just set the table for me, please

Wolfgang was never really a chef but he wasn’t a bad cook either. He had to learn to cook for himself at a young age after his mother left and his father would be too drunk to feed him anything. It was one of those things he never questioned about his life: he cooked because he had to eat if he wanted to survive, it was not a big deal.

Except, it felt like a big deal now as he stood outside of Kala’s father’s restaurant, mustering the courage to go inside and ask if he could help Wolfgang cook something for their anniversary. Rajan had already made plans for dinner, but Wolfgang was sure he could manage to make them a decent lunch that didn’t rely partially on a microwave.

He paced outside for a while, trying to make out what words to use, because the cluster teased him for a reason: he was not good at asking for help when he needed it. Wolfgang was about to leave when he heard Sanyam say, “you’re scaring the customers, Wolfgang. Just come inside.”

Wolfgang felt the corner of his mouth turn up. He was a lot like Kala, it never ceased to amaze him.

“Sanyam, I need to ask you for something,” he started —in Hindi, trying to get on his good side. He knew from Kala’s stories that he could be quite guarded about his recipes. “I want to make something nice for Rajan and Kala, but I’m not that good at cooking.”

“But Kala says your food is good.”

“I’m sure Kala would love it if I cooked something that didn’t have sausages for once.”

Sanyam laughed. “Well, it’s your lucky day, I’m testing a new mix of spices and I need someone to try them for me. See how well they go together. You’re not against using spices, are you?”

“No, no, it’s okay, I’ve been learning to like it from Rajan’s food.”

“Rajan does use a little too much cumin in his dal I’ll give you that. Come, I’ll show you.”

Wolfgang followed the man into the kitchen, watching him set up a few ingredients on the working surface.

“I’m sure you’re familiar with some of these by now,” he said, setting down a few glass containers. He kept doing so until half of the table was covered in spices, then he turned to Wolfgang. “Let’s get you started on a few of them so you know what you’re doing.”

Wolfgang spent the whole day at the Dandekar restaurant, learning about spices, how to cook them properly and how to pair them with different ingredients. He even cooked a small batch of red lentil dal that Sanyam deemed good enough for human consumption. When it was time to go, however, came the most difficult part.

“Sanyam, will you teach me how to make Shahi Tukda?”

His question was met with silence.

“I know it’s a very special recipe, but it’s Kala’s favorite and—”

“Did Kala put you up to this? She’s been trying to get me to teach Rajan for over a year.” Sanyam didn’t sound mad, just disappointed, as if he’d had a fun afternoon teaching Wolfgang and now it was ruined by his request. Maybe it was true that he ruined everything.

“No, Kala doesn’t even know where I am right now. I said I was going to try to find something nice to wear for dinner on Saturday.”

Sanyam sighed, defeated. “Come back tomorrow. Don’t be late, it takes a long time to make the dish.” Wolfgang smiled. “And don’t be too happy about it just yet. Let’s see if you think the same after tomorrow’s lesson.”

Wolfgang thanked him and made his way to the subway station thinking that he should at least buy something on his way home to justify being gone all day.

When he arrived home, Kala and Rajan were already there, hanging out in the kitchen where Rajan was cooking something that smelled delicious.

“Good evening, my love,” said Rajan. “I was wondering why the house was so quiet.”

He briefly kissed Rajan, lingering a bit when he pulled away. “Missed you too.”

Then Wolfgang went to kiss Kala who was sitting on the counter, not helping at all.

“I can’t believe you were gone all day and you didn’t buy anything,” she started. “Maybe I should go with you tomorrow.”

Wolfgang walked to Kala and settled in between her legs, giving her a soft kiss on the mouth. “What for? I already found a place, I just got hungry first and when I came back they were closed. I’ll pick something up tomorrow.”

“Mmm, you better,” she said, kissing him again.

“The chicken will be ready soon. Why don’t you set the table, Wolfgang?”

“Sure.”

When Wolfgang woke up the next day, Kala was already in the shower, so he turned over to Rajan’s side and snuggled up for a few more minutes until he heard the water shut off.

“I know you were not shopping yesterday, but whatever you were doing, please tell me it’s nothing to be worried about,” Rajan said, running his fingers through Wolfgang’s hair. He would need to trim it soon but he enjoyed the feeling of Rajan’s fingers running through his scalp.

“Worried about?”

“You know, stealing a bank or something equally foolish.”

“I told you my days cracking safes were done. And they are,” Wolfgang replied.

“Have you decided what to do with the rest of your life yet?”

Wolfgang looked up at Rajan. “Isn’t being a trophy boyfriend enough?”

“But you can do so much, Wolfgang,” Kala said from the door.

“If you suggest working as a security advisor in your company one more time, I might go back to Berlin,” he joked, getting up from the bed. He gave Kala a quick kiss and headed for the bathroom.

Shortly after Kala and Rajan left, Wolfgang took his keys and headed out. He stopped quickly by the first shop that sold something black but nice and then he made his way to the restaurant, excited to learn something new. 

His thoughts drifted to what Rajan said that morning about the rest of his life. He’d never had a reason to look forward to it. There was survival and now there was living. He wanted to live for something beyond revenge. Wolfgang wondered if Felix would laugh at him for thinking of settling down, finding an honest job, living his best life. He’d make sure to tell him the next time he visited Berlin.

Wolfgang’s thoughts came to a stop when he arrived at Sanyam’s kitchen, where the man already had some spices set on the workspace.

“Good morning,” said Sanyam. “Just in time. I was wondering if you’d show up at all.”

Wolfgang didn’t know how to reply to that, so he didn’t. Instead, he asked, “what do you need me to do?”

Sanyam went on about the process, putting emphasis on making his own rabdi and syrup from scratch. When Wolfgang asked what was rabdi and Sanyam explained it was condensed milk, he asked, “from a can will not do, then?”

The look on Sanyam’s face said it all. “Are you serious about getting the dessert right or not?”

From then on, Wolfgang only followed the instructions Sanyam gave him, stirring the milk until his arm was tired. By the time Sanyam decided it was good enough, Wolfgang wondered if he would be able to do all that while he cooked, so he asked, “can I make this the night before?”

“You can, but you’d have to make it thinner, so when you warm it up it reaches the right consistency.”

He could do that, he thought, making a mental note of just how much time he’d spent cooking so far.

Later on, when they were frying the bread, Wolfgang felt bolder and asked, “would you mind if I came over another time? To learn something else?”

Sanyam smiled. “I was hoping you’d ask that.”

When Saturday arrived, Wolfgang woke up early and left Kala and Rajan sleeping while he made his way to the kitchen.

The night before, he’d prepared the rabdi as Sanyam instructed, so the heavy lifting for the dessert was done. All he had to do was prepare some ingredients for lunch and he’d be ready to cook when it was time. He entertained himself by making a fruit salad and getting the coffeemaker going so when his lovers woke up, they wouldn’t have to do much.

“Hmmm, that coffee smells delicious,” said Rajan, coming up behind him and kissing his shoulder. “Did you make breakfast for us?”

“I did. You don’t have to worry about food today, I’ll cook.”

“We have reservations for dinner at that restaurant you like,” he added. Wolfgang could hear the smile on his face as he flipped the last piece of toast.

“I know, but I wanted to make something nice for you.”

“This is already nice, Wolfgang.”

Not much later, Kala wandered in from the bedroom, still wearing her pajamas. “Everything smells so good. Thank you, Wolfgang.”

After eating breakfast, each went their separate ways and Wolfgang forbade them from going into the kitchen. Kala frowned, but Rajan smiled, entertained.

“What are you up to?” he asked.

“I’m not telling,” was all Wolfgang replied.

With the kitchen to himself, he quickly got to work chopping ingredients and measuring spices. He could tell Kala and Rajan were curious when he heard them talk to each other in whispers as he started to cook.

It took him some time to find his rhythm, but once he was in the zone, Wolfgang found himself singing along to the song stuck in his head —something in Spanish he was sure came from Lito, but he was too focused on the meal he was making to say for sure.

While his rice and dal cooked, he got started on the bread for the Shahi Tukda, hoping that the smell of the spices would mask the smell of the dessert to keep it a surprise for as long as possible.

Wolfgang set the table by himself, with Kala throwing a curious smile his way. She could’ve visited while he was in the kitchen but she was humoring him, only offering to help to carry something when she saw Wolfgang carry the food to the table.

“No, no, just go get Rajan and sit down. I’ll be there in a minute.”

He went back to the kitchen and assembled the dessert, leaving it to rest for a while. Then he took a pitcher of water and took it with him to the table where Rajan and Kala looked at him expectantly.

“Okay, now we can eat.”

Kala smiled “where did you learn all this?”

“It’s a secret,” Wolfgang replied.

Rajan, who was serving himself a generous helping of dal, added, “so Sanyam finally got himself an apprentice?”

Busted.

Kala looked between the two of them. “My dad taught you this?”

Wolfgang shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal —because it wasn’t. “I wanted to learn something new.”

He tried not to squirm as Rajan took a bite of his food. He closed his eyes when he tasted the food, taking a moment to savor it.

“This is delicious, Wolfgang.”

Wolfgang didn’t say anything, he just looked down to his own plate and served himself, trying not to look up at Kala who hadn’t made a move yet.

Rajan encouraged her, “my love, are you okay?”

Kala stopped staring at Wolfgang and finally took a bite. Silence stretched for a moment too long for his liking.

“Oh, Ganesha.”

“What? What is it?” Wolfgang asked.

“I’m never going to learn to cook now. You two can handle it until we die.”

Wolfgang hid his smile, taking a bite himself.

Lunch went on with mild teasing on their part about his secret love for cooking and the lengths he was willing to go to do something nice for them. When they were done, Wolfgang’s confidence in his cooking was as high as it would ever be, so he stood and told them to wait for him a second.

When he went back to the table carrying the dish, they both looked puzzled.

“I made dessert too.”

He set the plate down and Kala gave him an incredulous look.

“Is that what I think it is?” asked Rajan.

“Shahi tukda!” yelled Kala, reaching for the plate immediately.

“Now, remember this is the first time I make this on my own,” said Wolfgang.

Kala didn’t seem to care, as she dug directly into the platter. A soft moan left her lips when the sugary treat touched her tongue. Wolfgang felt the taste on the tip of his tongue even before he tried it himself. It was good. Kala then reached into the platter and fed Rajan a piece, who looked stunned to say the least. He reacted to the dish with a moan of his own.

“I can’t believe you made all this for us,” Kala said.

Wolfgang wasn’t sure how to reply to that, so instead he said, “I love you. Both of you. It’s just a small thing compared to all you give me.”

Kala grabbed his hand and said, “I love you, Wolfgang.”

“I love you too,” Rajan said. “Happy anniversary.”