I BRING MEAT / CHAPTER 05
A Variety of Methods
HykarlAlfredTonyZaraMiss QBaby VSelinaRachel
By late afternoon, the courtyard smelled of cut herbs and
heating charcoal. Selina sat at the spice table sorting rosemary
from thyme. Rachel labelled serving dishes. Zara worked at the
grill while Baby V mixed drinks.
Heat pressed down beneath the cooking-shelter roof. A fan turned
above the preparation table, fluttering Rachel's labels
whenever it faced her. Selina kept one hand on the herb basket;
every few moments she lifted a stem to smell it, then laid it in
the appropriate pile. Out by the fire, Zara shook the coals into
an even bed.
Tony was attempting to carry three pineapples at once.
Alfred: “Two trips,”
Alfred advised over the radio.
Tony: “That’s exactly what
they’re expecting.”
Hykarl took his place beside the cooking fire with the tongs
held like a ceremonial baton.
Hykarl: “Behold,”
he announced.
Hykarl: “I am meat. I
bring meat. I cook meat. The fire obeys ze Kapten!”
A small puff of smoke blew directly into his face.
He coughed with authority.
Zara turned a tray towards him.
Fat hissed at the edge of the grill. Hykarl followed the sound
with professional attention until he realised Zara was looking
at him rather than the tray. Behind her, steam lifted a saucepan
lid by a fraction and let it settle again. The entire kitchen
seemed very certain about what it intended to do to dinner.
Zara: “Roasted.”
Miss Q: “Steamed,”
said Miss Q, indicating a separate covered dish.
Rachel lifted a bunch of herbs.
Rachel: “Stuffed with
these.”
Hykarl looked from face to face.
Hykarl: “Alfred,”
he whispered into the radio.
Hykarl: “They have
different plans for me.”
Alfred: “They’re
discussing dinner.”
Tony recovered a slipping pineapple against his chin.
Tony: “You introduced
yourself as the ingredients, boss.”
Hykarl: “SCARY,”
Hykarl said.
Hykarl: “DEATH BY
COOKING.”
Baby V brought him a glass of water.
Baby V: “Relax, darling.
We’re keeping you for company.”
He accepted the glass with both hands.
Hykarl: “For company. Yes.
Good. That is a very good—”
The sentence departed without him.
Baby V smiled.
Baby V: “He was calmer
about the roasting.”
Miss Q unrolled a length of baking paper.
The paper made a long, dry whisper as it opened across the
table. Q smoothed it with both palms. Selina placed the herbs
within reach, then glanced at Hykarl over the rim of her cup,
waiting to see how far his imagination would travel without
assistance.
Miss Q: “There’s also en
papillote.”
Hykarl backed into a charcoal sack.
Hykarl: “NO WRAPPING. I
CAME HERE FOR—FOR RESEARCH. NOT TO BECOME AN ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN.”
Alfred: “The sea bass,
Kapten,”
Alfred said.
Alfred: “We’re wrapping
the sea bass.”
Tony considered the paper.
Tony: “The look could
work. Streamlined.”
Selina watched Hykarl inspect the quickest path to the jetty.
Selina: “Predictable,”
she murmured.
He stopped.
Hykarl: “What is?”
Selina: “You looked at the
boat before the fish.”
He looked at the fish.
Hykarl: “Routine maritime
awareness.”
She folded a little rosemary into the paper and slid the packet
towards Q.
Selina: “What if someone
wrapped her arms around you?”
Hykarl’s fingers tightened around his glass.
Hykarl: “That application
would require separate consideration.”
Tony set down the pineapples.
Tony: “Postponing
evacuation, Alfred.”
Zara rescued the tongs from beneath Hykarl’s elbow.
Zara: “Come stand here.
You’re on the cooler side. Turn these when I tell you.”
Hykarl: “I possess
extensive experience.”
Zara: “Good. Wait.”
He waited.
For a few breaths they worked shoulder to shoulder. Zara watched
the food; he watched for her signal. When she stepped around him
to reach the salt, he made so much room that his heel found the
charcoal sack again. She moved it out of his way with her foot
and continued cooking.
Zara: “Now.”
He turned them neatly.
Zara nodded.
Zara: “There’s my useful
captain.”
Hykarl examined the tongs.
Hykarl: “The
hinges,”
he said,
Hykarl: “may require
inspection.”
Zara: “Later.”
