The Forager's Kitchen – Part 2: Last Service

They went foraging at dawn.

The wood was silent and white with frost. Their boots crunched on the path. Their breath hung in clouds. The sky was pale, low and pearly, promising snow. Maja walked in a thick coat and a woolly hat, a basket on her arm, while Emil moved ahead of her through the trees, pointing, crouching, murmuring.

"Chanterelle. Last of the year. Look."

She knelt. Under a spruce, in a drift of needles, a cluster of golden mushrooms glowed in the half-light. She picked one gently, as he'd taught her. It smelled of apricots.

"They're so beautiful."

"They are only mushrooms."

"They are beautiful mushrooms."

He laughed, a deep rolling laugh. They filled their baskets slowly, wandering through the quiet trees. Frost glittered on every branch. A crow called, far off. A thin, powdery snow began to fall, silent, soft, melting on Maja's cheeks.

They stopped at a fallen log and sat down, shoulder to shoulder, with a flask of hot tea. Snowflakes drifted down. The woods were hushed and white.

"Last service was last night," said Maja.

"I know."

"It was the best we've done."

"It was because of you."

"It was because of the nettles."

"They helped."

She laughed, her cheeks pink. She leaned her head against his shoulder. His arm came round her, warm and solid.

"Can I ask you something?" said Emil.

"Yes."

"Will you come foraging when the restaurant closes for winter?"

"Every week," said Maja. "May I kiss you?"

"Yes," said Emil, very softly. "And if you say stop, you must cook me dinner from what we found."

"That's a lovely punishment."

She kissed him, cold-nosed and warm-mouthed, a gloved hand rising to his bandana. He kissed her back, slow and sure, tasting of tea and woodsmoke. The snow fell thicker. A thin white blanket settled on the log, on the baskets, on their shoulders.

When they parted, both of them were smiling.

"Green?" he asked.

"Green," said Maja. "Very green."

The restaurant reopened in March. The menu has a new line at the bottom, in tiny type: Foraged by E. Cooked by M. Loved by the guests.

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