Wind Down Dinner

Robert and Jen appeared in the dining area of Sparks, weighed down by the cases of wine that Jen had gone and bought. She'd decided on the good stuff and also that you could never have too much of it so she'd bought about five cases. She put her two cases down on one of the table and ran into the kitchen where Lizzie was putting the finishing touches on a large batch of spaghetti carbonara. It smelt really good and Jen was impressed. It seemed as if the failure of a chef could actually cook.

“Good Evening Lizzie!” Jen greeted, taking out a red and white chequered table cloth as well as a few candles and utensils. Lizzie greeted Jen and pushed the pasta into a large bowl. Jen ran out into the dining area and pushed a couple of tables together. She threw the table cloth over them and secured them down. Within minute she was impossible to see, going at a magic enthused speed. She stopped in front of Robert and grinned up at him. “DONE!” she declared.

Robert laughed. He did like her quite a lot. "Now, lets see," he frowned. He accio'd water glasses over and transfigured them into large wine glasses. "Might as well not skimp, eh?" he asked her. He levitated a coffee mug over. "Tea for Khaat. She's had enough french roast to float a boat. That could be difficult, but we really must start getting her off it before Abbey really has trouble with it. Oh, and you will find in one of those cases, a bottle of sparkling cider for Khaat. No wine for her. I'm just not sure which box it ended up in. Do you think you might find it? I'm going to send word to Khaat's mother. I'm sure she would really enjoy this. "

Khaat always preferred Rob's apparating to her own. For some reason, he was just smoother at it at times. And she just wasn't in the mood to be jarred any more today. She'd been jarred enough. She felt confident that the shields around St. Mungos would hold for tonight or that either she or her father would know if they had not. Now, away from the tensions of St. Mungos, and feeling like she had permission to relax for the first time in weeks, she could feel fatigue all ready threatening her.

"You know, I'd like to come back," Khaat told Rob softly. "Daddy is tired of me sleeping on the office sofa and drinking up all St. Mungo's french roast. Hey, I have an idea. Can I franchise you so that everyplace I go, at home or at work, or anyplace else, I find Rob-style cooking? No, scratch that. I'd weigh 300 pounds." She kissed him on the cheek, feeling like a great stressor had been lifted from her. "And I can't believe that spell still hasn't worn off our furniture. It actually misses me? Tell me, what the devil does that look like when your couch misses you?"

Jen found the cider easily amongst the cases of wine and took a bottle out of one of the cases. She put the cider down on the big table and uncorked the wine. She poured a little into a glass and lifted it to her nose. She smelt the wine and rolled it around in the glass before tasting some. Jen smiled appreciatively and filled the glass up with a hefty amount of wine. She put the bottle down and bounced back into the kitchen. She picked up the huge bowl of pasta and took it back into the main dining area. She put it down in the middle of the table and Lizzie came out with several garlic bread rolls and some plates. Jen took the plates and set up the table some more before looking at her watch in interest. “Is Jess going to be coming?” she asked with some hope in her voice.

"I haven't heard," Khaat said. "I think he was trying to catch a breath in between the chaos when we left him. We did invite him. But I don't know if he'll come." She took in the aroma of the pasta and the freshly baked garlic bread. She hadn't thought she was hungry, but she was starting to rethink that. Maybe she could eat after all. If nobody nagged.

"It looks fabulous, Jen," Khaat said, "Thank you. You thought of everything. Do you realize this is probably the first celebration we've held here? Its about time, too. Maybe we'll be able to find a lot more reasons to celebrate or have family dinners. I do cook too, but I prefer Rob's cooking to my own. Any time. And judging by how well Sparks is going, I'd say there are a lot of other people who agree with me. "

She noticed someone had thought of some sparkling cider so she didn't have to be left out. "NIce touch, guys. Thanks."