise you in bed, but...”

Kerry broke off a corner of egg and nibbled it. ”Mm.” She gave Dar a look of delighted surprise. ”Very good.” She took the plate from her friend’s hands and put it down on the counter as her eyes traveled down Dar’s body.

I’ve closed million dollar deals that haven’t felt this good, Dar Hurricane Watch

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reflected in a moment of quiet clarity. ”I was just getting some toast.”

She shifted awkwardly and picked up the bread, feeling a warm hand on her bare side. ”Hmm?”

”Tell you what.” Kerry leaned over and kissed her belly button gently. ”I’ll take this outside and you,” She handed her the portable phone. ”Call Dr. Steve.” Her fingers dropped to touch the brace.

”Okay?”

”Um, it feels a lot better today.” Dar objected hopefully. ”Really, Kerry, it does. This brace really helps.”

Sea green eyes lifted and regarded her.

Dar sighed. ”All right.” She watched her lover take the plate out to the balcony and she limped behind her, grateful to settle into one of the bucket chairs in the salty breeze as Kerry returned to get their coffee and some silverware. She thought a minute, then dialed a number, waiting for the service to pick up. ”Hello. Yes, please.” She waited. ”It’s for Dr. Steve. I’ll leave my number.” She gave it, and her name. ”I banged up my knee a little yesterday and I just want to talk to him about it.” She listened for a moment. ”Okay, thanks.” She hung up the phone as Kerry settled into her chair. ”Happy now?”

Kerry speared a bit of sausage on her fork and offered it. ”Dar, there’s no sense in you being miserable, is there?” She watched her lover chew the sausage and swallow it. ”What, no grits?”

”I know, and no, I didn’t want to push my luck.” Dar informed her.

”This was about my limit.”

A soft chuckle. ”Well, it’s very good. I’m impressed.” She took a forkful of eggs. ”Nice and fluffy and no shells. Perfect.”

Dar studied her hands. ”I used to watch my father make them,” she remarked quietly. ”One of his few specialties and he didn’t make them for everyone, just people he really, really liked.”

Kerry munched contentedly. ”Oh, so is this how I know I’ve been truly accepted?” Her eyes twinkled. ”I get breakfast made for me?”

A pensive smile shaped Dar’s lips. ”I don’t know, you’re the first person I’ve ever made anything for.” The phone rang, and she picked it up. ”Hello?”

Kerry had paused, with the fork in her mouth as she sucked the tines. The eggs took on a new flavor as she absorbed the words Dar had just said. It had nothing to do with food, and everything to do with Dar’s willingness to accept her as a part of her life. As a part of herself.

Delicious. Kerry smiled, and picked up another mouthful.

”Yeah, hi Dr. Steve.” Dar leaned back and braced her foot against the balcony carefully, studying the bruised flesh around the brace. ”No, we did a little hiking upstate yesterday, and we had a little accident. I twisted the hell out of my knee, and it’s turning all kinds of god-awful colors.” A pause, while Dar listened. ”No, no, no hospitals. It’s not that bad, just a little sore.” Another pause. ”No, well, yeah.” A touch of resignation entered Dar’s voice. ”Yeah, it is...

...well, no, I can’t.” A


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much longer pause, during which Dar’s shoulders slumped. ”Okay, yeah.... ...No, I’ll meet you over there.” She exhaled. ”Yeah, an hour’s good...

...Okay, bye.” She hung up and gave Kerry a wry look. “Well, he wants to x-ray it.”

”Good for him.” Kerry responded. ”I think that’s a great idea.” She offered Dar a forkful of eggs. ”His office in an hour? Good. I’ve been looking forward to meeting him.”

A reluctant smile found its way onto Dar’s face. ”He’s been wanting to meet you too,” she admitted. ”Oh well, at least it’s just his office.” She leaned back and let the sun drench her body. ”What’s the worst he can do, right?”

DAR SAT QUIETLY on the examining table, leaning on her hands as she regarded her knee morosely. Dr. Steve had done what seemed like a hundred or so x-rays and was now off in his inner sanctum, doing whatever it is he did to make sense out of them. At least she didn’t have to wear that damned, stupid gown, since it was her knee, after all, and she was wearing shorts.

A sound alerted her and she glanced up as Dr. Steve came in, festive in his robin's egg blue golf shirt and Bermuda shorts. ”So, how bad is it?”

”Dar, why do you always think the worst?” Dr. Steve shook a finger at her. ”You are such a pessimist, and where is this lovely paragon of virtue of yours?”

Dar studied her hands. ”If you expect the worst, when less happens you’re pleasantly surprised.” She informed the doctor. ”And Kerry’ll be here any minute. She just had to pick up a few things.”

Dr. Steve chuckled. “Didn’t want her to see you shivering on my table, huh?”

Dar scowled at him.

”Mm hmm, well.” He stuck two of the x-rays up and flicked the light on. ”Now, tell me again how you did this?” He traced the area with his pen. ”You have compression on the joint here, and here, and stretched tendons here and here. It looks like you kicked a car. You didn’t do that, did you?”

Dar sighed. ”No, we got caught when a sinkhole collapsed. I fell about fifty feet, I guess, and landed wrong.” She eased off the couch and limped over. ”Anything break?”

The doctor studied the film carefully. ”Doesn’t look like it, my friend.” He patted Dar’s arm. ”You got lucky. That could have been a bad one, might have needed reconstruction.”

Dar winced. ”Mm. So what do I do? Just take aspirin until it stops hurting?” She limped back over to the couch and hoisted herself up onto it, to get her weight off the leg.

”Oh no, you don’t get that lucky, Dar.” Dr. Steve chuckled. ”I’m Hurricane Watch

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going to put a restrictive brace on you and give you a pair of crutches.”