After another expectedly quiet walk to the main dining room, they arrived to see the table still being tended to by two staff members dressed like they were the ones coming to dinner instead. Andie suddenly felt far under dressed in her casual outfit, but since Narcissa wasn't dressed much better she wasn't sure why it was bothering her. Maybe she was more worried that she wasn't dressed nicely enough for Ms. Cross and wondered how that thought had even entered her head.
Narcissa walked around to what was obviously her usual seat and Andie followed along assuming they would sit near each other, but like an annoying fly, Narcissa shooed her away and pointed to a seat that was a fair distance from her own. Andie followed the somewhat impolite silent command and headed to the seat she had indicated, near the end of the table, oddly positioned at a corner.
Narcissa sat down, so Andie followed, not really sure what the protocol was for dinner in their home. Andie fiddled with her hands under the table trying not to disturb the fine-looking place setting that was perfectly arranged at her spot even though she so wanted to touch the gorgeous flatware that seemed too fancy to use to feed her lowly face. The staff finished up a few more touches around the ornate centerpiece and other table dressings that sat interspersed with plates and napkins and rushed out the service entrance to what Andie assumed was the kitchen or prep area of some kind. She could smell food, but she wasn't sure what she was smelling, so she just closed her eyes and enjoyed it.
She heard the tiniest of sounds from the entrance they had used and opened her eyes to see what was going on, and she wasn't sure if she had fallen asleep into another horny dream or not. Divinity strode into the dining room with the simplest of black dresses draped over her perfect form, with lace panels that extended from just below her waist to above her knees, a simple pair of black stockings underneath as the lace of the dress needed no other decoration. She held the sheerest of lace shawls, that hung at her elbows, and crossed around the middle of her back. It could have easily been a feather boa from a vintage burlesque show with the skillful way she worked it over her exposed skin, a distraction to lure the eyes toyingly to where she wanted them.
In black from head to toe again, she looked as slender as could be, except where age had added its ongoing improvements. The subtle sway of her hips was accentuated by the way she pranced along her imaginary cat walk and the dangerously high heels again. Her posture, with her shoulders held so perfectly, presented the two near perfect tear drops, clinging to the thin band of her dress straps, no hint of an undergarment disturbing the scant line that ran along her shoulders to a wide open back. Andie was pretty sure she had gasped and gulped and made a few other noises at the sight she beheld.
"Mother!" Narcissa shot her mother a look as she spoke. "Seriously, what am I going to do with you?"
"Ms. Cross." Andie gulped as she couldn't help but stare. "You look lovely this evening."
"Cissy, you really should take a cue from your friend here, she's much better at the compliments than you are." Divinity replied, a devilish grin on her face as she stared at her daughter. "Thank you, Andie, or should I say Ms. Hawk, if we're going to be so formal with each other. Really, please call me Divinity. I think it would help reduce the awkwardness between us."
Divinity, made a sweeping pass around the table to show off every line and curve that her dress wasn't concealing, and some of them that it was, and then returned to the seat directly opposite Andie, the shawl hung like an ornament resting against the back of her seat. She leaned over to loosen the straps of her shoes before tossing them to the side and settling herself in place. The mid length hem of her dress inched up slightly and the panels split along the lines of her legs, revealing much more thigh than Andie was expecting to see. But after staring awkwardly at the show Divinity put on leaning over to remove her shoes, that was still fairly modest.
Andie assumed she was probably beet red having just been shown the entire world and some of the hidden treasures that few were privy to. She focused on her breathing which she had suddenly realized had stopped and exhaled quickly, then gulped in deep breaths of air. She didn't care that it wasn't the most graceful presentation she could manage as she was never known for that and wasn't about to start trying now.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upstage the appetizer." Divinity said mischievously as she shook out her napkin and draped it across her lap, now covered by more cloth than was on her entire dress, at least according to Andie's eyes.
Cissy rolled her eyes hard again, but no one was paying much attention to her, which she actually expected, and preferred, if there was going to be some kind of improper adult revue during her meal. Andie followed suit and shook out her napkin, not sure exactly what to do with it as she rarely used the ones she got from take out, and always wanted to tuck hers under her chin when dining out. She knew her limits.
The two staff that had been busy with the table entered again, this time carrying a large tureen and a set of soup bowls for the initial course. They set the tureen down on the side board and removed the lid. The aroma quickly filled all of Andie's taste and scent receptors and sent her body nearly into a foodgasm. The richness of the broth along with the herbs and vegetables all slow cooked together overwhelmed her like no other food experience she could remember.
The staff ladled out a bowl and set in down in front of Andie, being their guest, then one for Cissy and finally Divinity, as the eldest and the matriarch of the family.
Andie loved the aroma, but looked suspiciously at the mix in front of her. She was expecting a simple beef stew of sorts, but did not recognize that in her bowl. Cissy saw her confusion and chimed in.
"Oxtail soup." Cissy said smiling for such a brief moment Andie couldn't read any of the underlying tones in it.
"The chef does such a wonderful job with it, that I try to have it as often as I can, but it's so rich." Divinity added. "The textures and flavors tease the taste buds like almost nothing else in the world, save for a very few things."
Andie heard the words, but it was the deep richness of the voice that spoke them that resonated more along with what she wanted to taste on her tongue at that moment. She dipped her spoon in and raised a small amount to her lips, trying not to look too picky about it, but was rewarded with an explosion of flavors as she sipped the broth. She was savoring it in her mouth and swallowed hard suddenly coughing a bit as she felt the subtle brush of a foot along the inside of her leg and realized why the odd positioning of the seating arrangements.
