With that, he whisked the bowls away like a whirlwind, setting them aside for later cleaning.

The next plate? A salad, mixed with five different kinds of lettuce and spinach, garnished with onions, carrots, celery, cucumber, tomato, a light sprinkle of cheese, a dusting of black pepper, and a vinaigrette dressing. He set this down for her, as proud and confident of it as of anything he had prepared for her.