Despite her usual air of confidence, Shiitake found a swarm of butterflies in her solar plexus as she and Ken pulled up outside Ken’s parents’ home. This was to be expected for a first encounter with them, she tried to tell herself as Ken squeezed her hand reassuringly. Glancing around the pristine manicured front garden, Shiitake thought that she should have left that second serving of blueberry couscous cake alone before they left. Why did she always eat more when she was nervous? As they approached the house, the front door was flung open and she filed the niggling question away to be addressed another time—as usual.
"You must be, Shiitake, dear," Ken’s mother exclaimed, ushering them inside. "You are as lovely as Ken has told us." Shiitake immediately warmed to her and filed away her instant visual diagnosis evaluation for later.
