A Tasteful Beginning      A Tasteful Beginning by Spikesgirl58  
 

"Cara?" 

"Mph?" 

"Cara, wake up!" 

His shoulder was roughly jostled and Illya moaned from the effort of
getting just one eye open. "What?" He coughed and reached for a nearly
empty glass. He felt as if he'd swallowed seven tons of drywall dust in
the last few days. He and Matt had been working non-stop trying to get the
restaurant up to code before opening. It was still two months away, but
there was so much work yet to be done 

"I heard something." 

"What? A mouse farting? Matt, you've been hearing something on the hour
every hour since we got here. Go to sleep!" Illya's nerves were frayed and
his body ached. It had been years since he'd worked at physical labor and
muscles, long dormant, protested loudly. He'd just gotten comfortable. 

"I'm serious. I heard something moving." 

"The house has been empty for two years. There are probably rats the size
of small dogs living here." Illya clamped his eyes shut and silently
cursed himself. 

From his spot on the thin mattress, Matt drew the sheet closer to his
neck. "Rats?" 

Illya clicked on a small light and pointed. "Look! Where is the cat?" 

"At the foot of the mattress." 

"If there were anything moving, do you think that she would still be here?
No, she'd be gone like a shot or have you forgotten what an adept hunter
she is?" Matt ran a hand through his curly red hair and looked so
miserable that Illya was left with no alternative. He shook his head and
held open his arms. "Come here, Mattie." 

Instantly, the thin body was pressed up against him and Illya pulled him
close. "Grazie" 

"What are you worried about, Matthew?" 

"This place, these people, everything." Matt's voice was muffled as he
nuzzled into the crook of Illya's neck. "What if we open and they think we
are no good? What if no one will come because of what we are?" 

"City folks?" Illya kissed Matt's forehead gently. 

"Cara!" 

"I know, but you are being silly. We've run the numbers, talked with
experts, this place will be great." Illya snapped off the light and
settled back down. Matt's hand was stroking Illya's chest in an
absentminded way. 

"So... what do we call this place?" Matt asked. "Chef Rehnquist said that
was as importante as the cuisine we serve." 

"That old fox should know. It should be short and something that isn't so
crazy that no one can remember it." 

"How about Gusto per l'avventura?" 

"Taste for Adventure? How can a restaurant be adventurous?" 

"We are going to be introducing to them a taste of the city, yes? A taste
of what other cuisines the world can offer them? That's what I mean." 

"Hmm." Illya stroked Matt's shoulder with his forefinger. "Perhaps you are
right. But how about we just shorten it to Taste?" There was no answer and
Illya smiled at the soft snore in his ear. He shut his eyes and sighed.
Yes, Taste would be perfect  


  Please post a comment on this story. 
Read posted comments.