Ken wasn’t sure if it was the morning sunshine filtering through the organic cotton curtains or the aroma of an unusual breakfast that woke him from his chardonnay-induced slumber. Whichever it was, he was quickly reminded that he was not nestled between his chi destroying polyester sheets, but wrapped in a hand woven alpaca blanket on the firm futon couch in Shiitake Jones’ living room.
Shiitake heard him stirring noisily. "Good morning, sleepyhead!" she called cheerily, then poked her head around the corner as he was examining the hemp pajamas he found himself in.
Who did these belong to? he thought worriedly. Did Shiitake regularly host overnight male guests? "I see you found them," she said. Snapshots of the night before were coming back and Ken remembered her leaving them with him before she retired to her coconut fiber and latex mattress in the loft. "My brother’s PJ’s seem to be a little snug on you, Zen," she said noting his muscular form filling them out. Her eyes lingered over his broad shoulders as she barely suppressed a shudder of desire. She averted her eyes, wary of him catching her staring at him. They may have expressed their mutual attraction last night but Shiitake didn’t want to overstep the mark too soon.
Quickly she said, "I’ve whipped up some mochi waffles and scrambled tofu for…"Taking one look at his face, she remembered that he had polished off most of the wine. "On second thought I think you may need some ume sho kuzu to settle your stomach! Follow me…" She led the way to the kitchen and explained that drinking wine with a meatless meal can intoxicate someone sooner than when heavy animal food accompanies the indulgence. "That explains it, " mumbled Ken, trying to remember the events of the previous evening. He remembered the romantic dinner with Shiitake, the unexpected twist when she had offered to shiatsu the tension out of his shoulders, the electrifying kiss. What had happened next? Did they…? Shiitake noted the worried look on Ken’s face as she brought some bancha tea to boil. "About last night…" he began falteringly. "Don’t worry," she said, as she threw in an umeboshi, a drop of shoyu, some freshly grated ginger juice and finally the diluted kuzu. "You were the perfect gentleman. Then you were out like a light! I left you to sleep it off on the couch. There was no way you could have made it home in that condition. And no way I would have let you, Zen!" He peered over her shoulder, savoring the opportunity to be close to her again. He planted a kiss on the bare shoulder, exposed by her yoga outfit. She had already been Suryanamaskaring on the deck while he dozed. "I wasn’t sure if I should have woken you for morning asanas," she explained, " but you looked like you needed some extra rest even if the pranayama would have cleared your chakras." Ken nodded, still a little sleepy. "You do practice yoga, right Ken?" she asked a little more cautiously. Ken muttered something about the cobra pose keeping his back in good condition, remembering an article he had skimmed in Newsweek She poured the viscous mixture into a mug. I don’t suppose there is any hope of a coffee, he thought, trying not to show his trepidation as she handed it to him. "It will do you far more good than a cup of coffee," she quipped as he took a tentative sip. Could she read his mind? he wondered incredulously. As the salty, sour flavored gel hit his stomach he found he had to agree with her. Wow! These macrobiotic ideas may have their uses. "Where do you buy these ingredients?" Ken asked. He had seen quinoa and miso at Wild Rice Super Wholefoods store but wasn’t sure he could find the more exotic items. "Are they expensive?" "They are medicinal as well as delicious, Ken," Shiitake explained. "Healthcare remedies are far more effective when taken from Mother Nature’s pharmacy. I used to run around all over town looking for them. Now I order online at www.cybermacro.com and save tons of money, which is good as I like to shop. It saves me so much time to shop for my favorite macrobiotic staples online. It freed me up when I was at Wild Rice Super Wholefoods last time, so that I could keep my eye out for other tasty dishes!" Ken chuckled. Shiitake was a babe and wasn’t shy in showing her admiration of him. He liked that in a girl – especially a hip chick like Shiitake. Was that a butterfly he felt in his solar plexus? Surely not so soon. It must be the kuzu starting to work, he thought. Shiitake continued cooking as Ken scanned the kitchen table. He saw pancakes drizzled with organic maple syrup, what looked like scrambled eggs but had to be scrambled tofu, and what looked like mochi in the shape of – could that be – waffles? From even his cursory macrobiotic knowledge, he knew that this could not be a typical, weekday macrobiotic morning meal. If he wasn’t rushing out the door and scoffing a donut at his desk with a mug of sugar-laced instant coffee, Ken was lucky to grab some burnt toast as he walked out the door. Since he had been on the macrobiotic path, it was made from naturally leavened organic rye bread and he even had been working instant oatmeal into his mornings with a cup of bancha tea. He was developing quite a taste for it. Sometimes he even took a thermos to work with him. "Do you whip up something like this every morning?" he asked. Shiitake blushed. "Only when the company is special," she said. "Miso soup, grain porridge, and some pickles are my favorite. And I love my morning green leafy vegetables." Ken raised an eyebrow at this menu and decided that the spread before him would do just fine once his stomach settled down. "Why don’t you clear your head with a cool shower while the ume sho kuzu works its magic?" Shiitake suggested. "Then you might be able to enjoy some of this before you leave for work." Shiitake handed him a towel. "Organic unbleached cotton, right?" he asked. "Of course! How did you guess?" she gushed. Shiitake sighed blissfully as she heard the shower turn on. Finally here was someone who seemed to appreciate the real Shiitake. She sat down at the table and helped herself to mochi waffles. Ken won’t be able to finish all this even with the finest kuzu lining his stomach, she thought. Why let all this go to waste? As the filtered, chlorine-free, oxygenated, restructured water washed Ken’s hangover away, his cell phone lying on the coffee table started to vibrate. Shiitake tried to ignore it as she took a bite. She wasn’t nosy – well not very. I’m sure they will leave a message or call back if it is important, she thought. The vibrating continued. She could not ignore it. I’ll take the number down for Ken, she thought, wiping some maple syrup from her lips. It could be his office… She stood up but the phone stopped vibrating as she reached it. She sat down and spread some vegetable jam on her second mochi waffle. The phone started to vibrate again and Shiitake could have sworn it sounded insistent. She made a dive for the coffee table before it could stop. When she flipped it open, the caller’s name register listed "Barbara." Shiitake’s jaw dropped. "Hello!" she said into the phone with somewhat forced cheerfulness. "Oh at last!" the shrill voice of the caller retorted. "I have been calling and calling. Where’s Ken? Little Stan’s been up all night with a fever and has been asking for him!" Shiitake’s heart sank to her base chakra as the chi drained from her meridians. What was going on? She didn’t know everything about Ken but she thought they had a connection to share something like this. Was Ken not the man she had imagined? Who was the man in her shower and was their fledgling romance over before it had really begun? She sighed and thought, I should have consulted Nine Star Ki. Will Shiitake storm out of the apartment, leaving Ken to pull himself together and make his way to work wondering what had happened to her?
– OR – Will she stay and listen to his explanation, swayed by his muscular form still glistening from the shower, and wrapped only in a towel?
