by Annora Green
“He was successful, though. Look at all of this,” Ari pointed out.
“Perhaps. But does my family really need all of this?” Sophia asked. “At some point, it became frivolous.”
Ari looked at Sophia curiously. This was more than she had ever heard about Sabrina’s family before, and it went a long ways in explaining Sophia’s particular personality and attitudes.
“I think you’re like them all,” Ari said. “You’re driven and tough like your mom, focused like your dad, and still... I don’t know, warm in a way. Like your sister. She’s warm toward the people she cares about, like you, and her friends. You’re a little bit like all of them... but also, you’re very much your own person.”
Sophia considered that. “Perhaps.”
“You know, last night when I found out who your dad was, that he’d been the one responsible for laying off my parents, I was really put off. I mean, that whole experience changed me. It made me reluctant to ever want to work at a big company. I learned to rely on myself and work for myself. It gave me an entrepreneurial spirit. And so I thought it was this bad thing in my life, that my parents were unemployed and eventually I had to move back home to help them, but in reality, I guess it also taught me that I needed to be self-reliant, and it forced me to do a lot of things differently than I might have otherwise. Ultimately, it’s why I started The Little Cafe. I guess in a weird, roundabout way, I owe him for that experience and insight.”
Sophia looked at her. “That is an interesting way of looking at things.”
Ari shrugged. “I guess what I’m saying is, there’s a silver lining to everything.”
Sophia stopped walking. They were still underground, walking past rows and rows of wines.
Ari stopped next to her, her back to a shelf filled with wines.
“You’ve brought something to my life these past couple of months, Ari. Something I never had. Your friendship, your patience, and your astute observations have helped me think about things, especially the way I see the other people in my life. People I’d really taken for granted for so long.”
Sophia reached over and gently, lightly, touched Ari’s cheek, combed a few strands of her long, silky blonde hair behind her ears, allowed her hand to rest on the other woman’s shoulder.
“I feel better with you around, Arianna. You bring a certain lightness into my life, happiness. It scared me at first, but now I invite it in, because you make my life better.”
Ari smiled shyly.
“I hope I can somehow make yours better, too,” Sophia said quietly.
Ari reached up, took Sophia’s hand, and kissed it.
Sophia was studying Ari’s lips.
Ari looked at her.
“Sophia,” she said in a warning tone.
Sophia did not respond. Instead, she sighed heavily and closed her eyes. Her back was to a shelf filled with wine, and her face was half in the shadows.
Ari reached out and touched Sophia this time, moving a hand to her waist, stepping closer, though still maintaining some distance. She could not help but steal a lingering glance at the woman with her eyes half closed, looking so pretty, almost looking as though she was surrendering to her there, in the cool, dark cellar.
Sophia fluttered open her eyelashes a few seconds later and caught Ari staring longingly at her, not knowing what to do next.
“Just kiss me,” Sophia instructed quietly, her eyes wide, quickly biting her lip.
Ari knew she should resist, but ignored her inner warnings not to succumb.
“You are such a-” Ari started to say, obediently leaning closer to Sophia.
But just then, they heard footsteps on the stairs.
Sophia heard them first, gave a bit of a gasp, and straightened herself up. Ari took a big step backwards, following Sophia’s eyes to the stairs.
“We should go,” Sophia said a moment later, breathing a little more heavily than normal.
They watched as a man, possibly just a waiter from the restaurant, searched through the shelves nearby, not yet aware of their presence.
Sophia smoothed out her skirt and led the way to the stairway, her stride long and purposeful. The man glanced over at them, surprised, but Sophia nodded to him solemnly.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Good morning,” he replied.
When they were back upstairs, Sophia turned to Ari, gently touching her upper arm, and lowered her voice to almost a whisper.
“I would invite you to my room, but Percy is due back shortly. It doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“Probably not,” agreed Ari.
For more reasons than one, she added to herself.
Her eyes, which were still wide and bright, betrayed the ideas that were currently floating through her mind.
“I’ll tell you what,” Sophia said in a low voice, taking Ari’s hand in her own, her heart still racing a little. “I remember I owe you a dinner. Come over next week and I’ll make good on that deal.”
Ari laughed.
“You don’t have to do that. Besides, you made up for it with breakfast this morning.”
“Well, you don’t have to come over if you don’t want to, of course. It’s just there are some matters we could... tend to,” Sophia said, her voice thick with implication.
Ari smiled, her eyes soft.
“On second thought, dinner sounds great,” Ari agreed through a wide smile.
Ari looked into Sophia’s eyes as Sophia raised Ari’s hand to her lips and kissed it gently.
“See you next week, then.”
11. Dinners
Sophia opened her door a few days later to find Ari standing on her porch, holding a bottle of wine, dripping wet from the rain.
“Don’t you have an umbrella?” Sophia asked, eyeing Ari’s wet blonde hair, which hung limply around her shoulders.
Sophia ushered her inside.
“I don’t mind a little rain.”
“I’ll send you home with one,” Sophia said, and gratefully accepted the bottle of wine that Ari handed her.
Although she noted the variety of wine did not exactly go with the pasta and fish she was serving, her eyes lingered on the label. Ari had chosen a more exclusive wine than your run-of-the-mill grocery store or liquor store bottle. She must have gone out of her way to get it. Sophia found it endearing that Ari had tried so hard to pick out a special wine just for the evening.
“This wine looks delicious,” Sophia said, then led her towards the kitchen, where they were enveloped in the warm, rich aroma of a fresh tomato pasta sauce bubbling on the stove.
“I don’t know a lot about wine, I hope it goes with what you’re fixing,” Ari said sheepishly, then added, “Which, by the way, smells great.”
“Thank you. This wine will be perfect to sip on while we wait for dinner to finish,” Sophia suggested, getting two glasses out of the cupboard.
“Is Percy around?” Ari asked, glancing around expectantly.
Sophia shook her head. “No, he’s at a friend’s house tonight. It’s just the two of us.”
“Oh,” Ari said, taking the glass of wine Sophia offered her.
“Can I help with anything?” she asked.
Sophia shook her head. “It’s all under control.”
“Turnovers, pasta... is there anything you can’t make perfectly?” Ari asked a half hour later after Sophia had poached some fish in her fresh, homemade tomato and rosemary sauce, then served it all over thick homemade tagliatelle.
Sophia was the image of a gourmet chef. The meal had clearly been made to perfection, and it looked and smelled good enough to be featured on the cover of a gourmet magazine.
“Lots of things,” Sophia said, smiling. “I know my limits, and I only make tried and true recipes when I have guests over. Guests who I actually want to stay a while and not scare away, that is.”
“Hmm, you want me to stay,” Ari commented, her eyes glimmering mischievously as she took a sip of the wine.
Ar
i sighed a few minutes later as she took the first bite of the pasta, relishing in the fresh, herby tomato sauce, the homemade pasta, and the delicate fish, which complimented the dish perfectly.
“This is definitely never going to scare anyone off,” Ari commented.
Sophia elegantly took a bite of her pasta and followed it with a sip of wine, beaming.
“Is this pasta homemade?” Ari asked.
“It is. Although I have the help of a machine. I can’t exactly sacrifice an afternoon to making pasta these days. Then I freeze large batches of it, in case someone comes over.”
Ari smiled. “A stash of pasta in case a suitor comes calling.”
“Precisely,” Sophia said, still smiling a bit saucily.
Their conversation continued to flow effortlessly. Sophia and Ari had a rhythm where they could talk about many things, easing from one topic to the next. As they spoke, it dawned on Sophia how - after the past few days - she had settled into a surprising level of comfort with Ari. Something that she really had not experienced in a long while. Not with her sister, or colleagues, or any friends. Certainly not with any recent romantic partners.
Her life before Ari had opened The Little Cafe now seemed so distant. She could not imagine days without the witty and ever-surprising blonde nearby during her long days at work.
Dinner stretched on. Neither woman wanted to rise from the table and risk cutting the evening short. They continued sipping wine, their cheeks growing rosy and their laughter ringing a little freer. The music that had been playing in the background throughout dinner added to the pleasant ambiance.
From time to time, Ari would watch Sophia biting her lip just so. Or Sophia would observe Ari’s little movements, her lean body twisting gracefully to pick up a napkin that had dropped on the floor. Their eyes would then meet. They smiled, they laughed. They flirted.
Finally, with the salad, pasta and garlic bread consumed and both women knowing they could no longer dwell at the table, Sophia suggested they move into her library and have a nip of her favorite apple liqueur.
They continued chatting over their drinks, Ari crisscrossing her legs on the midnight grey Italian leather couch, cradling her glass in her lap. She was taking small, careful sips, aware of how strong Sophia’s nightcaps were.
At first Sophia sat in a separate armchair, perched regally as she delicately sipped on her drink and chatted with Ari, but after she stood up to refill both of their glasses, she sat back down not in the armchair but on the sofa next to Ari.
At one point, Sophia reached over and placed her hand on top of Ari’s. They were in the middle of a conversation about work, Ari talking about sourcing organic coffee beans and Sophia was chiming in about how the cumbersome process was not all that different than trying to source a rare type of silk she often used in her work. When she felt Sophia’s hand on hers, Ari paused, looked down, and then continued talking without missing a beat. She just acted casual. But she slipped her hand away a moment later.
Sophia cleared her throat nervously after that, and decided to change the topic.
“How are the paintings coming along?” Sophia asked.
“I’ll show you the paintings soon,” Ari said, suddenly looking a little nervous. “I would have shown you sooner, but work’s been a little demanding. So many little details, employees, paperwork and other stuff to deal with. My days fly by. Which, I guess you can understand.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to bring up a stressful topic. I was just trying to make conversation.”
“Oh, it’s all right,” Ari said, sighing and sinking back into the sofa, closing her eyes part way. “They’re nearly complete, actually. Just not quite finished-finished. If work will stop getting in the way, I’ll have them to you soon.”
“Anything in particular stressing you at work?” Sophia asked.
Ari hesitated, then shrugged. “Not really. I am just trying to get a handle on some money things. You know, the usual. Tough stuff to deal with sometimes.”
“I do know,” Sophia said.
Seeing as how the subject was dragging Ari down, she did not want to bring up the topic of work again during an evening that still held so much promise.
Instead, Sophia quietly studied Ari, reclining on the sofa, her drink in her hands, her eyelashes fluttering shut as she sank deeper and deeper into the sofa, relaxing in the dim lighting of Sophia’s study and the sound of the fire crackling in the fireplace.
“I missed this, Ari,” Sophia said softly. “Ever since that morning in Vegas...”
Ari fluttered open her eyes and sat up a bit. She knew what “this” meant. The familiarity, the comfort and intimacy of the two of them when they were together.
“Sophia,” Ari said in a warning tone.
“Arianna,” Sophia echoed.
“This can’t be a game any more, right?”
Sophia looked down at her lap and took a breath. “Right.”
“I’ve been trying not to miss this. To not miss you,” Ari admitted and dropped her voice, “But it’s hard. I just don’t know what’s going to happen, whether our lives can ever really get in synch.”
Sophia touched Ari’s cheek gently and swallowed.
“I want them to,” she whispered.
Ari took her hand, clasped it, but moved it away from her cheek.
“Sophia,” she whispered in a warning tone. “You know what happens when you do this.”
Sophia ignored her, slowly leaned in and gave her a gentle, sweet kiss on the lips. She lingered delicately for a few moments, reveling in the taste of Ari, her scent, her warmth.
But then Sophia pulled back, never deepening the kiss.
“You’re right,” Sophia whispered. “I don’t want to poison this. There’s something about being around you... but we already agreed. One step at a time.”
Even as she said it, Sophia realized that her familiar nerves - the ones that used to flare up every time she was around Ari - had diminished slightly. She was finally feeling confident tonight. All night, she had felt great. But those nerves were now replaced with concern, concern that she had already alienated Ari. That it was too late. That she had already caused too much damage before she could do right by the woman before her.
Tonight, it was Ari’s turn to feel uncertain about the situation.
Sophia recognized that.
“I should go,” Ari said, her face clouded with concern.
Sophia stood up, walking towards the fire, which had burned down low in the fireplace. She stared into it for a few seconds, taking a deep breath, trying to quell her disappointment, then nodded, and gave Ari a sad smile.
Sophia walked Ari out of the study and towards the door. Sophia handed her an umbrella from an elegant iron stand near the front door.
“It’s still raining,” she said, glancing out the window next to the door and noting the drops still clinging to the outside of the glass.
“Thanks. Although my car isn’t that far away,” Ari said, accepting the umbrella. “And thanks for dinner. Really, one of the best meals I’ve ever had.”
Sophia smiled. “Any time.”
Ari opened the door and was about to step into the inky-dark night.
“Arianna? One more thing,” Sophia said.
“Yeah?” Ari turned back, her blue eyes meeting Sophia’s.
The formidable Sophia Black took a breath, feeling suddenly small and insecure in front of the woman whom she’d come to adore.
“Percy will be out of the house again the night after next. Would you like to have dinner with me again?”
¨°¨
Sophia made wild Atlantic Canadian salmon two nights later, served on a bed of homemade pasta with a garlic, white wine, and butter sauce and a side of tender, steamed asparagus. It was incredible.
And Ari had thought that nothing would top the previous meal. It was so good, in fact, that Ari could not help but mourn the fact that now she understood what a really, truly good meal was, and therefore all f
uture dinners in her life would no doubt pale in comparison.
“I don’t know why I own a cafe when you’re the one who cooks so well. I’m also not sure why you don’t have a line of suitors wrapped around the block every night for this,” Ari said at dinner.
“Maybe that could be my next business,” mused Sophia. “Although I don’t have a life as it is, so I have a hard time imagining being able to handle a restaurant on top of everything.”
“Plus your side job in the Palo Rosa Retail Association - which, by the way, sorry I haven’t gone to any other town meetings since the winter.”
“I noticed that,” Sophia said.
“They got kind of boring, to be honest, when you stopped ripping into me for breaking town codes or whatever.”
“I could find a town code that The Little Cafe is no doubt breaking and bring that up at the next meeting if you would like.”
“It’s okay,” Ari said. “I have enough challenges keeping the place afloat as it is.”
“Oh?” Sophia asked, concern flickering across her face as she set down her glass of wine. “Those finance issues you mentioned the other night?”
“Yeah. I mean, nothing special. Just the typical boring challenges of running your own business. Balancing the books, staying on top of payments to suppliers, rent, the usual.”
“I experienced all of those problems at one point,” Sophia said.
“At least you’ve been successful at dealing with them,” Ari continued, reaching for another piece of bread. “I mean, look at all of this. A beautiful home, a son, a great business, even your involvement in the Retail Association.”
“My term is up soon,” Sophia replied. “In the Retail Association.”
Ari laughed. “Okay, fine. You really do have everything else, though. You’re an example of hard work really paying off.”
