Gemma has plans.
Big plans!
Dinner plans.
Plans involving the captain of the spacecraft she and her pet plant are travelling on.
Plans that are about to go awry…
“Dinner Plans” is available in the short story collection Baverstock’s Allsorts Volume 1. Volume 1 contains 17 short stories, three poems, and a fictional newspaper article. It’s a rollicking ride through genres and styles, with pathos, humor, and quirky surprises. Pick up a copy to meet delightful characters in thought-provoking situations who will make you laugh, cry, and wonder what happens next!
Dinner Plans
By Jessica Baverstock
GEMMA LIT THE candles on the table first.
Then she lit the table.
Not deliberately. Her hands were shaking, there was a gust from somewhere and… and… Why was it so easy to set things alight?
She dropped the packet of vintage matches and darted about her quarters for something to put the fire out.
She needn’t have bothered.
“Warning,” enunciated the flat computer voice from the wall panel. “A fire hazard has been detected. Evacuate the room immediately. Atmosphere will be vented.”
The room’s lights flashed and an alarm whooped.
“Evacuate the room immediately. Evacuate the room immediately.”
She grabbed her potted brigonia and rushed out the door. The panels automatically shut behind her, leaving her standing in the well-lit corridor. She hoped the noise-absorbing foam of the wall and floors would hide the disaster from her shipmates.
“Ah,” said the captain, as he sauntered around the bend in the corridor and saw Gemma. “What’s this? The welcoming committee?”
She heard the merest whoosh from behind the doors as the air within her quarters was purged.
“You shouldn’t have gone to all the trouble of waiting out here,” he grinned, stopping in front of her. “The computer would have announced me.”
“Um,” was all she could manage. He was knee-weakeningly handsome. The sweep of his brown hair across perfect, olive-colored skin set off roguish features and a chisel-edged jaw. The ensemble left her speechless every time she set eyes on him.
“Who’s this?” the captain asked, pointing to the leaves and flowers emanating from the pot in her arms.
“Zander,” she said.
The plant stuck a tongue out of the nearest bloom and blew a raspberry.
Gemma quickly swiveled the plant so the flowers were facing the other way. The captain wiped pollen from his face and uniform.
“Sorry,” she said.
He waved his hand in the air. “Never mind.”
They paused, looking at each other. Gemma used her free hand to tug the collar of her uniform.
“So,” said the captain, rocking back and forth on his feet, “Are we eating in the corridor or are you going to invite me in?”
Gemma steeled herself to tell him the truth. She took a deep breath, causing a speck of pollen to catch in her windpipe. She coughed. The speck lodged, forcing her to cough harder. Her eyes watered. Her nose watered and threatened to overflow. “Would you mind holding Zander?” she spluttered, thrusting the potted plant into the captain’s reluctant arms.
She fished a self-cleaning tissue from her uniform pocket and blew her nose. After wiping the tears from her eyes, she folded the tissue and placed it back in her pocket.
She then looked up at the captain and gasped.
Zander’s leaves were wrapped tightly around her guest’s throat. He was valiantly tugging at the stems but the purple of his face showed it was a losing battle.
She wrenched the pot out of his hands and pried the plant’s leaves off his skin.
“I’m very sorry,” she said, offering a tissue as he coughed, tears welling in his eyes. “Zander’s a bit…”
“Psychopathic?” rasped the captain.
“Territorial.”
The captain refused the tissue, sniffing instead. His eyes had become bloodshot and his hair disheveled. Breathing heavily, he leaned against the wall. “Was there dinner involved in this invitation somewhere? Or did you just want me to meet the pet?”
“Dinner, definitely dinner.” She turned back to the door and pressed the button with her thumb.
“Please wait a moment as the pressure is normalized,” said the computer.
“Normalized?” The captain’s eyes widened. “Did something happen?”
“Oh, nothing really,” said Gemma, trying to make her giggle sound natural. “Just a tiny mishap.”
The doors slid open. Gemma, the captain and Zander leaned in.
“How little a mishap?”
What had been an immaculately set table with salad, bread rolls, finely sliced chicken and baked vegetables was now a food catastrophe covering the floor, furniture, and walls, the grates through which the atmosphere had made its exit were clogged with debris, including a charred table cloth.
Gemma bit her lip and blinked back her disappointment.
“Did you cook dinner yourself?” he said.
“Yes.” She picked Zander’s tendrils out of her hair. “You said you liked ‘old style’ evenings, so I did some ‘home cooking,’ lit a couple of candles and…” She rubbed her eye vigorously.
He smiled and gently pulled her hand from her face. “When I said ‘old style’ I meant 2D movies and popcorn.”
“Oh.”
“Tell you what, why don’t we go down to the mess and get some good modern grub? What do you say?”
She sighed and smiled back at him. “Maybe that’s a better idea.”
“On one condition,” he said, his eyes narrowing.
“Yes?”
“Plant boy stays home.”
She laughed. “One minute.” She stepped back into her quarters and replaced Zander on his stand in the middle of the room. Then, dusting her hands, she turned her back on the disarray. She decided she was going to have a lovely evening.
The doors slid shut.
Zander unfurled his leaves and slowly climbed down the lattice to the floor. He surveyed dinner. Thoroughly pleased with himself, he picked up a piece of chicken in his leaf and began stuffing it into the nearest flower.
“Dinner Plans” is available in the short story collection Baverstock’s Allsorts Volume 1. Volume 1 contains 17 short stories, three poems, and a fictional newspaper article. It’s a rollicking ride through genres and styles, with pathos, humor, and quirky surprises. Pick up a copy to meet delightful characters in thought-provoking situations who will make you laugh, cry, and wonder what happens next!
“Dinner Plans”
Copyright © 2014 by Jessica Baverstock
Cover and Layout copyright © 2018 by Jessica Baverstock
Cover design by Jessica Baverstock
Cover art © Ivonne Wierink/Shutterstock
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.