Lazy Afternoon

[Kathritana]

Regina walked through the park with one hand dragging an overly large, wheeled cooler behind her with a propane tank attached, and with the other she held a woven basket. She was so pleased that the weather had indeed turned out so nice, and the sun felt wonderful. It was the perfect day for a picnic, although she hadn't brought normal picnic fare.

Goddess, she hoped Tobias liked what she had brought. It was certainly going to be indulgent, at the very least. She had spent hours researching the cooking method, shopping for all the ingredients and then doing the preparation. She'd also had an interesting time finding a place to buy the cooking utensils and appliances that could be used outside. In the end, she had simply ordered it all online.

She saw Tobias laying on the grass, looking like he was relaxing in the sun. "Tobias, I've made it," she called out from a short distance away, pausing in the dragging of all her stuff. Damn, it was heavy. "And I've brought the food."

[Kathritana]

"It's not a stove. It's a small propane tank to power the fondue pot," Regina explained, setting everything down. She pulled a soft blanket out of the basket and laid it out on the ground. "It's about as indulgent as I could think of, and remember, no working for you." She winked.

She began unpacking everything, first setting up the fondue pot on a tripod and attaching the propane tank. She pulled out plates full of a variety of vegetables, small squares of breads, and slices of apple all covered in saran wrap.

"These are for the first course." Regina smiled impishly at Tobias, relatively certain this hadn't been what he had been expecting. She poured some stock into the fondue pot before turning both it and the propane tank on. While the pot heated up, she organized everything so they could easily eat, including setting out the long fondue forks.

Once the stock was simmering, she tossed a bowl of grated cheese as well as spices into the pot, slowly stirring it until everything was melted and fully combined. Once everything was to her satisfaction, she turned down the heat on the pot.

"You use the long forks to dip the breads and vegetables into the cheese fondue. I brought a variety of stuff so you could pick and choose." Regina made herself comfortable near the fondue pot, waiting on him to join her.

[Kathritana]

"You've finished it?" Regina's eyes lit up as she accepted the box. For a moment she simply held the box, one hand resting on the top. When was the last time she had received a present? She couldn't remember. This was something to cherish.

Finally she removed the top and pulled out the beautiful item that Tobias had crafted for her. She held it carefully, plucking at the strings and listening to the sounds. He had created something wonderful, something that she could cherish.

Smiling, she gently set her present back in the box, leaned over, and gave Tobias a quick kiss on the cheek. "I love it. I absolutely love it," she said, excitement in her voice. "It was well worth waiting for. You've outdone yourself."

[Kathritana]

"It's perfect." Regina almost reverently traced a fingertip over the carvings and then the strings, once again enjoying the sounds. Reluctantly she set it off to the side and turned to the food. She had promised Tobias an indulgent picnic, and that was what she was going to give him.

She used a fondue fork to spear a piece of bread and dipped it in the cheese. Depositing it on her plate she looked back at Tobias. "I'm pretty sure you could easily sell items like that and make good money, especially as beautiful as it is. Mine's going on my work table."

She flashed him a brilliant smile before eating her bit of bread. "You, my darling, are absolutely amazing at your work."

[Kathritana]

"A friend took me out for it once. I really enjoyed it, so I hoped you would as well. Now, it took me a little while to find a fondue pot that would work off a propane tank, but I eventually found one." She ate another bit off her plate. "The recipes were easy to find, as were all the things I wanted to have for dipping."

She paused for a moment. "I'll admit, I did think about buying some food from Mrs. Rosemary, but that just seemed too impersonal to me. I wanted to make the food for the picnic."

Perhaps it was a little old fashioned for a woman to cook and prepare food for a picnic when it wasn't her specialty, but she didn't mind. She had enjoyed practicing the recipes, for all that she had failed the first couple of times. The work had been worth it.