Once again her room was already open and all their friends were inside. Lana froze at the kitchen door because the table was filled with presents. She stood there staring, not comprehending what was going on.
Blaine put his hand around her waist and leaned down. "Let's get dinner. Those things can wait."
That got her moving as she changed her focus to cooking. Kattie stood up, "so what's the plan for tonight?"
"We are going to have eggplant parmesan with sautéed vegetables. Have you ever made homemade pasta?"
"Uh… no."
Lana laughed. "Just cut the vegetables up in bite-sized pieces," Lana said as she got the vegetables out. She also got out the things needed to make the sauce and got that started.
"What can I do? I want to help the birthday girl," Blaine offered.
Lana nodded, "you can slice the eggplant like this," she made the motion on top of the eggplant with her hand, "about this thick," showing a small distance between her thumb and finger.
With the vegetables being prepared, Lana took her bag off her back tenderly because of the strawberries. The tomatoes were now cooking on the stove after she did her thing to remove the skins. She had cut them to remove the seeds before putting them in the pot to cook. She created the breading then dunked each eggplant slice in and put them on 2 trays for the oven.
Kattie got the veggies on the stove. Lana made up the pasta and got that cooking while she made up a vegan cheese that was tasty rather than offensive to the palate like so many commercial versions were. Everything started getting done right on time, as she planned in her head. Soon, everyone was eating and enjoying their meal. Suddenly, Lana realized Dobin's watch said a number 3 instead of the number 1.
"Dobin, what's with your watch? Did you get another ability book?"
Dobin shook his head. "I woke up feeling stronger and this is how my watch looked."
"Interesting." Lana said.
There was so much food, everyone got full before the food ran out. Lana was pleased.
"So, do we do presents first or desert?" Lana asked.
"I bought some whipped cream to add to the desert if that's okay?" Almin said.
Lana smiled.
Kattie said, "Presents. I want to see what you got!"
Lana chuckled. She was quite excited for Dobin to open her present as well.
"Why are there so many presents, anyway?" Lana asked.
They all looked at each other. It was Blaine who responded. "I think you'll find everything properly labelled."
Lana nodded. "Dobin needs to open mine first." She grabbed both presents and placed them in front of him.
Dobin opened both and his eyes teared up. "These are really nice…."
Lana smiled and gave him a hug.
Dobin then told her she needed to open his next. She started crying and hugging her blanket and clothes. Blaine left the room to get some tissues. This was going to be a very emotional day for them. Kattie then handed them each a present and they opened them together. They each got another new outfit. Almin handed a present to Lana and Alto handed one to Dobin and it was new bedding sets for each which included matching sheets, blankets, pillows and pillowcase.
Lana was crying so hard she couldn't see any more and Dobin wasn't far behind.
Blaine then handed them each a gift from Chekof explaining these were from him and it was super fancy bedding that must have cost a lot of money but once again it was the full set. The fabric was very soft to touch and had a bit of a shimmer.
Blaine gave her the one from him last. While the items seemed simple, the quality was quite high. The shoes felt like slippers in her hands. "I wanted to get you heels but didn't know if you'd wear them."
She couldn't speak so she just hugged her precious gifts to her chest. She never felt so loved or appreciated.
Alto even made such a comment at their reactions. "I know we haven't known you very long but both have helped us all in your own ways. Especially with Lana cooking for us every night. You don't have to do any of this. We wanted to let you know how much we appreciate you."
Lana was now bawling but it was a release kind of cry. She was finally in the company of people who wanted her around. Blaine pulled her in his lap and held her until she was done. "So, do you have enough blankets now?"
Dobin chuckled and said he did.
Lana laughed, "Never! However, I think we got enough nice clothes we can throw away those horrible orphanage things…"
Lana took a deep breath and looked at each of her friends, "now I must know all of your birthdays!" They all laughed but not one gave up the information.
She got off Blaine's lap and placed her things on her bed. He helped her. Back in the kitchen, all she needed to do was cut the strawberries then mash them and do her thing. Blaine saw her get the masher out and put the cut strawberries in a bowl. The others were watching the two from the table. These were not huge strawberries and Blaine was asking why. She peeled the leaves off and told him to "open up". She tenderly placed a strawberry in his mouth and he bit down. He got a burst of flavor he had never experienced before.
Those watching thought he was being dramatic for effect to earn her affection but his reaction was genuine. These were the best strawberries he had ever tasted and that was saying a lot.
"There are many species of strawberries. This is one of the wild versions. The flavor has no equal to those you find on the market. These were growing in our forest. So I learned how to grow them."
Holding the masher, "do I just press down on them with this thing?"
Lana nodded. "You do want chunks so don't liquefy them."
Blaine nodded, "just tell me when to stop. I've never done any of this kitchen stuff before. You make it look so easy."
"Did your mother do your cooking for you, Blaine?" Alto asked.
"We have private chefs that have world-renown training. My grandmother changes them out every year or so to keep the flavors in the house fresh."
"So, you're just being polite about my cooking or is the military food so bad you suffer through mine?" Lana asked.
Blaine looked up sharply into her eyes, "Never sell yourself short. If I wanted to, I could order food to be delivered to my room. I like your cooking and I like your company even more."
He looked back down at his bowl, "besides, I'd rather be here then home any day… are these good?"
Lana looked and agreed they were. She got out the shortcake and soon Blaine was helping her dish out the strawberry shortcake. He refused the whipped cream because she didn't make it.
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