Chapter 5: A Meal with the Family

Apparently, Karen had been brought to Michael around mid-morning, and he still had work to do. After she had calmed down a bit, he set her on her feet, dressed, and sat back behind his desk, typing on his computer and making a few calls. Karen ... moped, for lack of a better word. Once she’d cried herself out, she was tired, depressed, and brooding; and without anywhere to go or anything to do, she slept a bit on the sofa, not waking until there was a soft knock at the door and Miza walked in, wheeling a cart with various trays of food on it.

Miza smiled politely at Karen as she passed. Karen sat up, realizing that the last time she had eaten was before the mass service selection and suddenly felt famished, the cart grabbing her attention, the aromas wafting her way intriguing and inviting. Was she going to be allowed to eat, or was that something pets had to do after the master had eaten? The answer was almost instantly forthcoming as Michael saw the expression on her face and barked a quick laugh.

“Come grab some food, Karen. It’s really good,” he called to her, beckoning with his hand as Miza almost ceremoniously started placing napkins, utensils, and drinks on his desk. Karen stepped over to his desk and examined the foodstuffs still on the cart.

It all looked like it had been prepared by a Michelin star chef, on small individual-portion sized plates, surely some artist’s rendition of what lunch should resemble. While she didn’t recognize anything as a traditional dish, she mentally shrugged and chose one at random that looked like it had avocado and maybe bite-sized chunks of whitefish in a light green sauce and a tiny garnish salad. It looked almost too pretty to eat. She looked in askance to Michael, making sure there was no ceremony she should be following, silently marveling at herself so quickly slipping into a subservient role, and he gestured to one of two stools she had failed to notice before, placed at the far side of the large desk, making an impromptu “lunch nook”. Miza was already sitting down on one of them with her selected food in front of her. Karen quickly followed suit.

Michael wasted no time trying out the concoction in front of him. Miza must have served him a dish before sitting down. It looked like some form of meat or patty drizzled in a reddish brown sauce with ... maybe capers? generously sprinkled in. The side of his fork pressed into the chunk of meat and Karen realized it was likely something like a Salisbury steak, but didn’t smell as she would expect.

Miza was delicately cutting into some kind of casserole dish that smelled amazing, and finally Karen scooped a bit of her choice onto her fork and popped it in her mouth. The green sauce turned out to be mild flavored, creamy, with a hint of a spice kick, and was absolutely delicious with the fish. She was gratified to note that it actually was avocado and whitefish; she’d been a little afraid that the ingredients might have come from some alien planet somewhere.

“You’re right; it’s very good.” Karen acknowledged after a few bites, trying to sound as normal as possible. Michael nodded in acknowledgement, his mouth full. There were actually only a few bites more to the small portion, but she wouldn’t go back for another dish until either Miza or Michael did first. She just didn’t know what was normal here. Fortunately she didn’t have to wait long before Michael finished his meat serving and asked Miza to hand him a colorful plate that looked like a collection of exotic cut up fruits, arranged to look like a large multi-hued flower. Miza looked absolutely delighted to hand the dish over to him, and without another word, he started to work at it.