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He was already scanning the table, not even looking at her, giving her a chance to recover herself.
Or maybe he didn’t even realize she was embarrassed.
But then she watched him surreptitiously slide his helper out of silent mode and she felt a bone-deep sense of acceptance and gratitude.
His bracelet chimed a moment later.
“Any six green dishes, three white dishes and two meat or cheese dishes on this table and your choice of two additional white dishes, sweet drinks, or cups of fruit will complete your daily food scaffold. Congratulations,” it announced brightly.
“I kind of need more than you do,” he said, looking a little sheepish.
“You’re bigger,” she said, smiling warmly at him.
“I feel like I could eat all of it,” he said shaking his head sadly as he looked down at the table, clearly feeling as if thirteen items wouldn’t be enough.
“I’ll bet once you get halfway up your scaffold, you’ll feel better,” she told him encouragingly, remembering the days when she was first recovering from her illness. Her therapist had told her the same thing, and she was right. The shame and pain tended to fade slowly as she fueled her body. At the halfway point of the daily scaffold, she usually felt more in control.
Hopefully, it was also true for someone needing to eat fewer calories than they wanted.
“Let’s find out,” Tiago said happily.
She dished food onto her plate as he poured them each a hot cider.
But the table was so covered with food there wasn’t really room to sit and eat. And there wasn’t a dining room.
“Were there cushions by the fireplace?” Tiago asked.
“I think so,” she said.
She carried her plate out, and sure enough there were two cushions and a low table by the fire.
Tiago placed their ciders down on the table.
“I’ll be right back with my plate,” he said. “Go ahead and start, if you’re hungry.”
She waited for him, glad they had figured out the maze and navigated the even trickier eating situation. It wasn’t like they were getting married or anything, but it was good to feel like they could work together.
“This is really nice,” he said, carrying his plate out and lowering himself onto the cushion beside hers.
“I guess it’s all planned out,” she said, feeling shy suddenly.
“Like, to make it more romantic?” he asked.
“Don’t you think?” she asked, gesturing to the fire and the food on their plates.
“Yeah, I don’t know how they cooked this,” Tiago said. “There’s no way they used as much butter as it looks like or I wouldn’t be able to eat this much of it.”
“Is the meal made specially for us, Oberon?” Alexis asked.
“It is, indeed,” the AI replied immediately. “Is it to your liking?”
“It’s perfect,” she told him.
“Thanks, man,” Tiago said.
The fire seemed to burn a little brighter for a moment.
“I am delighted that you are satisfied,” Oberon said.
