ME, CINDERELLA?(34)

“What exactly is it you are trying to make?” I asked.

“Pancakes. It seemed so simple at the university dining hall,” Eliot explained. “I found a recipe in a book, but I must have added too much water. Then I tried to put more flour in to rebalance, you understand.”

I nodded seriously, my suppressed grin threatening to come to the surface.

“And that’s when I realized we were out of eggs. And this little one—” he said, frowning and pointing with a batter-covered spoon, “would not leave me alone. I had to give him cream to get rid of him!”

“That is a shame.” I petted Lucky on the head, and he purred happily, rubbing himself on my hand. He already looked happier than when I had found him yesterday.

“My mother always used to make such delicious palacsinta,” Eliot said, sitting down with a sigh in one of the kitchen chairs. “Like pancakes, but stuffed with things, you know.”

“What do you normally have for breakfast?” I asked.

“Oh, just tea and bread with butter and honey,” he said. “And a side of bacon. The butcher has such fresh cuts here. Much better than in America.”

My stomach grumbled, and Eliot raised his eyebrows.

“Sounds good to me,” I said. “How about you make us some breakfast while I clean this up?”

Lucky meowed in apparent agreement and I got to work on the dishes while Eliot put a kettle on for the hot water. He happily fried up thick slabs of bacon, and the kitchen filled with the rich, heady scent of the meat. We sat down at the countertop with large mugs, the windows to the backyard now showing the first rays of sunlight coming over the mountaintops.

“What a gorgeous place,” I said. I sipped my tea. Eliot brought over the plates full of bread, honey, and bacon.

“Sometimes I forget how beautiful it is,” Eliot said. There was a sadness in his voice. “We can go and walk the grounds later today, perhaps. I don’t want you going out into the woods on your own.”

“Why not?” I bit into the loaf of bread, sweet and buttery and crusty. My stomach calmed down as I continued to feed it the most delicious bacon I had ever tasted. I bit off the fatted parts first, leaving the crisp meaty bits for the end.

“Poachers.” Eliot sipped his tea and put the cup back down on the granite countertop. “Among others. The deer are out, now, and the poachers come too close to my house for comfort. They’re not allowed, of course, but when they track a deer past the boundary line...”

He shrugged. “Let’s just say that they don’t care too much about whose property is whose.”

“They wouldn’t shoot me, though!” I caught Eliot staring at my carefully dissected bacon. While he averted his eyes, I hastily ate the rest. My food routines would seem strange to anyone, and I didn’t want Eliot to think I was weird.

“Of course not. At least, not on purpose. But always wear something bright to go out. I’ll make sure Marta knows to buy you a brightly colored coat.”

“Marta?”

“My brother’s wife. I called and asked if she might take you shopping today for some warm clothes.”

“Oh.” My mind raced. “But, I really can’t. I mean...”

Eliot looked at me, all questions in his eyes. How could I tell him that I was too poor to buy breakfast, let alone a coat?

“I think I’ll be fine once the heater is on in the apartments,” I finished lamely.

“Nonsense,” he said. “You’ll freeze just walking to the academy from there. I really should have known. You can’t ask a girl who lives her whole life in California to pack warmly for Hungary.”

“But,” I protested, my skin growing warm. “I mean, it’s just... I really don’t have the money, you know.”

A flash of realization crossed his eyes, but Eliot waved his hand in the air casually.

“Of course, but Otto owes me a debt from long ago. I’ve already arranged it.”

“But—“

Eliot took my hand in his, and I felt a rush of warmth from the pressure of his palm over mine.

“Please, Brynn. It’s no trouble at all, and we can’t have students traipsing around the city dressed for summertime.”

I swallowed, nodding.

“And that reminds me, you’ll be needing money for lunches and things.” He dug into his pocket and brought out a handful of bills. “I noticed you hadn’t changed any of your money yet.”

I took the money from him, startled with the generosity that he pressed on me.

“I’ll...I’ll pay you back.” I looked down at the bills. There were a half dozen 10,000 forint marks. I had no idea how much that was in dollars, but it felt like a lot.