"Hi," I said.
"Hello," he responded."You look beautiful."
"Thank you."I reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.Thiswasn'ta date, even if it felt like one.There was no reason for me to be nervous.
"Would you like to come inside?"he asked.
"It would be hard to cook from out here," I responded.
Poseidon chuckled."It would, but the kitchen is all prepared, as per your instructions."
"I'm impressed, I expected that it would be ayour kitchen, your rulessituation."
He shrugged and showed me inside."You're not my employee."
I'd been in a lot of professional kitchens over the years, both as a low-level employee during my student years, and since to interview chefs and other catering professionals about their work.But this was something else.Everything gleamed, with state-of-the-art equipment that was all cleaned to perfection.
"I think I might be scared to get his place dirty," I admitted.
Poseidon laughed."I can assure you that it's fine."
"So, you really invited me here to cook for you?"I asked.
"Yes.Though I will, of course, cook for you too."
"Well, I'm looking forward to trying it."I set my bag down on the bench of what I assumed was the chef's table.It was set for two, with several bottles of wine."I hope you don't think we're drinking all of those."
He laughed."Absolutely not.But I didn't know which wine you'd want to pair with the fish you're making, so I got a selection."
"How many favours did you have to call in from Dionysus for them?"
"He was happy to part with it when he learned that someone had critiqued my fish."
I raised an eyebrow, leaning against the back of the bench."You told him that?"
"He read your review and asked me about it," he responded."And by asking me about it, he asked if I was feeling hurt."
"I hope not.My intention wasn't to hurt your feelings.It was simply to communicate how I felt about the food.Other people might not have thought anything about your Indian fish dish."It was a hard line to walk.I stood by what I'd said about his food, but I also didn't purposefully want to hurt his feelings.
Poseidon started unloading a box of ingredients onto the side."Do you know why I asked you what you would cook?"
"To check if I knew what I was talking about or if I was just making things up to sound self-important?"
He laughed."No, but I guess I could ask for that reason next time.Will this fish be right for your fish fry?"
I made my way over to where he was standing and looked at the fish.Even without knowing where it had come from, I could tell that it was good quality."Lemon sole?"I guessed.
"Yes.You said that was one of the types of fish you liked for this, and it looked better than the halibut."
"It's a good choice."I returned to my bag and pulled out a couple of spice pots, taking them over to the counter and setting them down.
Poseidon raised an eyebrow."You know I have spices here, right?"
"Yes, but you don't havemyspice blend.This garam masala mix has been a family tradition since my great-grandmother."I took the lid off and let him smell it.
"Oh, that's good," he said."Much better than what I've got."
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not about to let you in on any Mandal family secrets."
