74. The Calm Before the Storm 

“No, child, not like this!” Esma placed her hand on Lilyah’s. “If you throw it in just like that, all you’ll get is ugly lumps.”

“Oh…” Lilyah looked down on the flour bag in her hand.

“The trick is to dissolve the flour in water first,” Esma explained. “Ruby, get us a cup of water, will you?”

The girl did as she was told, with an air of barely hidden, yet good-natured amusement.

“Now put a small spoon of flour into the water and stir it until it’s completely dissolved,” Esma went on after the cup of water had arrived.

Lilyah proceeded to do so, but her brow furrowed after a while. “It won’t do it…”

“You’ve gotta stir a little faster,” Ruby advised. “And put the flour under water with the spoon.”

“But not so fast as to splash it around.” Esma chuckled. “Oh, and Lilly, that horse makes me nervous looking over my shoulder all the time.”

“Oh, Chai… Go away, Chai! Go see Mariah! And look after the girls! Go!” The ghost of a laugh showed in Lilyah’s eyes as the stallion turned and trotted off. “It’s just that I’m not doing things like this very often – and when I’m preparing something, it’s usually for him…”

“Not in this case.” Esma pulled her pipe out of her apron and stuffed it.

“No.” Lilyah smiled to herself, listening to the hammering that came from the cabin. The roof was done and Adam had started on the door and the shutters of the single, glassless window, as well as on some other repair works inside. And she was to cook his dinner!

“Let’s just hope it’s not for Titus, either…” Ruby quipped.

Lilyah picked up a tiny pebble and threw it at the girl. Ruby laughed and threw one back.

“Come on, girls, focus!” Esma laughed and held a cinder into the fire. “That’s one thing you both have to learn – focus on what you’re doing! Ruby, you can use your time and grind some more of the coarse salt.”

“Alright, Grandma!” The girl got up and pulled a bag of coarse salt from one of the boxes a few yards from the fire. The portable grindstone was close by and soon began to whirr as it was turned.

“I think it’s all dissolved now!” Lilyah peered into her cup.

“Scratch the spoon over the cup’s bottom and see if there’s anything left, Child.”

Lilyah did as she was told and her smile faded. “Oh… now it starts all over again… and it sticks to the spoon, too.” She tried futilely to knock if off into the cup. Finally she placed the cup on the ground and used a fingernail to scratch a clump of flour from the spoon and then used the spoon to scratch the clump from her finger.

Esma put the cinder to her pipe and deliberately started puffing, the laugh lines around her eyes growing deeper. “You just didn’t dissolve all of it. But don’t worry – the more often you’ll do it, the easier it will get, and one day you can do it in a heartbeat without even looking. For now, you should move the pan a little to loosen the chops.”

Lilyah set down the cup, licked her flour-clumped finger and moved the pan, only the chops didn’t move with it. Biting her lower lip, she flicked them lose with a very quick and cautious fingertip. Yet as quick as she was, the finger still began to burn and she hissed a little before she put the fingertip in her mouth to cool it.

“There’s a fork for this, Lilly,” Esma reminded gently. “Better hurry with the flour now.”

At long last the flour-water-solution was ready to use and Lilyah prepared to pour it into the pan.

“Not all at once, Child – you won’t want the sauce to get too thin. Pour some in and stir it to see how it comes. You can always pour some more – but once it is in, it’s hard to get out.”

Lilyah attentively stirred the contents of the pan, poured a little more and noticed with growing delight that it actually looked edible. It even smelled good. She dipped a cautious finger into it and tasted. It wasn’t even burned.

“A few drops of molasses might just give it the right consistency.” Esma pulled a bottle out of the crate standing next to her and handed it over. “Mind you, just a few drops. And here is a fine herbs mixture I use for such a dish. No, not with that spoon! In this case, you can use your fingers.” Her black eyes started laughing as she watched Lilyah fishing out an amount that would suffice for ten times as much. “Not so much, Child. Just a little… right so! And rub it between your fingers before you strew it into the pan. Notice how it starts to smell?”

“Yes…” Lilyah’s face strained with concentration as she stirred the sauce and tasted it once more. “It’s good…” She sounded as if she couldn’t believe it.

Esma tasted a bit and nodded her head. “Perhaps a wee little more from the herbs… just a whiff!”

Lilyah did so and tasted once more. “It’s even better… it’s like Marfa made it!”

Esma smiled. “Now we’ll leave it to simmer for a while, but not so close to the fire. We don’t want it to burn.” She noticed Lilyah’s asking eyes and pointed to the massive tripod over the fireplace. “Do you see the hooks? You take the small grating over there and hang it in there. That’s close enough to the fire to keep it well heated but not so close as to burn it. Careful – the iron of the tripod is hot.”

It needed a bit of fiddling to hang the grating into the hooks, but once in place it was solid enough to carry the deep and heavy pan. “How long will it take now?”

“Half an hour. Put the lid on it to keep the moisture inside.”

Lilyah did so and then moved away from the fire to check on the samovar. If anything had delighted her heart nearly as much as the lush grass of the promontory, it had been this samovar Esma had unpacked from one of her crates. As old and as battered as it was, it was like a piece of home and she loved operating it. Her father once had brought one from Persia when she was still a little child and since then there always had been several of them in the house.

“Tea?” She didn’t wait for the answer but collected the empty cups to refill them.

“Be sparse with the sugar, Child,” Esma remarked. “We’re running awfully low on it.”

Lilyah put only the tiniest bit of sugar in each cup before she handed the cups out and settled on her bent legs, slowly sipping the hot liquid. It had been a busy day with scrubbing empty barrels, making salt brine, pickling some of the meat, cooking out fat and preparing hams. Even though the sun had barely reached the tips of the woods, Lilyah felt a little tired – comfortably so, not enough to drop asleep, but enough to enjoy just sitting silently. Her eyes wandered across the promontory and a small, dreamy smile played around her lips. She loved the sight of the grazing sheep, loved the never-ending, soothing bleating, she delighted in watching the playful lambs and the horses. The steady whirring of the grindstone couldn’t affect the tranquility of the place for her, and the hammering and sawing sounds from the cabin provided the warm assurance that Adam was close.

Almost without her knowing, a little sigh escaped her lips. If only this peace could last.

* * *

Adam hammered the last nail in the wood and checked the newly installed shelf for its sturdiness. It would carry a good weight. “That’s it, little buddy!” He stepped back. “We’re done here. We might just be nice on the ladies and sweep the floor…” He regarded the stomped dirt floor. “Or at least clean out the lose twigs.”

Pico circled around himself, looking all about him with big eyes. “This is a huge house, Adam! You don’t need to sleep in the cave, you can move in with us.”

Adam chuckled. The cabin measured perhaps something like 20 square yards; it just had place enough for a bed, two smaller makeshift bedsteads, a cabinet and a table. Esma had already carried out a smaller cabinet and a standup shelf to make room for her boxes and crates. “I don’t think Lilyah would like that very much. From what I’ve gathered, she spent some time today decorating the cave and she wouldn’t be pleased to find it wasted effort.”

“I see.” Pico wrinkled his nose. “Does she bug you a lot? I mean, she’s very nice and all, but women can be a pest at times. Especially Ruby!”

“Aw, it’s not so bad.” Adam’s eyes glittered with amusement. “I can cope.”

“Good.” Pico had snatched a bushy twig and began to sweep the cabin’s floor. “But if you run into any trouble, you can turn to me. I’m a woman expert.”

Adam just managed to gulp down a burst of laughter. “Are you?”

“Sure. Grandpa taught me all about women.” The boy swept a gust of dust and twigs out of the door. “You need that if you want to survive with women in your family.”

Adam sorted the tools into a small crate and tried hard not to laugh. “Now that’s good to hear… real good. Care to share some expert advice? I mean, I’m from a family without women and I’m only married for two days now.”

“Ah, a greenhorn.” Pico knowingly nodded his head and sat down on the bed. “What do you want to know?”

Adam lowered himself on one of the bedsteads to be on eye-level to the boy. Rubbing his mouth and chin to hide his twitching face muscles, he pondered a question. “Hm… what should I do if I really want her favors, so she’ll be sweet on me?”

Pico weighed his head. “That’s a difficult one. You must flatter her. Find the weak spot and flatter her!”

“The weak spot?” Adam rubbed his nose, the dimples in his cheeks grew deeper and deeper.

“Something’s she’s proud of.” Pico squinted and visibly thought hard until his face lit up. “In the case of your wife, it’s most likely the hair.”

“Her hair?”

“Yes. Have you never noticed how long it is? And how she wears it half open all down her back, with all that glittery stuff in it? She sure thinks wonders how nice it is – and that’s where you come in!” Pico made a clever face and went on with an air of absolute authority, “You tell her how beautiful it is, and how lovely she looks, or how nicely her hair shines in the sun. I know it’s hard to do when you feel totally stupid saying all that sugary slop, but women like that sort of mush.”

Adam fought for a straight face. “I’m… impressed…”

“But there’s a warning to it,” Pico added with great seriousness. “You must be real convincing, like you really mean it, and most important – you must not laugh! If you laugh, you’re doomed!”

Adam could not prevent some clucking noises and saved himself into coughing, but Pico took it all for the wrong reason. Giggling himself, he nodded in deep understanding.

And just as Adam was able to breathe freely again, the boy jumped to his feet and pointed out of the window. “Hey, you can try it out right now – there she comes!”

“Oh, really?” Adam got up. “You think I’m ready?”

“Try it!” Pico gave him a reassuring push. “I’ll stay close by.”

“That’ll be very helpful…” Adam nearly lost his self-control.

“Adam?” Lilyah had reached the cabin. “Adam, are you two finished here? Dinner’s ready!”

“We’re finished.” Adam had to bow as he stepped out of the low door. “We just need to clean ourselves at the pools.”

Lilyah gave him a sweet smile and looked up the cabin. “You’ve worked so much… both of you.” She turned around to Pico, but the boy whizzed by and pretended to run to the pools. Lilyah didn’t mind, her attention was drawn to Adam again. “You must be hungry.”

“I sure am.” Adam’s eyes softened as they glided over her appearance. He loved it when she wore only the lightest of dresses, leaving most of her arms bare. “You look lovely.” Behind her back, he saw Pico lurking from behind an elderberry bush, demonstratively pulling at his hair and pointing the finger of his free hand to it.

“Oh.” Adam cleared his throat. “And your hair looks particularly beautiful today. I love it when you wear it that way.”

“Oh…” She blushed a little. “Why, thank you, Adam.”

From behind the elderberry bush, Pico bestowed him with an approving nod – and then pointed vehemently to the sun.

Adam pulled her closer and ran his hand through her hair, “It shines so nicely in the sun…”

She gave him a slightly startled look. Adam felt the laughter rising in his chest and bowed to kiss her, but when he saw Pico triumphantly giving him the thumbs-up he couldn’t help but chuckling into the kiss.

“Adam?” Lilyah’s brow crinkled.

Behind her back, Pico wildly grimaced and gesticulated about, giving all signs of warning and caution, and Adam lost his last composure. He burst out laughing and couldn’t stop it.

Lilyah took a step back in bewilderment, turning to look behind her, but all she noticed were the moving and rustling branches of the elderberry where Pico had dived into cover. And Adam laughed and laughed.

“You really should cool yourself off at the pools,” she quipped, but an amused twinkle lit her dark eyes as she turned to walk back to the campfire.

Adam wiped his eyes and went to the elderberry.

“I told you not to laugh!” Pico crawled from under the branches.

Adam laughed. “Sorry, little buddy, couldn’t help it.” He put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and they went to the pools together.

* * *

“I cooked it myself!” Lilyah declared proudly. “Under Esma’s instructions, of course.”

Adam’s hand with the fork hung in the air, one arched eyebrow climbed up a notch while a tiny trace of doubt sneaked into his gaze.

“You braised it, Child,” Esma corrected with a smile.

“Oh, of course.” Lilyah’s eyes expectantly hung on Adam’s face, waiting. “Try it!”

Adam took a cautious sniff. “It smells good…” His other eyebrow climbed up. “And it looks good.” A little spark began dancing in his eyes as he realized how intently Lilyah watched him. Suppressing a chuckle, he put the chunk in his mouth and began to chew. “Hm… hmmm… it’s good!” He swallowed. “It’s very good!”

The sun rose in Lilyah’s face and she happily began to break the flatbread to go with the meal. She already felt like the perfect housewife and didn’t notice Adam and Esma exchanging a quick, amused look.

“Pico, come to dinner!” Esma called out for the boy.

“I’ve just brought Daisy some grass!” The boy sat down next to Adam – soaking wet as he was after another jump into the water. “You should see the house now, Grandma! Adam and I made it all fine, and it’s so huge.” He grabbed for his bowl and began to tuck in.

“It’s only a makeshift solution,” Adam commented. “With some more time and better tools I could cut down some small trees and build a real sturdy roof. I’m not sure if this one would hold any heavy cloudbursts.”

“It doesn’t really look like there’ll be any heavy cloudbursts this summer, shabaro.”

“No… doesn’t look like any rain at all.” Adam focussed on his meal. “Lil, this sauce it absolutely delicious!”

“Thank you.” Her dark eyes shone over the compliment. “I put flour into it.”

“Very good,” he praised and noticed from the corner of his eye that Ruby gulped down a laugh. Smiling to himself, he continued eating with good appetite and took another helping, very much to Lilyah’s delight.

The meal was finished with fresh, hot tea and Ruby began to collect the empty bowls and plates.

“Oh, Ruby…” Esma emptied her cup. “When you wash the dishes, get the empty bottles Adam and Pico found in the adit and clean them out. We can put them to good use.”

“Yes, Grandma.”

“Uhm, Esma…” Adam looked up. “Leave the bottles alone for awhile – I might use some of them, I don’t know yet how many I’ll need.”

A flicker of astonishment showed in her eyes, but she nodded her head. “Alright. No bottle-cleaning for now, Ruby.”

“I’ll help you with the dishes.” Lilyah collected the cups and flatware and the two disappeared in direction of the pools, chatting amiably.

“It’s still quite bright.” Esma scrambled to her feet. “Get the basket, Pico. We’re looking for wild ginger!”

“Alright, Grandma!”

Adam watched as grandmother and grandson left for the edges of the woods, their dog in tow. His only company now was Daisy, the sheep, who lay a few yards apart, carefully covered with a blanket and with more grass heaped up in front of her than she could possibly eat. Adam smirked at the sight and smiled as bright laughter could be heard from the direction of the pool. Lilyah and Ruby seemed to get along just fine. He finally got up, but his light mood faded as he headed for the adit where the plunder of the prospectors was stored.

* * *

“Adam? Adam, what are you doing there? You should be resting.” Lilyah peered into the adit, directed to it by the sound of heavy hammering.

“Nothing much…” Adam pulled a few chunks out of a small barrel and placed them carefully beside him. “I’m finished here anway.” He got up and took the lantern that had provided a dim light for his work, placing it outside the adit’s entry before he shut it down. “What d’you say, love? Care for a walk?”

“Oh, yes.” Lilyah’s eyes became attentive as she looked him over. It was not that he looked physically unwell, on the contrary – except for the still visible scarring around his wrists no signs remained of his ordeal and his illness that had followed it, of the hard and exhausting days he had behind him. His movements had lost their stiffness and not even his feet seemed to hurt him anymore. But his face revealed something was bothering him, that there were heavy thoughts hidden behind that high forehead of his.

“You’re worrying…” She closed in on him and let her hands glide up his arms, enjoying his strong hands pulling her closer to him. Her fingers touched his cheeks while her eyes tried to read his.

“A bit, yes…” Adam admitted. “I’ve got a feeling that tomorrow will be the day of the great show-down. He must’ve figured out by now where we went. I can feel it in my bones – guess I know him too well.”

“He’s had some time to think now,” Lilyah said slowly. “Maybe he’s calmed down by now.”

“And you hope he comes up in a rash of hearts and flowers, celebrating his newfound love for fluffy little baah-baahs.” A lop-sided grin crossed his face. “I’d rather think not.”

Lilyah hesitated. “But maybe he’s rediscovered his old love for his son.”

Adam drew a breath. “Lil, I’m afraid the fact that I’m his son makes it worse rather than better. Of all the people in the world, a son shouldn’t stand against him. That’s what grates on him the most, and there’s nothing as bad as hurt feelings.” He let out a short laugh. “Of course he would readily forgive and forget the instant his boy came back to him to confirm that he’d been right all along, and we could live happily ever after, so to say. Trouble is this little boy here doesn’t play that game anymore!”

She felt a sudden sadness inside. “You’ve got hurt feelings, too…”

He blew a muffled laugh and reluctantly nodded his head. “Yah, maybe… but what does it help? Come on!” He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. “I don’t want to talk about that any longer – I’m in the mood for a romantic lover’s stroll along the Champs Elysees!”

She gave him a sidelong glance. “The Champs Elysees??”

“In Paris! It’s our honeymoon, after all.” He led her towards the grassy fields of the promontory, his hand pointed forward. “You see the famous avenue in front of us, lined by gaslights and clipped horse chestnuts in full bloom. We’ve just left the Théâtre des Folies-Marigny where we’ve seen Offenbach’s ‘Orpheus in the Underworld’, and we decided to take the celebrated lover’s walk in cheerful togetherness, just you and me. The air is filled with violins…” he broke off and twisted his mouth. “Well, let’s just pretend it’s violins…” He let a grumbling sigh when right in that moment the constant bleating was adorned by the deep, loud bawl of the ram. “… and a contrabass.”

Lilyah laughed and flung her arm around his waist, her free hand reaching up to his chest. Even though he mimicked an expression of exasperation, his hazel eyes twinkled with smiles and it warmed her heart.

“Do they ever stop bleating?” he asked. “Just for a few minutes or so out of sheer mercy?”

“No…” Her fingers gingerly brushed over his cheek as he bowed his head to kiss her. “Will you show me the waterfall you’ve talked about?”

“Too late today.”

“It’s still bright.”

“But not warm enough with the sun gone.” He smiled at her and pulled her closer to his side as they slowly continued their walk to the grassy fields. “You can’t go there without getting all wet.”

“Oh!” She laughed. “That sounds like it’s a fun place.”

“It is – but right now, it’s out of our world. There are no waterfalls on the Champs Elysees.” He kissed her hair. “All that is in front of us right now are beautifully crafted gaslights and time-honored, blooming horse chestnuts. We have the avenue all for ourselves, and we saunter along in blissful solitude.”

“And the air is filled with violins.” Lilyah nestled in his arm as they went along. “I think I can see the Tuileries Gardens.”

“Uh…” Adam sighed as a whinny sounded up and the black Arabian came running towards them, head and tail expectantly risen. “Wonder what he’s doing in the Tuileries Gardens.” He regarded the horse with a miffed look. “I said ‘solitude’ – just her and me. That excludes you, my friend!”

Chai snorted and hung his head between them.

“Pest…” Adam rolled his eyes and chuckled as Lilyah’s hand pinched him.

“He’s not the only one,” she laughed.

Adam sighed again as he saw his mare approaching to give him a friendly nuzzling-over.

“We’re pretty close, though,” Lilyah remarked in a comforting tone. “Just that it is a chestnut horse rather than horse chestnuts.”

Adam gave in and patted his very affectionate mare. “Can it be they want to tell us something?”

Lilyah heartily rubbed Chai’s neck and face. “We haven’t ridden them today.”

Adam sighed once more and stroked Mariah’s muzzle. “I admit I’d feel rather stupid riding circles around the promontory.”

“We’ll have to if we stay here for longer.” Lilyah brushed Chai’s forelock. “But not today. Go, boy, go look after the girls!”

“Yes, go!” Adam grinned. “You haven’t terrorized the cobs for at least 30 minutes!”

Lilyah had to laugh. “Oh, come on, he’s really behaved well all day. Besides, it’s your mare who has the say here.”

“Mariah is kindness in person,” Adam protested. “I’ve never seen a more gentle mare than her!”

“That might be, but she’s still the biggest horse around and she knows it.” She brushed over the mare’s face. “I’ve watched her. Esma’s two horses have a great deal of respect for her.”

“Good girl!” Adam patted his mare’s neck before he realized that the attention bestowed on the mare brought the stallion back. “Alright, let’s start again. The Champs Elysees, the Tuileries Gardens, the violins, the gaslights and the blooming chestnut trees; just you and me, two horses and about 300 sheep…”

Lilyah laughed and responded to his kiss before she put her arm around him, and they continued their walk in as close an embrace as before. Mariah eventually returned to grazing while Chai slowly followed after them.

Adam smirked. “You’ve noticed how Mariah is intelligent enough to realize when she’s not needed, whereas…”

“Adam!”

“At least he doesn’t bleat.”

“Adam!!” She gave him a look in feigned admonishment. “I’m trying to listen to the violins!”

Adam started laughing and Lilyah couldn’t help but join in. Still laughing, they began kissing, their hands gliding over each other’s body, savoring the warmth and the nearness as they nestled closer and closer together. Lilyah nearly lost her footing as she flung her arms around his neck, hungry for his mouth, his tongue, his passion. His hands seemed to be everywhere, gliding through the openings of her sleeveless dress to her skin beneath. It took a while until they remembered where they were.

“I love you…” Adam took her face in both hands, his thumbs gently brushing over her cheeks. His eyes were warm with tenderness and yet so dark with his passion.

“And I love you,” she softly returned, her hands caressing his face. “So much…”

They kissed again and continued their leisurely walk, until the darkness fell over the promontory and they could almost see the Arc de Triomphe.

* * *