AZOTUSLAND Chapter Ninety-Eight

Maugham drove around town in her car looking for Martine and finally found her, probably only because there are only five businesses in town and two trails. He had no idea what to say or do. He parked the car and walked down the marshy trail and found her sitting on the top of an old worn picnic table and looking out at the bay in a distant way.

He simply sat down next to her and looked out as well.

Finally he said "I don't have a lot of answers now, but I could sure use some help finding some."

She turned her head and looked at him hard and he kept looking out. She was always good at reading him...his layers, and she could see some inner torment and a confusion that she had not seen in him before. It was one of the reasons she always felt so safe because he was so clear. Now he was as muddy as the shallow marshlands in front of them. She thought that and it made her want to laugh a bit. She studied how his jaw clenched and the gravity in his cheeks and brows.

"Let's go make some late breakfast," she finally said. Then she grabbed his large paw and guided him back down the trail and into the store where they bought eggs, butter, chicken apple sausages, some locally baked croissants, some fresh spinach and a fresh lemon. She also picked up fresh orange jiuce, a bottle of champagne and a copy of the Chronicle.

Then they drove back to the retreat house and set up camp in the big kitchen.

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That afternoon Jeremy marched the kids up from the Batcave up to the Library and they did an extended story time with some of the kids reading from books they had made for the class and which would be bound into the yearly collection for the Azotus Library, was published online, and which Andy would layout online in a private "published your own book" site so parents could order one created one by one. It had been a project that Jeremy, ever resourceful, had devised. In the meantime, he had met a young woman named Nadine who was quirky and fun. He liked her and was hopeful she would not become another story in his ongoing chronicle.

Meanwhile Alice was putting the finishing touches on the small hillside that was framed by the pools on the North side. At night the cystals would light up and during the days the light him them at various times through the trees and the plants she chose were done with great forethought and care for longevity and beauty.

Just up the hill Hans had sold three major paintings in as many weeks and the Gallery was starting to gain a reputation as a place for both afforible and high-end art.

Uptairs, Manfred had cut down a great deal on his American soap opera watching and was concentrating on both the stock market and was watching Mexican soap operas.

Up in the top Cafe it was full all afternoon with a line and a lot of newcomers. At 2:30, Renata, Ward, Dirk, Ian and Jim relented and asked Andy to open the IC and Jim went down to help with overflow. On the way down Jim started thinking he needed more staff.

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Maugham was grilling sausages because it was easiest while Martine was washing and prepping the spinach. For the time being they only talked about what they were doing. The kitchen was big enough to feed a small army and the kitchen had a big old Wolf gas range with eight large burners, plenty of worn pots, and every utensil on earth that any retreat group had left behind, as well as every spice.

"You do the eggs and sauce last," Martine said. "So when you get the sausage done cover them and put them in the oven on warm. "She dropped the spinach in the shallow boiling water, gave it a stir, and covered it. Then she said "Wanna see the easy way to get the yolks?"

"Sure, who wouldn't?" he said snidely.

Martine cracked the first egg over one bowl then parlayed the yolk like dice in a broken cup back and forth allowing the white of the egg to keep slipping off with each motion back and forth until in one half of the egg shell there was only an unbroken yolk, then she slipped that into the second bowl.

"Hey, let me try that," Maugham said.

"Sure Big Man, give it a shot."

He took the egg, cracked it perfectly in the middle and grinned, then he started to sluice it back and forth and there was soon scrambled egg yolk all over the counter.

"Maybe you should do this part?"

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Ked-woman had not been around Azotus for awhile. Then she showed up that day in the late afternoon and had herb tea and hot chocolate in the upper cafe. Dirk took notice of her immediately and liked the way she interacted with her son. he had actually been raised by a very nurturing father and an absent mother so he could tell. He also thought the Keds adorable and her look classic. He wondered who she was and asked Renata in the back and Renata just said she was wonderful but a but mysterious.

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The spinach was steamed and Martine had asked Maugham to prepare a medium pan with hot water as she began to make the Hollandaise sauce, dropping the big chunks of fresh butter and then turning down the heat so it would simply liquify, then as she started to beat the egg yolks she asked Maugham to retrieve the sausage and start preparing the plates.

"Ya'Voll Mein Commandant!" he said.

She whipped it then added some cayenne pepper and fresh sqeeezes of lemon and some salt.

As she poured the warm butter into the mixture she said "No please crack four eggs into the hot water without breaking the yokes."

"Hey this cooking stuff is hard," he said. But he complied. The first one broke apart and while she was distracted he fished out the remanant as best he could into a bowl and tossed it. Then got four in a row.

As the Hollandaise mixture was returned to the saucepan and place on low she grabbed a large slotted spoon and said "watch this."

She "coddled" the eggs like a master, keeping each one separate yet folding in upon itself in the hot water as it turned whiter and whiter.

"Now here is the trick," Martine said. You cannot overdo them, but if underdone they will fall apart when you try and get them.

"They look a little like oysters," Maugham said.

"Just get the plates okay? Oh and give the spinach very light salt first."

Maugham brought them over in both hands like a waiter and she spooned up the eggs onto the fresh hot spinach and then grabbed the saucepan and ladeled the warmed and thickened light yellow sauce onto the top making sure there was plenty down one side for the bread and the sausages, which were alread on the plate and still warm. Then she had him take them out to the table on the deck and she followed with the orange juice, champagne and a small bottle of Tabasco.

They sat down, looked down and laughed.

No utensils or glassware.

Maugham leapt up and sprinted and and came back in moments with both and napkins under his arm.

"Hey, I don't wanna be a spoil-sport but are we suposed to have alcohol here at a retreat house?" he asked. "I mean I hardly ever drink anyway."

"I dunno," she said, "but yer a pirate...just make it happen."

He was a little hurt by this because he had lost a lot of his swagger over the last few days, but he did as she said and popped the cork under the table and mixed two Mimosas.

As he did, Martine dropped three small dots of Tobasco sauce on the top of the Hollandaise sauce which made the plates even more beautiful.

Just then Jack came out the back door onto the deck and said "Uh, er...we have a group retreat coming in an hour."

"Oh we're sorry jack," Martine said earnestly. "We promise the entire kitchen will be cleaned up in 30 minutes, okay? I'm sorry."

Jack thought about it, and agreed. "Okay...thirty minutes, right?"

"Yes," they both said together.

"Okay."

He went back inside, and Maugham said , "Come what may, Thank you Marty."

"You are quite welcome Maug. " And they started into their large breakfast and Martine made sure to keep Maugham glass full as he ate.