Sautéed Mushrooms (Part 2)

[Nicolas Lepage 0]

By Drs. McKinny and Lepage

 

It took him only two minutes to heat some olive oil and saute the onions and peppers. Adding the olives, spices and lemon juice he stirred the sauce briefly and turned down the heat to let it simmer. Turning up the heat for the water he turned around.

 

DJ was standing a few feet away, watching him. Nick smiled and started putting mushrooms on the two plates he had already prepared.. "I hope you are hungry," he said as he picked up the plates to carry them over to the table.

 

Stepping aside to allow Nick to pass, DJ then followed him the short distance to the table. "How could I not be hungry?" she quipped. "Even if I ate fifteen minutes ago, the smells in here would be enough to jump start my appetite." She stood beside him and smiled. "And don't get the idea I ate before I came," she warned. "I had a bagel this morning. I haven't had a bite since."

 

Lepage bowed slightly and pulled out the chair for her. As she sat down, DJ suddenly felt an unexpected wave of regret. It took her a moment to identify the emotion and once she did, she was more than a little surprised. She was leaving Aegis in two days. After the initial shock that followed her transfer notification, DJ had found herself excited and very pleased that she was going home. So, why the sudden feelings of regret?

 

She glanced over at Nick as he took his seat. He looked at her, grinning impishly. He was special. She'd known that almost from the day she'd met him. But he was one of her subordinates. There were rules against becoming too close to the people who worked for you. DJ looked down at the plate in front of her. "That couldn't be it," she thought to herself. "You can't start regretting something like that...not at this point in time. And what would Nick think? That sort of thing would probably put him off big time." She quickly forced the unwelcome emotions back into the recesses of her mind. She didn't want them to get in the way of this evening, especially after Nick had put so much effort into their dinner.

 

Carefully placing her napkin in her lap, DJ picked up her fork and took a small taste of the mushroom appetizer. It was....wonderful. "This is fabulous," she gushed. "I haven't had anything like this since....well....I don't remember when."

 

 

Sitting down at the other end of the small table Nick wondered why DJ looked a bit troubled. He hoped it had nothing to do with him or the dinner. While he ate some of his own mushrooms he kept glancing over at the CMO.

 

 

”Thanks for the compliment. But wait until you taste the fettucini and salmon.” He smiled as he said this, still wondering what troubled DJ. He looked at her and his smile widened ever so slightly.

 

 

DJ was about to pop another bite into her mouth but stopped abruptly. "Salmon," she stammered, looking around the room as though fearful they'd be overheard. "Where did you get salmon out here?"

 

Now she did feel bad. Obviously, salmon could be purchased somewhere on Aegis but it had to be super expensive. No doubt about it, Lepage had gone over the top preparing for this evening. She wondered if there was more to this than a farewell dinner for the boss.

 

 

The situation was somewhat ironic. Nick had tried to ignore his feelings for his chief all this time, knowing it would be inappropriate for the two of them to have any relationship that went beyond friendship. Now DJ was leaving and he had finally had the courage to ask her out on a date. It would be their first and last.

 

 

Suppressing a sigh Nick quickly took another bite. At least they would be able to spend one evening together and he was determined to make it enjoyable for both of them.

 

 

“So, are you going to tell me which appointment is so tempting you that you are willingly leaving this station at the end of the universe?” He chuckled. At first he, himself, hadn't been very thrilled about going to Aegis but with time he had come to feel quite at home here and they would have to offer him a pretty good post in order for him to leave the station.

 

 

DJ set down her fork and dabbed her lips with the napkin. She returned Nick's smile inspite of her growing concern that he'd spent a month's salary on one dinner. "Okay," she said lightly. "I guess it's safe to tell you, now that I know for certain it's really going to happen."

 

She leaned back in the chair and looked at Nick coyly. "I'm taking over as CMO at Eglin, in Pensacola, Florida. I'm told you can see the Gulf of Mexico from my office window." DJ's smile broadened. "It's a major medical facility with a prestigious reputation. I'm very lucky to have been tapped for the job."

 

"It's funny," continued DJ, again picking up her fork. "When I first arrived on Aegis, I was convinced I'd be fortunate to finish the tour. But now, I feel like I belong here. It's like I'm leaving home instead of going home. There's a lot about Aegis I'll miss, primarily the people." She looked at Nick and smiled sadly. "And I'll miss some more than others."

 

 

Nick held DJ's gaze. He did notice her sad expression and wished he could say something to make her feel better. But he knew there was not much to be said. Getting a new post was always the same. It opened up new possibilities but it was never easy.

 

 

“I guess life's just like that. You have to move on even if it means you'll have to leave some of your friends behind. I hope you'll think of us when you're standing at the window looking out on the sea.” He lay down the fork beside his plate. “We'll miss you out here... I mean I'll miss you.” Trying hard not to get too sentimental Nick quickly added, “Do you think you could get some good maple syrup and send it to me? The stuff you get out here is...well disgusting.” He grinned despite himself.

 

 

“I'll see what I can do," quipped DJ. "But the maple syrup isn't the only disgusting thing out here. I gave up on finding real ice cream. What they call ice cream is just plain nasty."

 

 

Seeing that DJ had finished her mushrooms Nick got up and put their plates in the kitchen. He quickly tried and drained the pasta before he added the salmon, sour cream, yoghurt and blue cheese to the sauce and tossed everything with the pasta.

 

 

“'Wine,” Nick reminded himself. “I hope you like Chardonnay,” he said putting the plate in front of DJ. “Personally I prefer red wine but since we're having fish...” It took him only a few moments to get the bottle out of the fridge and serve the wine.

 

 

“You lucked out, replied DJ with a grin. "Chardonnay is the only wine I like." She paused a moment before adding, "Maybe I should say that I lucked out. If you'd served something else, I would have forced myself to drink it."

 

 

Sitting down he glanced at DJ. She looked stunning in the soft light of his quarters. Nick allowed himself another moment to just look at her before he picked up his fork. “Tuck in. And don't be afraid to be honest if you don't like it. I have to admit that I'm not quite sure whether the olives really are olives. They looked like it so I bought them.”

 

 

DJ looked closely at the contents of the plate in front of her. The suspect olives were clearly visible. She stabbed one onto her fork and lifted it a few inches above the plate. Studying it carefully, she hazard a glance at Nick. "I think these are real olives," she observed softly. Bringing the fork to her mouth, she nibbled at the olive and was pleased she'd been right. "Yep, these are olives," she announced with a giggle. "Now tell me," continued DJ, turning her attention to Nick. "What about the salmon? Are you sure it's real?"

 

 

Nick grinned. “Affirmative. This is real salmon. There is this guy on the midway who sells stuff from Earth. He's got this huge fish tank full of pretty much any seafood and fish you can imagine. You can go pick the one that looks best and he'll have it delivered to your quarters.” He refrained from explicitly mentioning that the fish had still been alive when he had picked it.

 

 

DJ immediately knew where Nick purchased the salmon. She'd seen the big tank a couple of times but hadn't realized the fish swimming in it were available for sale. She chided herself for never having taken the time to properly explore all the shops on Aegis. Heaven only knew what else she'd missed. Glancing at the salmon on the plate in front of her, she silently thanked the red fleshed fish for giving up its life so she could enjoy such a terrific meal. Then she promptly put all thoughts of the hapless animal out of her mind.

 

 

All through the main course and dessert the conversation remained casual. Both DJ and Nick tried to avoid talking about her new assignment and the fact that the chief would be leaving. DJ had a good laugh when Nick told her various stories about his family...how David, Jean-Pierre and he had caused a major disturbance at school, resulting in several damaged toilet seats and a very angry principal...how Jacques had gotten into trouble for going to school wearing his sister's dress and how Jean-Pierre had confided in him that he had split up with his very first girlfriend because she had actually dared to kiss him....

 

To Be Continued....

Edited October 20, 2006 by Nicolas Lepage