Date written: 7-20-01

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places. Info concerning the
recipe mentioned in the story can be found at the end.

Emilio's

Amanda King sat across the table from her new fiancé, Lee Stetson, who sat with her hand in his admiring her engagement ring. He lifted his eyes up to her and smiled.

"Penny for your thoughts." Amanda smiled at him.

"I was just thinking about how lucky I am that you have agreed to marry me, Amanda King."

She blushed lightly at the intensity with which he spoke. "Not half as lucky as I am," she replied softly.

Lee shook his head and smiled. They sat with eyes locked for a few minutes, when the waiter nervously cleared his throat, embarrassed to have to interrupt this moment. Amanda shook her head to clear her mind of her previous thoughts, starring her partner, and looked up at the waiter sheepishly. He quickly placed down their orders and left, knowing that the couple were probably back in their dream world.

"What did you get?" Amanda asked Lee in a crucial attempt to remember what she herself had ordered.

"Steak." Lee answered assuredly, quietly adding to himself, 'I think.'

They ate their meal silently, knowing that words weren't necessary because of their strong emotional bond.

"I love you, Amanda King." Lee spoke quietly.

Amanda felt tears of joy threaten to fall from her eyes at the sincerity behind his words. "I love you, too."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Amanda Stetson got out the ingredients for Lee's favorite meal. They would be preparing it together tonight. He had been out on surveillance, but he had just called to let her know that he was on his way. Their marriage was still a secret, but all of that would change tonight.

Amanda waited in nervous anticipation. She glanced at the clock again, willing it to move faster. "Come on, Lee. Get here already." Amanda gasped suddenly as a pair of strong arms encircled her.

"Your wish is my command."

She relaxed into her husband's arms. "Yeah? Well I wish that you wouldn't sneak up on me like that!"

Lee laughed as he steered her into the kitchen. "I'll see what I can do. Now, didn't you have a special dinner that you were going to make?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. There is a special dinner that WE are going to make!"

Lee leaned over to her and kissed her lightly. "All right. What do I do?"

"You can start chopping up onions. Here is the recipe."

Lee looked over the recipe and then started flipping through the book. Amanda looked over quickly when her husband burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" she asked, leaving her half-chopped carrots.

"Someone put a trick recipe in this cookbook! Listen to this: 'Holiday Rum Cake'
You will need:
1 tbsp Sugar
1-2 qt rum
1 cup dried fruit
1 lg egg
Brown sugar
Baking Powder
1 tbsp soda
Lemon juice
1 cup butter
Before starting, sample rum to check quality. Good, isn't it? Now proceed. Select a large mixing bowl, measuring cup, etc., etc. Check rum agin. It must be just right. To be sure it's proper quality, pour one level cup of rum into a glass and drink it as fast as you can. Repeat. With electric mixer, beat 1 cup of butter into large fluffy bowl. Add 1 tsp. of thugar and beat again. Meanwhile, make sure rum is all right. Try another cup. Open second quart if necessary. Add leggs, 2 cups of fried druit and bear until high. If druit gets stuck on beaters, pry loose with a drewscribber. Check rum again, checking for tonscisticity. Next, sift 3 cups peppers or salt (It really doesn't matter). Sift 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Fold in chopped butter and strained nuts. Add 1 bablespoon or thrown sugar (Or whatever color you can fine). Grease oven. Turn cake pan to 350 degrees. Pour mess into boven and ake. Check rum again and BO TO GED!!!"

By the time that Lee was finished, both he and Amanda were rolling in laughter.

"That..." Amanda gasped out, "is so funny!"

Lee closed the cookbook, dinner forgotten. "I think that I will give a copy of that to Francine." This started a new fit of the giggles as they imagined Francine getting drunk while cooking.

"Well, I guess something really tickled your funny bone," Dotty said as she came into the kitchen. She had come home early, since the restaurant she had been going to with a friend was closed due to gas leakage.

"I'm sorry, Mother," Amanda said as she tried to regain her composure. "It's just that Lee found that 'Holiday Rum Cake' recipe, and we kind of haven't been able to stop laughing."

Dotty got a faraway look in her eyes. "Your daddy gave me that cookbook. He said that he bought it just because he knew that I would enjoy that recipe."

Amanda leaned over and gave her mother a hug, snapping Dotty out of her reverie. "Well," Dotty said, "I think that you two have a dinner to make."

Lee and Amanda shared a special smile, thinking about what was to come after dinner. It would be a night to remember, indeed.

Author's Note: The recipe "Holiday Rum Cake" comes from a cookbook called Pilgrim Congregational Church Cook Book. The recipe mentioned was submitted by Frances Taylor.



Back