Page 10 of Magic Blooms
Immediately the smell started to draw me in. “I thought you were going to help me,” I said as I found myself wandering closer to the cooking surface. I looked forward to tasting what was coming but also couldn’t lose sight of what was most important.
“Yes, honey, but this is a bed and breakfast. If I can’t provide my guests with the breakfast part of that equation, what good would I be? Besides, you need to eat, too.” Lorraine then flipped the egg mixture over and allowed it to continue cooking on the other side. I certainly wouldn’t mind taking a few bites of one of those…
“You ever flipped an omelet before?” she asked. This woman really wasn’t going to take it easy on me.
“No. And it doesn’t look like something I can do either.”
“Nonsense. It’s easy.” She put one completed omelet onto a plate.
“You spread some butter down, put a ladle full of mixture, and flip when it looks like that.” She demonstrated the steps before stepping out of the way and rummaging through the drawers for various plates and cutlery.
Once again she left me with no choice. Either let the mixture burn or do my best to mimic her performance.
Thankfully, the simple instructions proved to be effective as I managed to turn the omelet over without dropping it to the floor. So I kept on, layering butter and then more of the egg mixture over and over again until I’d made ten such omelets.
When I’d finished, Lorraine plated them each beside a small bowl of the white substance she called grits and then added a flower to each of the plates for decoration before taking them out one-by-one to serve her guests.
I wasn’t happy about being turned into a cook, but I had to admit I was proud of myself. The whole place smelled so good that my mouth was now shamelessly watering with hunger. Blessedly, Lorraine had held two plates back for us to eat in the kitchen.
The room was large enough for both of us to cook without getting in one another's way. There was also a large central area with backless chairs for us to sit on. This made me wonder if she was intentionally keeping me apart from the guests or if she always dined on her own.
Lorraine came back from the dining room and collapsed onto one of the chairs and rested her head in her hands. “Whew. Another breakfast pulled off. I never know how I get those done.”
She then looked at me through her widely splayed fingers and huffed. “Well don’t just stand there. Grab a fork and dive in.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I picked up the utensil she’d pointed at and started to dive into the omelet I’d helped prepare.
“Oh my goodness,” I moaned at the first bite. “This is amazing.”
Lorraine also took a bite and smiled. “Simple, but effective. Just like all the best parts of life. We did a good job.”
“Speaking of doing a good job, when do we work on getting me back home?”
“Always with the one-track mind, you are.” Lorraine chuckled and took another bite. “First thing’s first, I suppose. Tell me, where is your home?”
“Vilea. It’s a beautiful place that works in utter harmony with the natural world.”
“Oh boy. You’re really not going to like it here.”
“Your world is pleasant in unexpected ways,” I said, paying it the best and truest compliment I could. “I don’t think I’d mind visiting so much, if I knew for a fact I’d be going home soon.” I liked Lorraine, and I didn’t mind spending time with Oinkers, Ranger, or Joshua, either. Add to that the wonderful food, and I could get used to this, even with the unseemly choice of attire.
“Hmm. I’ve never heard of Villa—what now?”
“Vilea,” I supplied after finishing my eggs with great speed.
“Either way, I’ve never heard of it. But you’re in the right place, if you just had to get lost. Elyria, our town, is smack dab in the middle of Peach Plains. It’s an interdimensional magical intersection of worlds. So I’m guessing you came through one of those pockets. The challenge will be opening a doorway back to your world. For that we’ll need to go into town and see if Jasmine can help us.”
I leaned forward. This was good! It sounded like Lorraine actually did have a plan. I took a bite of the lumpy white stuff in the tiny bowl beside my plate and immediately closed my eyes to savor the blissful mix of flavors. It wasn’t much to look at, but once I got past the unusual texture, I could have died of culinary happiness.
“This is also amazing,” I said again, failing to express just how wonderful I found the new food to be.
Lorraine just winked at me. “Right? Gotta keep the southern spirit strong. The guests love it. The trick is to add a whole lot of butter and just a sprinkle of sugar to get anything to taste better. It might not be rocket science, but the kitchen is where I show off my smarts.”
Once again, I didn’t really know what Lorraine was talking about, but I didn’t care. I ate the grits as quickly as possible, craving each new bite before I finished the last. Considering this, maybe I should keep the oversized clothes. I’d be able to fit into them soon enough if I kept on eating like this.
For whatever reason, that was when I finally remembered my manners.
“The man I was with yesterday, Joshua. Is he okay?” After we’d gotten the pigs back into the barn, he’d disappeared every bit as quickly as he’d first shown up.
