A Birth day

Jess followed every one on baord the ship and smiled seeing Angus and eh others stood together Jack snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. " you do know Im a seer right" she said and she smiled at him.

"yep and you were right on with the sharks both human and non" he said making Jess chuckled again and looked to Angus.

"It sounds perfect Angus" she said leaning abck against Jack she watched as he hugged Evie and Faith as well as the girls she heard the mention of rooma and nodded " you want to stay on a ship after what happened?" she said then paused as she thought about her words " wel this is Angus yacht so were safe." she said as Jack lead her to their roomwhere after a moment he kissed her and shut the door.

After an hour they both stepped out and headed up to get some food on the second floor. Walking in both were smiling.

When everyone went up on deck, the servers took drink orders and made sure everyone had something to drink.

Robert and Edward and Tara came up on deck, and they got drinks as well, as the servers started to bring up bright silver serving carts with the appetizer course.

"I believe the appetizers are here, so if you'd all find a place at the table, I think we should eat," Edward said. Everyone found a place, and the chef himself came up from the kitchen. He was Italian but he spoke excellent English.

"Good evening," the chef said. "It is a rare honor and a privilege to serve the owners and their family members and their friends. We are delighted to have you with us onboard tonight, so we have prepared what we hope is a menu to your liking. The appetizer course tonight features a vegetarian wrap made of swiss chard, broccolini, a sweet green curry chicken, and some kaffir lime for just a hint of acidity and brightness. Feel free to pick these little wraps up with your fingers. We're serving it with cups of a bright tahitian coconut pineapple soup that is served cold. Enjoy." He disappeared back to the kitchen as the servers put rectangular little plates in front of everyone with four little wraps and a small cup resembling a chinese tea cup that was filled with the cold fruit soup.

Simone tasted her soup first.

"Oh, this is lovely. Perfect for a warm summer evening," she said. "This would be a great base for a summer cocktail."

"I think you'll like the wraps too. The chicken curry has a bit of an Asian taste to it," Edward said.

Jack and Jess found a seat and sat down hearing the menu Jack smiled " I like the sound of that" he said and Jess chuckled as she sat next to him.

"you like the sound of any food Jack " she said and Jack chuckled and kissed her cheek .

"yep, " he said smiling as he picked up a drink and sipped it Jess had water as she wanted to keep her head clear. She nodded to Simone as she ate her soup and wraps" it does taste divine" she said as she finished it . Jack ate his wraps and soup and sat back waiting for the main course to appear, he having a feeling that it too would be wonderful

"So, how do you think Evan is?" Angus asked Robert.

"Exceptionally well," Robert said. "So far, I'm not seeing any complications with the decompression. The medic seems more than competent, and he's staying with Evan until the decompression is completed. I gave them permission to bring him some supper, so he's having what we're having. By then, I think he's going to be quite ready to turn in for the night. I'm proud of you all. You did some stellar work today. It took us out of our comfort zones, but you were right there. As for Gelding's new little money earning venture, I have spoken with Daniella and also with the Italian minister of magic, and I have been reassured they will be cooperating with some of our aurors from home, and they will be making some full scale investigations and dives. Tom's little operation will be shut down, and any loot that is recovered is to be, first, split three ways to cover the expense of the operation, and then I expect they'll split the spoils as well. In a few days, gold old Tom will be out of business in the underwater endeavors. And while that's not good for the kids we rescue, we'll be back on familiar ground, and he won't gain much profit that way either. So, as far as I'm concerned, all's well that ends well tonight. Good work, Everyone. Well done indeed."

The servers cleared away the appetizer dishes and they served the pasta course. It looked like oversized corkscrew pastas with a very unusual marinara and a chiffonade of basil that had been garnished on the top.

"This is something I presume not many of you have had," Angus told them. "This pasta shape is called a Fusilloni, basically meaning great big corkscrew noodles. The marinara is seasoned a bit livelier because its a Sicilian recipe. I think this will be a real comforting thing for all of us. Oh, and I'm told we can all have some freshly shaved Parmesan on top if we'd like."

"Well, if there's cheese, of course we want cheese," Edward laughed. "And lots of it."

Jack and Jess watched and smiled as the server cleared away the bowls and then placed plates in front of them, Jack chuckled and nodded at Edward "Oh can't have pasta without cheese" he said Jess just chuckled and shook her head.

"Im glad Evans all right, must have been a harrowing experience for him" she said "And your should hold up?" she asked Angus not knowing he'd already said it had.

"Still wonder if that guy you stuck to the sub is still stuck to it." he said " it was quick thinking there," he said to Angus with a chuckle.

"My shoulder seems fine," Angus said.

"He took a harpoon hit in that arm but it's just a messy graze. He'll live to spar another day," Marcus said.

"I mentioned there is a possibility that there was a thug stuck to the sub, so the Italian coast guard was going to go get him," Edward said, as he motioned the servers to shave some cheese on everyone's pasta. "I doubt he'll like being in muggle custody and by the time they're done with him, he's going to wish he was still stuck to the sub. Was that your doing, Angus?"

"I must admit, it was," Angus said. Robert laughed out loud.

"I should have known it was your doing," Robert said. "If somebody's gonna get cheeky on a mission, it's going to be him. Always."

"Might as well have some fun in the process, right?"

"This is great," Anise said. "Angus, can you get these big noodles?"

"Oh, sure. You like them?" Angus said.

"They're terrific. They hold a lot of sauce."

"They would be good with that extra sharp cheddar cheese pasta sauce that you make with diced ham and shallots," Kate told Angus.

"We haven't had that in a long, long time," Robert said. "Why haven't you made that?"

"I haven't been cooking. We have new cooks, remember?" Angus laughed.

"Okay. New rules. Either you cook at least one night a week for us, or you hand over the recipes for our favorites," Robert laughed.

"I don't know about handing over my recipes," Angus said, teasing. He wasn't generally territorial over his recipes. He just liked giving them a hard time.

"You mean like the cinnamon rolls. I think the only other person that knows how to make them is Ruby," Sam said.

"And there's another thing you haven't made in months," Robert said. "We miss those too."

"Sounds like you're about to be removed from the sidelines and sent back to the kitchen," Marcus laughed.

"Robert will be reasonable once his stomach isn't empty," Kate promised.

Jack laughed at the memory of the thug stuck to the side of the sub " good to know hes not still stuck down there" he said and yes it was a sticky situation" he punned to them Jess just looekd at Kate and the others mouthing she was sorry. Together they ate and she smiled at the taste of the pasta soon they were done and sat back again looking at the starts " its realy a nice night tonight." Jess said looking up at the stars.

Jess and Jack staed siping their drink and watching teh stars above them slowly move , they knew it ws the ship moving making them move but all the same it was a warm clear night that was heavenly.

They laughed at Jack's joke, as the servers cleared away the pasta dishes and served a truly treasured, rare vintage red wine to pair with the main entrée. Then the servers brought out the main course--a beautiful, lean slow braised beef shank, that was served with a superb demi glace, alongside a cheesy polenta and some grilled white asparagus. It was one of the finest looking plates Angus had ever seen come out of the kitchens of one of their ships.

"They have truly pulled out all the stops for us," Angus said, impressed. "And, just so you all know, if my tastebuds have not failed me this wine is a Chateau Lafite." Edward tasted his wine, savored it a moment and nodded.

"It is indeed. It's a 1981."

"And that makes this wine $2000 a bottle," Angus said, "but who's counting? It's worth every single drop when it's shared amongst the family here." Angus gave permission for the kids to have a glass as well, so they broke out a couple more bottles so there was enough to go around for everyone.

"We are going to buy some for our cellar, Robert," Kate said.

"If I can find it, yes," Robert smiled. "This is the best roast beef I've had in a long time. Well done."

Jck smiled and Jess shook her ehad as every one laghted at Jack pun. When the beef was placed down Jack smiled " yeah the wine goes well with the meat" he said as he took some of the meat " Im glad its beef" he said and Jes chuckled " what I like meat."

" yeah you love any type of meat" she said and he nodded " yes the wine is fantastic" she said having taken a sip from Jacks glass to wash down some beef. Now she wondered just what they would have to tp off the meal as good as this one. " Im looking forward to desert." Jess said smiling " its got to be something good"

"I have to ask, Edward," Angus said. "Does the ship always carry a Chateau Lafite?"

"No. Never, actually," Edward said.

"Then how did we get this one?"

"I thought you brought it."

"No. I thought you did," Angus said. Edward summoned the head server and asked, in Italian, how they had come upon that particular wine. The server spoke very quietly to Edward, and Edward laughed out loud and waved the server away.

"You lot are going to love this," Edward said, still laughing, but now he was laughing so hard he could hardly talk. They had to give him a moment. "Old Tom bought a whole case of this to shower on his wife and friends, and when they arrived at the charter office, he and Suzanne did a wine tasting before the ship sailed. Suzanne apparently said she didn't like the 'quality' of the wine. So, the one she finally picked out was a strawberry wine with a screwtop cap that cost $4.99 a bottle. This case was already paid for, but Tom never used it. So our lovely wine tonight is actually courtesy of Mr. Gelding."

Michael and Robert couldn't contain themselves. They burst into laughter and the rest of them joined them, finding it hysterically funny.

"She's such a twit," Kate laughed. "Absolutely no class at all."

"That's alright. We'll enjoy it even more," Angus said. "Thank you, Tom."