{"id":37,"date":"2010-11-30T06:00:28","date_gmt":"2010-11-29T19:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.wordpress.com\/?p=37"},"modified":"2013-09-27T15:37:52","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T22:37:52","slug":"champagne-cocktails-and-haloumi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=37","title":{"rendered":"Season 1: Episode 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ana pushed at the ornate wooden door of Medina<\/i> and crossed the threshold. The smells wafting from the kitchen were alive with foreign spices, triggering memories of the summer she spent travelling through Spain and Morocco too many years ago. Her eyes took a moment to become accustomed to the dim light as she peered around the unfamiliar space. Low tables were surrounded by tasteful chairs, which were almost all occupied by small groups of people talking and laughing over cocktails. It was more like someone\u2019s living room than a bar. Intimate and inviting.<\/p>\n

She searched the well-dressed crowd for her housemates. They\u2019d strategically arranged to meet here \u2013 a bar where their friend Johnny was part-owner and sommelier. But it wasn\u2019t the prospect of free drinks that had lured them. It was more that, being Johnny\u2019s workplace, he wouldn\u2019t (or couldn\u2019t) be late.<\/p>\n

Tonight, however, it was Ana who was running hours behind time.<\/p>\n

Six months ago she\u2019d snagged a coveted job as a consultant at one of Melbourne\u2019s most exclusive public relations firms. She knew, when she signed on for that hefty pay cheque, that her social life would be all but obliterated. The work days were long and often ended with client functions, which meant that sometimes she barely even saw the inside of her own bedroom. Her life, essentially, had been whittled down to rapid costume changes between work-related activities.<\/p>\n

Initially, Ana had insisted to herself that she would rigorously maintain some sort of work-life balance \u2013 time to go to the gym, have coffee with her friends, establish a healthy and loving relationship with a boyfriend \u2013 but now, when she wasn\u2019t at work, she was making up excuses to go back just so she could spend more time with him. Marc. Her gorgeous, charismatic, sexy and \u2013 utterly, tragically \u2013 married boss.<\/p>\n

The attraction had been mutual right from the start. On that first day, when she had walked into the office, Marc had strolled over to her desk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome,\u201d he\u2019d said. And that was all it took.<\/p>\n

Bam! It was as though someone had sucked the air right out of her body. Thank goodness he\u2019d been on vacation during the interview process; Ana didn\u2019t think she would have been able to string a sentence together with those cool grey-blue eyes boring into her soul. Still, they\u2019d managed to keep their hands off each other\u2026 for about three weeks.<\/p>\n

Ana hated the fact that their being together could potentially ruin so many other lives. But then Marc would kiss her deeply on the lips and all the doubts she had about whether they should be together evaporated. How could something that felt so unbelievably perfect be so wrong?<\/p>\n

Tonight she would blame her lateness on their \u2018management meeting\u2019 running over schedule. In reality, Marc had started undressing her as soon as she had walked into his office three hours ago. Slowly peeling off her silk blouse, he\u2019d handled her as if he was unwrapping some kind of exquisite chocolate \u2013 then devoured her with the urgency of someone who feared she might melt if left exposed for too long. \u00a0Somewhere in the midst of their lovemaking \u2013 on the desk, his chair and the floor \u2013 she\u2019d somehow managed to construct a strategy for dealing with a troublesome client and explained it to him between groans of pleasure.<\/p>\n

Yes. Multitasking was definitely one of her fortes.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cAna!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana looked over to a corner table and spotted her housemates, Willow and Mia, sitting with Johnny, who tapped his watch and arched an eyebrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, please!\u201d Ana snorted. \u201cLike you\u2019ve ever been on time for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnny shrugged in a good-natured way. He had many exceptional qualities, did Johnny. Punctuality was not one of them.<\/p>\n

Ana blew kisses to her housemates, not wanting to get too close in case the perfume she\u2019d applied liberally in the cab hadn\u2019t managed to cover Marc\u2019s scent. \u201cThis is a great place,\u201d she said, sitting down and taking in the surroundings.<\/p>\n

Johnny smiled broadly and blushed a little. \u201cYeah? You like it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCareful,\u201d teased Willow. \u201cYou almost look like you\u2019re proud that you\u2019ve achieved something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnny took a sip of his beer, trying to hide the smile. That was the price you had to pay for being a handsome \u2013 in a five o\u2019clock shadow, black denim kind of way \u2013 36-year-old former rock god. You could never be punctual or look too interested in anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you should be proud,\u201d Mia said, softly. \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t the only ones who thought so. Although it had only been open for a few weeks, it was obvious that the Melbourne hipsters had already staked claim to Medina<\/i> as their favourite after-work drinks establishment. The casual restaurant\/bar had received glowing reviews from all the major press, with Johnny\u2019s carefully selected wine list being touted as \u201cunparalleled\u201d and \u201ca triumph\u201d by the city\u2019s leading critic. His friends never knew how Johnny had developed his talent for sourcing unusual and distinctive wines. All they ever saw him drink was beer \u2013 aside from the odd glass of red. In fact, despite having known him for close to 13 years, not one of them could claim they had him figured out. But Mia, Willow, Ana and Johnny had been friends for so long that the girls accepted his enigmatic ways as normal. Johnny was Johnny.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, really, what is<\/i> your excuse for such appalling tardiness?\u201d Johnny said in a mock stern voice, turning to Ana.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork,\u201d chorused Willow and Mia, without giving Ana an opportunity to answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cManagement meeting,\u201d Ana said, ducking her head to hide her slightly crimson cheeks. It was getting harder and harder to lie to them, and she didn\u2019t need her oldest friends reading her face tonight. \u201cWhat are you drinking?\u201d she said quickly, changing the subject.<\/p>\n

\u201cChampagne cocktail,\u201d Mia said, handing her glass to Ana so she could try it. Ana took a slow sip. The Champagne bubbles tap-danced across her tongue and left behind an alluring hint of lychee and mint. She inhaled and caught a whiff of elderflower right at the end. The overall effect was smooth, sweet and brilliantly summery. Just what she needed to clear her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother four of these?\u201d she said as she stood up for the bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeer for me,\u201d called out Johnny. \u201cAnd tell Franco to bring us some food.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

When the food arrived, the four friends jumped on it as if they hadn\u2019t eaten in days. First, fresh bread \u2013 still steaming from the oven \u2013 and parmesan-infused olive oil for dipping. The peppery flavour of the locally produced oil almost masked the cheese infusion, but Johnny encouraged them all to savour its taste, to roll the oil over their tongues a few seconds longer to appreciate the subtle harmony of flavours.<\/p>\n

Next, the kitchen sent out a parade of small plates. Freshly podded broad beans dressed with slivers of prosciutto; mushrooms slow-cooked in butter, sherry vinegar and a splash of cream; Kurobuta pork meatballs with a rich tomato ragu; and grilled haloumi between slices of fresh pear, topped with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses.<\/p>\n

Ana bit slowly into a piece of the charred, salty cheese. She loved the way it squeaked against her teeth. The tart green pear and liquid molasses was a terrific match; the sharpness cutting through the fat of the haloumi and leaving her mouth alive with flavour. She watched as the molasses moved lazily down her fork and ran down her hand. Closing her eyes, Ana used her tongue to remove the thick treacle-like substance, imagining Marc slowly licking her and bringing her to the brink of pleasure \u2013 and then over the top \u2013 again and again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

No one spoke until all the plates had been wiped clean with bread and sticky fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo,\u201d Mia said, after a suitable pause to pay reverence to the delicious meal. \u201cChristmas. We\u2019re still on, right? I\u2019ve already broken the news to my parents that I\u2019m not coming home, so there\u2019s no backing out now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia\u2019s family all lived in Singapore and although she often went back for the holidays, this year she\u2019d decided to stay in Melbourne and cover shifts at the Pilates studio where she was an instructor. Mia had come to Melbourne at 18 and had gained her permanent residency after finishing university. Her parents were upset that she hadn\u2019t wanted to move back home. But \u2018upset\u2019 seemed to be their thing, as her biannual visits never seemed to quell their disappointment that she was unmarried (still!) and living with strangers (who were these so-called friends?) in a foreign city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in,\u201d said Johnny enthusiastically.\u00a0 Christmas had never been a major thing for him, so he was secretly delighted to spend it with his best friends, rather than doing what he did every other Christmas day \u2013 sitting in his warehouse apartment, smoking joints and listening to vinyl.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, Willow loved Christmas with her family. This year, however, she was exhausted and quite pleased that she could stay in Melbourne rather than make the Christmas Eve drive to her parents\u2019 rural Victorian property where she and about 30 other relatives always descended. Willow had started a new job halfway through the year, teaching music at an elite private school in Melbourne\u2019s inner-east, and already felt burnt out. Come the end of term, all she wanted to do was sleep for a month to catch up from the school concerts, intrusive parents and precocious high school students she had to deal with. She loved her job but sometimes she wished someone had warned her what an uphill battle trying to instil teenagers with a passion for anything other than modern music was going to be. If it hadn\u2019t been discovered on YouTube in the last five minutes, they weren\u2019t interested.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019m always in,\u201d Ana said. Ana had a tumultuous relationship with her parents. Despite the fact that, of the three housemates, Ana\u2019s parents were the only ones who lived in Melbourne, Willow and Mia had only met them once or twice. They were rich, snobby and had never played a huge role in Ana\u2019s life. Ana doubted whether they would even notice if she just didn\u2019t turn up on Christmas day. Besides, Marc had promised her a special Christmas surprise\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you going to invite your mystery man to Christmas dinner so we can finally meet him?\u201d Willow said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMystery Man?\u201d Ana said too quickly, looking startled. \u201cI don\u2019t have a mystery man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, Tom? Your boyfriend? You know, amazing architect, all-round great guy? The one we are still yet to meet?!\u201d Willow chided.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh. Him.\u201d Ana shifted nervously in her seat. \u201cHe\u2019s going overseas. Saving a village with some cantilevered structure. Or something. He invited me to go, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWork?\u201d Willow and Mia said together.<\/p>\n

Ana laughed nervously. \u201cYeah. Work.\u201d Not work<\/i>, she thought to herself. Marc<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess the only question left,\u201d said Mia, \u201cis: Willow, what are you going to cook?\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with her many other talents – singing, dancing, even knitting – Willow could cook. Boy, could she cook. She made dishes that enlivened your senses in such a way that it didn\u2019t seem possible anything could smell, taste or feel as good. Some people had said her cooking was better than sex.<\/p>\n

Well, almost.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got some ideas for the main course \u2013 nothing too outrageous, but not too traditional, either,\u201d Willow said. \u201cWe should all contribute something though. It\u2019s Christmas, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana\u2019s hand shot in the air. \u201cDessert!\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia shrugged. \u201cVegetables?\u201d She knew that Willow would probably have that covered \u2013 Willow only ever envisaged meals in their entirety \u2013 but she also knew that \u2018Willow vegetables\u2019 were generally swimming in butter or cream. Or both. Aside from the occasional Champagne cocktail, Mia was generally regarded as a health nut and could mentally deal with only so many calories on any given day. Even Christmas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat should I bring?\u201d Johnny asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWine!\u201d the three women said in unison.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Several drinks later, the group poured themselves out of the bar. The temperature had dropped significantly and the wind lashed away at the trees.\u00a0 It certainly didn\u2019t feel as though tomorrow was going to be the first day of summer. Willow was belting out the theme song from Flashdance <\/i>with great gusto even though she didn’t know the lyrics. Mia had taken her arm in an attempt to stop Willow falling over as she tipsily negotiated the cobbled laneway in her high heels.<\/p>\n

As they passed a nondescript apartment building, Johnny stopped. \u201cThis is me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow let out a wolf-whistle and Ana made kissing noises in Johnny\u2019s direction. Mia tried to keep the disapproving frown off her face. Johnny had spent the latter part of the evening texting someone and they all knew what that meant: booty call. The girls had given up questioning him on who his current lover was. He never gave them an answer, anyway. He gave them the finger and laughed as he pushed the glass doors open.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee you on the 25th<\/sup>,\u201d Willow called out to him. \u201cDon\u2019t forget to bring lots of wine!\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnny, his back to them, raised his fist in acknowledgement.<\/p>\n

Linking arms with her friends, Ana smiled. \u201cCome on, ladies. Let’s go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ana pushed at the ornate wooden door of Medina and crossed the threshold. The smells wafting from the kitchen were alive with foreign spices, triggering memories of the summer she spent travelling through Spain and Morocco too many years ago. Her eyes took a moment to become accustomed to the dim light as she peered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[197],"tags":[36,74,85,109,119,148,166,174,196],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}