Silence of the Lambs

(Kayla, 1988)

Dinner that night was so tense it nearly snapped. Cheyenne and Nikki weren't speaking to each other, I didn't dare say a word, and Tom was oblivious to the fact that their relationship was on a verge of a meltdown.

"You get unpacked?" Tom chirped.

Nikki guzzled colas all during dinner. He flung his head back, open his mouth, and poured the carbonated sugar directly down his throat.

"That's not good for you, Nikki." Cheyenne said.

Nikki responded with a deep, round, gaseous belch.

"It doesn't matter," Tom said.

Then Cheyenne repeated, for like the millionth time, "I'm just happy to finally be back in Philly." Puppy eyed, she stood and reached across the table to squeeze his hand. He snatched it away.

My emotional Richter scale had already registered a megaquake and several aftershocks that day. By dinnertime, i was wiped out. I didn't feel much of anything. Except hunger.

Gastronomically, Cheyenne was awesome. Her food danced down my tongue, exciting each bud on its way to my throat. The first bite was a burst of intense flavor, then subtle layers of smoke, spice, sweet and salty erupted like tiny fireworks. It terrified me. I was dying to pile my plate high with curried eggplant, grilled lamb shanks, and fresh spinach bread with herb butter. Not to mention mulligatawny soup. The rich colors on her table were so luscious as the rich smells. Every meal here? I was never going to make it. It was one thing to eat a Grilled Chicken Salad when Tom was devouring pasta with cheese and butter. . I've learned to handle refusing to eat seven hundred and sixty calories and forty-eight grams of fat of fast food. But gourmet food? Controlling my portion sizes was going to be next to impossible.

"More mulligatawny, Kayla?" Cheyenne asked.

I swallowed hard. "No, thanks."

"I found this recipe last week," she said. I stared blankly, as did Tom.

Gizmo, sitting beneath the table at my feet, was impatient for me to drop another chunk of lamb.

"So tell me," I said, "all moved in?"

Nikki and Cheyenne bobbed their heads up and down, raised their eyebrows.

As the spectacle of our first dinner with Nikki played out in front of me, i found myself stealing glances at Nikki. He had a fairly small nose, a beautifully sculpted square face and dark assets.