Episode Two Hundred and Nine: The Quiche

Beeping from the kitchen caused me to dash in that direction. “The quiche!”

It sat on the counter, though it didn’t look like a quiche. I touched the center with a finger, and it was still liquid.

“What am I doing wrong with this?” I asked myself, before snagging my phone and quickly scrolling to the comments. I then got out some tinfoil and put it along the crust so the edges wouldn’t burn, then put it back in the oven.

“It will turn out alright,” I muttered under my breath.

“Are you talking to yourself?” asked the Cat, as he jumped onto the counter.

“Just trying to get breakfast to turn out good.” I stared into the oven for a moment, then straightened up and sat at the island. “It only needs a little longer.”

“It smells okay,” he added.

“Thanks, I hope so.” I shrugged, and studied the Cat. “What else is on the agenda today?”

“We have another customer we can wrap up if you would like.” The Cat’s tail flickered across the counter. “It should be easy.”

I nodded, just as the timer beeped again. This time, I carefully pulled the quiche out and the center did not jiggle. The crust hadn’t burned, because of the foil, and it looked right. Or, right-ish at least. Not bad for my first try.

“It needs to rest for five, then I can cut it and we can eat.”

“We haven’t had bacon in a while…” mumbled the Cat.

I chuckled and made a mental note to make some bacon tomorrow. It was an easy enough request, and bacon was awesome. Especially since the Cat didn’t ask for much.

Silence lingered, but it wasn’t awkward or bad.

Then it was time.

I cut into the quiche and it held its form. Everything looked cooked, and it smelled good. Nice and cheesy.

I plated up three servings.

“Indigo, breakfast!” I yelled.

The Cat took the first bite, then continued to eat, so I gave it a shot. It wasn’t bad. Tasted like a scramble, with crust. Honestly, scrambles were easier, so this wasn’t going to be put into our rotation. The crust wasn’t awesome or anything.

By the time the Cat and I were done, Indigo hadn’t reappeared.

“I’ll bring her food then be back down for more work,” I explained, as I snagged her plate.

The Cat nodded and jumped off the counter.

I found Indigo flipping through the pages of a history book with a look of concentration on her face. I set the plate down near her, but she didn’t even glance up.

“Are you okay?” I asked, now wondering if this had been a good idea.

Her head snapped in my direction. “Good, good. Studying.”

Then she went right back to it.

“Make sure you eat something,” I said, grinning at how much I sounded like my mom. Then I headed out of the living room. Hopefully, she’d take a break or two. Either way, I’d need to keep an eye on how much she actually was studying.

My mug waited for me on the counter, next to the Cat.

“Would you like some more coffee?” I asked as I sat on the stool.

He shook his head.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

The floor shifted to a dark grey stone that reminded me of slate underneath the rug. The bells rang as the door slid open without a touch. 

A hand of dark grey, with cracks of bright orange peeking out, reached for the door, but it stayed out of range and opened in front of them.

A tall woman stepped inside with skin like cooling lava. Bright orange hair cascaded down her shoulders and ran underneath her scaled armor.

“This isn’t right,” mumbled the Cat. He stood up and took a step closer to the door. “Who is this?”

A scepter hung from her belt, and with each step the carpet smoked a little.

“Welcome to the shop,” I said with a smile, trying not to look at the Cat. “How can I help you today?”

“Is that coffee?” she asked, suddenly zeroed in on me and the coffee mug clutched in my hands. 

I nodded and took a sip with a smile.

“Why is this happening?” asked the Cat, shaking his head. He jumped off behind the counter and padded away.

“Please say that’s coffee. This world doesn’t have it, only some horrible berry stuff.” Her demeanor totally changed, and her shoulders lowered a little. “I knew I should have stocked up on the last world that had some.”

“I have coffee. Would you like me to make you a cup?” I asked, turning toward Betty. 

“Yes, please. The Eternal Fire is shining down on me today.” She crossed the room and carefully didn’t lean on the counter. “What do you have? Do I have choices?”

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Do you want hot or cold?”

She groaned. “Cold doesn’t work. I love it, but, like, nothing stays cold around me for long.”

This time I tilted my head to the side. “Cause of your hand, or what?”

“I raise the ambient temperature around me, so it ends up becoming room temperature.” She motioned with a hand. “This is the coolest shop I’ve ever been in. It’s not getting warmer, which is super comfortable.”

I knew what I needed, and my old bright pink thermos appeared on the counter. “I have just the thing. So, cold. Do you want it sweet, or not sweet?”

“Oh, I love me sweet, and milky if you have something like that.” She almost leaned forward against the wood, but visibly resisted.

“I have something for you.” I pulled the cold brew out of the fridge, which thankfully never went bad inside the space, along with some milk and a little vanilla syrup. Then I made a quick cold drink for her, before putting the lid on it and twisting it shut.

“As long as you don’t burn the straw here, this will keep your drink cold for you.” I pointed at the straw. “It’s a vanilla cold brew.”

The fire-person picked up the thermos and took a careful sip. Her eyes glowed for a moment, and turned rather round as she nodded her head.

“I need more of this, can you pack it in jars?” Her question came out as demanding, but more enthusiastic than threatening, so I didn’t mind.

“My space will draw the heat out of it, and keep it from spoiling.”

“Let me see how much I have already brewed.” I opened the fridge, and pulled out the second pitcher of cold brew I had. I hadn’t been drinking it lately, so I didn’t have a ton of it.

“I can jar up everything I have. Do you want it plain, or how it is in your drink?” I asked, doing the math on making a big batch of what I’d just made.

“This drink, definitely. It’s perfection in a sip,” she carefully held the thermos and took another drink. “You’ve ruined basic coffee for me.”

“Sorry, not sorry.” I pulled out some quart jars and started making drinks in them before putting lids on them. By the time I finished, I had six quart jars full. “Let me ring you up.”

“I hope I can find you guys again,” mumbled the fire lady under her breath. “This is just so good!”

The register worked as normal and the price popped up in gems. “This says 15 blue gems…” 

What the heck were blue gems?

“That’s it? No, that has to be wrong, that’s way too cheap for this product.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a leather bag from nowhere. She poured a small pile of small blue gems the size of cough drops onto the wooden counter. Way more than fifteen.

“Keep all of that.” She somehow slid each capped jar back into the leather bag, despite it being way too small. “You deserve it.”