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“…for supper?”
Alessandra looked up. He was sitting beside the fire. The pot of water was heating in the flames, and he’d picked up the two MREs he’d taken from his pack a little while ago.
“Sorry? I didn’t get that.”
“I said, you get your choice.” He held out the bags. “Chili with Beans, or Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.”
“Chili, if that’s okay with you.”
“You sure?”
She nodded. “I’m a vegetarian,” she said, as she sat down across from him.
“Ah.”
The ah was meaningful. Growing up with brothers taught you lots of things, including that there were ahs that meant sure, that’s fine, and then there were ahs that meant just listen to that dumb female.
“Ah?”
Tanner shrugged as he tore the bags open. “Which is it this time?”
“Huh?”
“It’s hard to keep up with the trends.”
He was taking smaller bags out of the large bags. Apparently, supper was going to be bags of reconstituted sawdust, but her mouth began watering anyway. All she’d eaten in days were those power bars he’d given her.
“What trends?” she asked, forcing her attention away from the thought of food. She was messy enough without adding drool to the equation.
“Fad eating gigs hustled by The Guru Of The Day. I don’t know them all. The last I heard of was one called the Palo Alto diet.”
“The Palo Alto…” She raised her eyebrows. “Do you mean the Paleo diet?”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
“Meat, broccoli, tomatoes, no pasta… I wouldn’t call it a fad, though I’m certainly not for it. But, you know, if that’s your thing…”
“But it isn’t yours.” He was doing something with one of the bags. Opening it, pouring the contents of another bag into it, now adding water. “So, what’s your diet supposed to deliver?”
“Lieutenant, I’m not following you. Are you asking me why I’m a vegetarian?”
“Right. Long life? Mental acuity?”
Okay. He was arrogant about pretty much everything. No surprise there.
“I’m a vegetarian because I don’t believe in killing animals and eating them.”
That stopped him. He looked up from the MREs.
“You don’t believe in killing animals and eating them?”
“Isn’t that what I just said?”
“But you make an exception when it comes to what you put on your back.”
“What in hell are you talking about?”
“Nothing.”
