Meating Out

Two days.
Three plates; four places; five faces.
It was aces.

Meal One: bean burrito with sweet potato fries and sparkling conversation

It was kind of peculiar but not in a pinpointable way. We met as arranged and I was scanned from head to toe, as if being seen for the first time. It's been a while. A short walk, a sit-down and few bites later, it was all flowing easily in a not entirely unexpected manner. No topic was left uncovered as we smoothly sailed through politics, sex, money, education and religion like a raspberry dream with a side of ice-cream. It was delightful. The afternoon was quite enjoyable and full of sunshine, with banter of blonde moments; a sighting of sequinned singers; a frisson of fabric and uncomplicated chatter of relationships, men, women, how the world is all beautifully - sometimes surprisingly - interconnected. We arrived at a general conclusion that many people are unfortunately terribly ignorant. Luckily, we are exempt...

Meal Two: grilled fillet of seabass with sautéed potatoes and hilariously heavy rainfall.

It was completely comfortable, like collapsing on an old sofa after you've been out for the day. When a relationship between two people transcends the need for social niceties usually reserved for those outside of immediate family, you know you've got something special. After a brief rest and a wink or forty, we managed to muster up effort to go out for a tasty candlelit meal. The evening was spent passing commentary on those we know, those we were watching, those people we just haven't met yet. The weather we thought we were so lucky to miss finally caught up with us as we sprinted in the warm downpour, spectacularly ungracefully, to the nearest corner shop. Having purchased an apple pie and ice-cream for a third of the price we would have paid in the pub, we braced ourselves for the rest of the short jog back. We arrived, breathless and soaking, only to realise we forgot the milk. The pie was put in oven and raincoats duly dug out of cupboards as we braved the wet again. It was quite understandable, of course, you can't expect me to wake up without a cup of tea!?

Meal Three: Morrocan vegetable burger with chunky chips and dangling chandeliers 

It was kind of strange, in a movie-script sort of sense. I'm not old enough to be doing this kind of thing? I mean, buying flowers for friends when visiting their newly built house paid for with newly loaned mortgages, complete with a picture perfect twenty-something professional couple. I mean, it's all so very Grown-Up. We sat by the canal and spoke of the rise in graduate unemployment, the expense of kitting out a home and the possibility of tasting some Red Leicester with Chilli from the cheese boat moored just across the way. We discussed the idea of dinner parties and murder mystery nights and keeping board games under the stairs for having friends over of an evening. Perhaps we could even use cards for more than a game of Ring of Fire? After lunch, a quick cup of tea and a chat was all we had time for before we said our goodbyes and I soon arrived back home to find a new dress on my bed, a coffee cupcake saved for me and the offer of another cup of tea.

And that was the end to a wonderful weekend. 

I'm looking forward to doing it again.

Flitterbox: Corinne Bailey Rae ~ Put Your Records On