Confessions Over Lunch

[Maura Blake]

"How long's it been, Mau'?" The question was asked ten minutes into lunch at the Cranberry Room. Kerri Watkins sat across from her friend and watched the slow rise of color warm the woman's cheeks. The blush, along with the silence, was more than adequate enough answer. "That long? Jesus, I really don't know how you do it."

"Lots of batteries," Maura quipped dryly, her lips poised around the tip of a red straw. Sparkling water with a few cranberries on the bottom of the glass turned the liquid pink, but the flavor was sweet and offered a taste for her palate different from the club soda typically requested. Hazel eyes lifted away from the white menu, its margins designed with sweeping slashes of cranberry-red swirls. The script wording matched, with the categories bolded and underlined. She already knew what to order, what puzzled her now was diverting Kerri from the latest subject. Her friend was like a rabid dog when she had an inkling of gossip -- insatiable and lethal."Don't you have to get back to the kitchen?"

Kerri laughed and lounged back in the red upholstered chair, her arm stretching out to rest her wrist on the white linen tablecloth as it hung off the curved edge. "Part of being a quality restaurateur is knowing who else to hire in the kitchen. I'm good," she slid a smile into place that could have made the Cheshire cat hide in shame. "So, why aren't you seeing anyone?"

"Because," Maura responded with a hint of a chuckled cough, swallowing the last sip of the water with a heavy gulp. "I just moved here and I'm busy on a story."

"You're always busy on a story, Maura. For Christ sake, I thought you were taking a sabbatical after the awards thing," Kerri lifted her free hand to flag down one of her staff, and a short-haired girl fresh out of high school approached the table. At first she collected Maura's menu, then jotted down the order of artichoke hearts with vinaigrette followed by a bowl of tomato soup with a sprig of basil. Once alone, Kerri returned a level stare across the table. "After things ended with Ryan, I put every single ounce of energy into culinary school and opening this," she waved a hand around to indicate the populated dining room of the restaurant. "I know it's hard to move on but ever since you've heard Morgan signed up for a second tour... you've been incredibly distant."

"I took a sabbatical," Maura couldn't even say the words with a straight face.

Kerri tossed back her head with a laugh. "One week?! That was the shortest sabbatical in history."

Knowing that would be the response, Maura's grin teased the corners of her mouth. The expression faded in minute measure as she leaned forward and rested the bends of both elbows on the pristine white cloth. "There is a story, Ker', I'm not lying about that. And it's one I really can't discuss now."

"You realize the last time you said those words to me, some lunatic wanted to flay you. I haven't forgotten that whole incident, and I pray to God you haven't either. He almost killed you and---"

"Do you honestly think I've forgotten?" Maura's voice rose a notch, drawing a curious glance from a passing waitress. It was cursory and quick, fading away once Kerri shook her head to the question. Sighing, Maura unfurled one arm and stretched it across the table to find her friend's hand. "He was obsessed and deranged, and I used all that to get the story. I was at fault--"

"You cannot defend that man, Maura. Yes, you put yourself at risk and I seriously hope you give up the notion of covering any more of those people..." the chef's words slowed to a dead stop, blue eyes studying the reaction on Maura's face. As always, the woman could not control any of her emotions and they broadcast her thoughts like a tickertape of information across her furrowed brow, the lowered eyes, and the pronounced nip of her front teeth to the fleshy part of her bottom lip. "Do -not- tell me you're working on another serial killer story."

Maura's expression betrayed her silence, and everything she wanted to keep secret was revealed with just a simple lift of her hazel eyes. "Yes... and no."

"Care to explain that?"

"I'm not sure just yet, but it looks like it'll be another big story."

"Is it related to your using your pen name for the last article about those shootings?"

Maura's gaze cut to the unknown faces scattered at round tables nearby. The clear glass windows were exposed, only partially covered by lacy half-panels, their sides pulled back and tied with white sashes. The panes sparkled in their cleanliness, allowing all the afternoon sun to be absorbed by the potted plants lining the front wall. "You cannot tell anyone what I'm about to say..." The greenish-brown flecks of her eyes darkened with a serious edge. When she watched Kerri's relaxed pose stiffen into a straight posture, obviously preparing for the information she was about to indulge, Maura cleared her throat and murmured, "It's been over two years."

The diversion worked. Kerri burst out laughing and tossed a folded linen napkin at her friend's face. Maura's quick reflexes made her catch it before it struck, and the laughter seeped from her throat in both amusement and relief. She was not ready, nor was she certain she'd ever be, to discuss the latest case.