A light bite

19:02 She was due in 28 minutes.

After three hours, six plasters and more expletives than the recipe actually called for, the preparation was done.

Sarah was coming round for dinner.

They’d met online, been for coffee a few times and been texting for weeks and now it was Jack’s time to shine. He loved to cook and he was pretty good, if he did say so himself (and he often did).

He was keeping it simple tonight: Pork loin, with roasted new potatoes cooked in goose fat, ratatouille (his grandmother’s recipe) with a cranberry jus, and for dessert, a lemon panna cotta.

He’d taken the whole day off work ready and now it was almost time. He looked around at the kitchen, it was a disaster: plates piled up, pans everywhere, flour and gravy on the floor. He didn’t have time to tidy up, he only just had time for a shower.

The pork was in the oven. The potatoes were crisping nicely. The jus needed one final reduction and then, finally, he could relax.

He closed the kitchen door and made his way into the lounge. He’d set the table with some fancy plates and cutlery he’d found in a charity shop, along with two candles and a bottle of wine which the man in the shop assured him was the best he could possibly afford. A phrase he said with such disdain in his voice, Jack wasn’t really sure he trusted him.

He headed to the bathroom, showered and pulled out a brand new shirt and freshly ironed trousers (he had to ask the old lady next door for the iron) and now, finally he was ready. He adjusted his shirt, looking at himself in the mirror “You got this” he said, with more enthusiasm than he actually felt.

He pulled up a playlist on his phone and hit play, in the lounge the music began. Ed Sheeran or Michael Buble, he wasn’t really sure, but he decided that his own choice of Norwegian Death metal may not have set the right tone for the evening.

The door buzzer rang out and Jack invited her up. A few moments later she knocked on the door. He answered the door, Sarah stood there in a blue dress and jacket, her hair tied back in a ponytail. Jack had spent the last three hours worrying about whether the candles were romantic enough. He immediately forgot all of that. “You look lovely” he said, “come on in.” Sarah entered and Jack took her jacket “You scrub up well yourself” she said smiling. Jack smiled back and gestured to the lounge “this way.” Sarah sat at the table “can I get you a drink?” he asked “Dinner will be about 25 minutes”

He poured a glass of the wine and excused himself back to the kitchen. Everything was going better than he could have possibly expected. Then, the lights began to flicker. “Not now” he said to himself quietly. Another flicker, then darkness.

A power cut? Perfect timing. He made his way back into the lounge, walking first into the bin and then almost slipping on some spilt cranberry jus.

“What happened?” Sarah asked. “Not sure, seems like a power cut” Jack replied and made his way over to the window. Peering out he saw darkness as far as he could see. He looked at his phone, no signal. “Whatever has happened it’s not just us, it’s at least half the town.” He stared towards the kitchen “and the pork’s half done and the potatoes are barely roasted” he muttered under his breath. He sat down at the table and poured himself a drink.

“So” Sarah piped up. “What’s the plan?” smiling over the rim of her glass “Well” Jack replied “I was thinking wine” as he knocked back his glass, reaching to fill it again. Sarah laughed “That’s all well and good, but I’ve not eaten since lunch and i’m rather hungry.” She had a point. In all the preparation Jack realised he hadn’t actually eaten lunch and he was starving. He thought for a moment “Well, the roast isn’t done yet, takeaway is out of the question, no phone signal, and we have a pizza place around the corner, but i’m guessing they’ll be having the same issues we are”

He stood up “bear with me, let me see what I can find” Picking up one of the candles, he disappeared into the kitchen. Once inside, he set the candle on the worktop and began frantically searching the cupboards. “Noodles? No hot water. Soup? Can’t heat it. Beans? Sahisme problem.” He reached into another cupboard. “Ryvita? Absolutely not.” He closed the cupboard a little too hard and disturbed some of the piled up dishes, sending them crashing on the surface “Everything okay?” came Sarah’s voice from the lounge “All fine” he said “out in a moment.”

A moment later Sarah appeared in the kitchen, holding the other candle “Thought you could use a hand ”she said, walking over to the fridge “Cheese, tomato, butter and two slices of bread. It’s a start” Jack suddenly realised he’d been so focused on tonight’s meal, he hadn’t actually bought any groceries this week. “Do you have a chopping board and a knife?” she asked, sitting on the floor. Jack handed them to her, pulled a bowl out of the cupboard along with a bowl of cornflakes and the milk and sat down on the floor next to him. “This isn’t at all what I thought tonight was going to be” he said sighing. “Me either” she replied. Jack winced. “I thought it would be much more awkward.” They sat in silence for a moment eating and then Sarah said “so, tell me about yourself?”

What started as usual first date questions quickly turned into story telling. Jack admitting he was tricked into believing the sun used to disappear at night by his older brother, and believing it until he was 9 years old, Sarah telling the story of how she was scared of Noel Edmonds, not Mr Blobby. They talked about school and friends, films and holidays. They talked and they laughed as they ate sandwiches and cereal and finished the bottle of wine.

Jack checked his phone. 22:48. It was late. Suddenly the lights flickered again and the kitchen was bathed in light, in all it’s messy, filthy glory. Jack stood up, embarrassed at the mess “Sorry about the mess…” he began. Sarah laughed “it’s fine, I can always pretend I didn’t see it, plus now I know how much effort you were willing to go to for tonight.”

She looked at her own phone “wow, is that the time? I really need to get going.” she hugged him, and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for a lovely evening. We should do it again sometime.” She took her coat and left, Jack closed the door and walked back into the kitchen, and laughed the pork was staring at him from the oven.

He’d spent all day trying to cook the perfect meal, and yet somehow, between the sandwiches, the cereal and candlelight, it had become the best first date he’d ever been on.