to do when visiting a stranger.
Satisfied that we were alone, she returned to the dining area and sat at the table where I had placed two wine glasses.
I opened the wine and poured us each a glass.
Lifted my glass, I said, "To being rescued by a beautiful woman."
Anna smiled, touched her glass to mine, and took a sip.
Looking around, she said, "So, where's this Bob you mentioned? I didn't see him anywhere."
"Oh, he's hiding in the back, probably under the covers on the bed. He's kind of shy. Not used to seeing many people. He'll come out eventually."
Anna stood, "I'm going to go back and see if I can find him. Make sure he's not some kind of imaginary cat."
"Okay," I said, "but Bob isn't really good with visitors. If you try to pet him he might not like it."
Of course, Bob proved me wrong.
From the back I could hear Anna speaking in a soft voice to Bob. "You sure are a handsome kitty. I bet the girl cats follow you everywhere."
I expected Bob to duck and run, but instead I heard him purring loudly.
A few moments later Anna returned to the table.
"I found Bob. He let me pet him. Even purred a bit. But what's the deal with his tail?"
I laughed, "He was born that way. They tell me he's an America Bob tail. A short stub for a tail is just the way they are."
Anna smiled, "Kind of makes him look like a bobcat." Then she said, "Oh, I get it. Bobcat, as in 'Bob the cat'. Cute."
I agreed, "Yeah."
She took another sip from her glass, then said, "So Walker, you promised me dinner. What's on the menu tonight?"
I smiled. "We have a variety of choices. We could have spinach and goat cheese pizza, or chicken parmesan, or cajun style chicken, or sweet and sour chicken. Your choice."
Anna smiled, "I'm impressed. You can cook."
"No, not really. I can microwave. And I've got a freezer full of frozen dinners. All varieties.
"Tell me what you want, and we'll have a hot meal in about five minutes."
Anna thought for a moment, then said, "Let's have pizza."
"Good choice. The frozen pizzas actually come out pretty good in the microwave."
I went to the fridge and pulled out two organic cheese and spinach individual pizzas, unwrapped them, and put the first in the microwave.
When that pizza was done, I sliced and plated it, then put the second pizza in to cook.
I carried the two plates to the table, put one in front of Anna and said, "Your dinner is served."
She smiled, "This looks pretty good."
We were both hungry, and it didn't take us long to go through the pizza. Fortunately, just about the time we finished the first two slices off, the bell on the microwave dinged, announcing we each had two more slices to eat.
After we'd finished those, Anna said, "That was pretty good. Not at all what I expected from a frozen pizza."
"The secret," I said, "is in choosing the right pizza and not over cooking it. Being single, I've become an expert at this kind of thing."
Anna smiled, "So how come someone as handy in the kitchen as you, is still single?"
I laughed, "Well, I was married. Then one day, the wife decided it was over. She filed for divorce, and I've been single ever since."
"Divorced, huh? A lot of that going around. In fact, I've been down that road myself. What a mess."
I nodded knowingly.
"So Anna, tell me about treasure hunting. Any chance I'm going to find gold on the beach after the storm?"
25
"Yes," replied Anna. "If you're real lucky, and you hit the right beach just after the storm, you just might find some gold. But more likely, you'll find silver.
"And that's not bad. Finding old silver coins is pretty exciting. A lot of them are still out there. And some can be quite valuable.
"And even if you don't find gold or silver, you'll probably find something from the treasure fleet. Old iron nails, copper and brass fittings. Even broken pottery.
"And if
Satisfied that we were alone, she returned to the dining area and sat at the table where I had placed two wine glasses.
I opened the wine and poured us each a glass.
Lifted my glass, I said, "To being rescued by a beautiful woman."
Anna smiled, touched her glass to mine, and took a sip.
Looking around, she said, "So, where's this Bob you mentioned? I didn't see him anywhere."
"Oh, he's hiding in the back, probably under the covers on the bed. He's kind of shy. Not used to seeing many people. He'll come out eventually."
Anna stood, "I'm going to go back and see if I can find him. Make sure he's not some kind of imaginary cat."
"Okay," I said, "but Bob isn't really good with visitors. If you try to pet him he might not like it."
Of course, Bob proved me wrong.
From the back I could hear Anna speaking in a soft voice to Bob. "You sure are a handsome kitty. I bet the girl cats follow you everywhere."
I expected Bob to duck and run, but instead I heard him purring loudly.
A few moments later Anna returned to the table.
"I found Bob. He let me pet him. Even purred a bit. But what's the deal with his tail?"
I laughed, "He was born that way. They tell me he's an America Bob tail. A short stub for a tail is just the way they are."
Anna smiled, "Kind of makes him look like a bobcat." Then she said, "Oh, I get it. Bobcat, as in 'Bob the cat'. Cute."
I agreed, "Yeah."
She took another sip from her glass, then said, "So Walker, you promised me dinner. What's on the menu tonight?"
I smiled. "We have a variety of choices. We could have spinach and goat cheese pizza, or chicken parmesan, or cajun style chicken, or sweet and sour chicken. Your choice."
Anna smiled, "I'm impressed. You can cook."
"No, not really. I can microwave. And I've got a freezer full of frozen dinners. All varieties.
"Tell me what you want, and we'll have a hot meal in about five minutes."
Anna thought for a moment, then said, "Let's have pizza."
"Good choice. The frozen pizzas actually come out pretty good in the microwave."
I went to the fridge and pulled out two organic cheese and spinach individual pizzas, unwrapped them, and put the first in the microwave.
When that pizza was done, I sliced and plated it, then put the second pizza in to cook.
I carried the two plates to the table, put one in front of Anna and said, "Your dinner is served."
She smiled, "This looks pretty good."
We were both hungry, and it didn't take us long to go through the pizza. Fortunately, just about the time we finished the first two slices off, the bell on the microwave dinged, announcing we each had two more slices to eat.
After we'd finished those, Anna said, "That was pretty good. Not at all what I expected from a frozen pizza."
"The secret," I said, "is in choosing the right pizza and not over cooking it. Being single, I've become an expert at this kind of thing."
Anna smiled, "So how come someone as handy in the kitchen as you, is still single?"
I laughed, "Well, I was married. Then one day, the wife decided it was over. She filed for divorce, and I've been single ever since."
"Divorced, huh? A lot of that going around. In fact, I've been down that road myself. What a mess."
I nodded knowingly.
"So Anna, tell me about treasure hunting. Any chance I'm going to find gold on the beach after the storm?"
25
"Yes," replied Anna. "If you're real lucky, and you hit the right beach just after the storm, you just might find some gold. But more likely, you'll find silver.
"And that's not bad. Finding old silver coins is pretty exciting. A lot of them are still out there. And some can be quite valuable.
"And even if you don't find gold or silver, you'll probably find something from the treasure fleet. Old iron nails, copper and brass fittings. Even broken pottery.
"And if
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