New Day, New Life

"I'm glad you like it," he said. "Dinner wont' be long. As soon as we get the side dishes completed, we'll be ready. The pork has been cooking since dinner last night, and we've done it in the tradition of the local people here."

"And it is unbelievable," Kate smiled. "Barbeque is one thing, but this...this is something so totally unique that you can't find it anywhere else but here. Its not barbeque. Its totally different." She finished cutting a fresh pineapple and mixed a fruit salad, with cubes of mango, pomegranite and dragonfruit. She gently stirred them together and poured a pineapple juice dressing over them.

She accio'd a chinese wok and poured a bit of oil into it and tossed a handful of mixed fresh vegetables into it, and flicked her wand to get a large steamer ready to cook some brown rice. She began to stirfry the vegetables with some sauces and spices. "I hope everyone is hungry. We're making a ton of food. Oh, and there is a lovely unusual salad with fruti and vegetables both that I made a couple hours ago. It should be well chilled by now. Are we eating inside, Angus?"

"No, as a matter of fact, we're not. I have a table set up outside so we can eat under the stars by candlelight, but I do need someone to set the table for me. And then perhaps I can get one of the guys to go outside with me and get the pork."

"I'm sure Robert would go if no one else will," Kate said.

"Maybe it needs to be whoever needs to exercise his muscles," Angus laughed.

Cassidy smiled and rubbed her tummy just as Steven walked in and looked around the room " wow did I walk in on something , I heard the word pork " he said seeing Cassidy chuckling as he picked up the half cookie on the tray " I'll help I love pork will it have the skin on as crackling?" he asked walking over and kissing Cassidy on her cheek gently " you all right?" he asked softly and smiled when she nodded she was and kissed him lightly back.

Cassidy smiled feeling his kiss on her cheek " yes Steve, I'm fine or should I say we're fine" she rubbed her tummy smiling at Kate as she felt her baby kick out again. Placing his hand on it she smiled as he felt a small foot push against his hand.

Steven smiled at her as he felt the tiny foot push against his hand " ten toes " he said softly as it pulled back inside her. He looked at Kate then at Angus grinning like a Cheshire cat. "ok Angus wheres this pork you need a hand with?" he asked.

"I have an enormous pork roast outside. The way its been done here for hundreds of years. Its been buried underground all night cooking with hot coals and hot rocks, wrapped in banana leaves. Its had all sorts of local herbs and spices helping to marinate it and make it better than anything you've ever had in your life. But it isn't going to be easy to get out now that its cooked. Its an entire suckling pig. Its huge and its very, very heavy, and its really hot. I suggest we take several large roasting pans to put the meat in and send it back in, but its going to take a lot of hot heavy work. You in? I presume a Texan could take the heat maybe. And maybe I can get Jess to set the table for us. Unless you feel up to it, Cassidy."

Angus picked up a large stack full of disposable foil roasting pans and a roll of aluminum foil, and a pan of utensils to get the pork out with. He had shovels outside to dig up the rocks and things that he had covered the pork with. This was a big job.

Cassidy looked at Angus dejected " I'm pregnant not ill , I can lay a table " she said and moved to gather all the plates and cutlery they would need for the meal but first she placed on the table cloth.

Steven chuckled kissing her cheek he walked over to Angus " sounds delicious " he said " yeah I have heard of that we do something similar back home its like our traditional barbeques where we have a get-together with family and friends and cook food on the barbecue pit" he said " I loved those days they would go on late into the night" he said rolling up his sleeves ready for the heavy lifting , he saw two y shaped metal poles sticking up out of the ground " those are for the poles your going to use to lift it out I take it?" he asked

"Thank you, Cassidy," Angus said. Then he went out with Steven. "Yeah, but usually, by this time, after roasting for 24 hours, the meat is falling apart so much that it just wont hold together enough for us to use those poles. It becomes a matter of pulling the meat off the bones one large roaster full at a time and taking it to the house." He picked up a shovel. "First though, I suggest we dig open the roasting pit and see what our pork looks like."

He thrust the shovel into the ground and began piling up large shovelsful of rocks and sand and leaves that he had used to cover the pit with. He knew it would take a bit for them to dig down far enough to get to the layers of banana leaves that covered the pork.

Cassidy smiled and continued to lay the table best she could the center piece she could not do , no matter how hard she tried she could not reach the middle of the table and she looked at Kate " um Kate could you put this in the center of the table for me please " she said and chuckled handing her a sliver platter with sauces in each small sliver bowl.

Steven looked at Angus and wiped his forehead " wow , now you got me wanting to have some " he said and picked up a second shovel and began to dig with him . He slipped off his shirt and threw it on a chair as he began to sweat from the heat.

Angus worked alongside Steven for several long moments before he felt the shovel strike the layers of banana leaves. The mouthwatering aroma of the pork came up to him. He could smell the pork that was cooked in local red salt, fresh cracked peppercorns, guava jam, Macadamia nut oil, and several stalks of natural sugar cane. It smelled insanely good. He began to take off the banana leaves. He took them off carefully, so that he didn't burn his hands as the steam rolled up when he took the leaves off.

And finally there it was. The glistening brown skin of the pig told him it was perfectly cooked. He smiled. "That skin will be crispy and delicious. Wait until you taste the glaze on it." He went to pick up a leg of the pork and it simply fell apart in his hands. "Well the good news is that the meat is so tender it is falling offf the bones. The bad news is that we can't use the poles. We're going to have to take the meat off the bones and take in roaster after roaster of roast pork. I guess we might as well get to it. I hope Kate has those side dishes done."

Steven smiled as he smelt the pork and the mention of the glaze almost had his mouth watering. " ok I'll grab one you fill it " he said placing down his shovel and grabbing a prepared roaster for it. Cassidy inside had finished the table and now sat down to admire her work.

" ok that's done not sure what else he wants on but I got a pitcher of cold juice and bread rolls if any body wants them" she said glancing out the window at Steven with out his shirt. " I can't help but smile when I see him like that " she said not to any one in particular in the room and she sighed still smiling " to me he's the most hansom kindest man around" she aimlessly rubbed her tummy.

"Sounds like a plan," Angus said. He filled up the first roaster to heaping and then just startted to fill the next. "How many can you take to the table?" he asked Steven. If he carried them by hand, he would only make one roaster at a time with how full Angus had stacked the roasters. If he took them magically, he might be able to take a couple at a time if he was careful with them. He filled the second and started on the third.

"I'm sure you did fine," Kate said to Cassidy. "I'm glad you're happy. I'll be right back. I"m going to take the rest of the dinner outside. I'll place the centerpiece when I go out. She took out a beatufiul brown rice pilaf with sauteed sweet onions and a bit of garlic. She also took out the stir fried vegetables, and she motioned the dish of salad to float along after her. She centered Cassidy's centerpiece on the table and then added the side dishes. The pork smelled divine.

She came back into the house. "I think we're going to be eating any moment," she said. She called everyone to the dinner table outside.

Steven looked at Angus " about three at a time if I'm careful " he said and picked up two of the roasters and making the float " you want them on the table right?" he asked " or on the table next to it "he wasn't sure where he was to put the full rosters but he knew they would end up on the table eventually on every ones plates " tell you what I'll put them in the kitchen for now" he said and moved two of the roasters inside letting them gently rest on the sides as he was about to move back out for more Cassidy walked over to him and kissed him not that he minded but he was all sooted up and sweaty.

Cassidy smiled "yeah, I guess I am happy now " she said and chuckled as Steven walked in she stood up and walked over cupping his cheek she kissed him and smiled to him. " love the smell of sweat and charcoal on my man " she whispered and he placed his dirty hand on her cheek leaving a dirty hand print behind.

" in the eyes of the native Americans you are now my wife , because I placed my mark on you" he said softly to her.

Cassidy smiled at him " then I won't wash it off " she said smiling to him. she kissed him gently then stepped back " you should finish the pork I'm hungry and so is the little one " she said moving to where Kate stood at the table forgetting about the hand print.