A Birth day

Ruby smiled smelling cooking and glanced over at Carlo "Smells wonderful" she said then looked to Robert " I agree it would be nicer weather that time of year and it would give everything time to settle down." she said as she saw Jessie stand and walk to stand close to the griull " he smelt the meat, you'd think he was never fed" she said and chuckled. Jessie smelt the grilling steaks and sat up seeing Carlo cooking he got up and walked over to him.

"Those smell great , whats in the oil your using?" he asked wanting to know so he could try it when he got back to the cabin and Yu.

Carlo showed Jessie a bottle of the extra virgin olive oil that had been freshly pressed at the estate's olive oil mill. Then he opened the bottle, drizzled just a wee bit on a crostini for Jessie to try so he could taste the fresh olive taste of what a good oil should taste like.

Evan got out of the pool and went over to the grill too.

"See that deep green color?" Evan asked. "The greener it is, the more like olives the oil will taste because its cold pressed and left unrefined. You're getting the true taste of the olives, and it's healthier for you than more refined oils. If it is yellow or nigh onto colorless, it will be rather flavorless as well. Those grades of oil have their places too, but this is what is our best seller. Always has been. And it makes a huge difference in the flavor of the food. The yellow or clear olive oil is better for high heat cooking, like stir frying, because it has a higher smoking point, meaning it can take a much higher cooking temp than the extra virgin. it all depends on what you want to do with it. Actually, if I didn't trust that Carlo knows exactly what he's doing on that grill, I'd not recommend he use the extra virgin for grilling. It's tricky business, but Carlo? He knows precisely how to make it work out here. You should take some of the oils home with you and try them."

"Do we use Edward's oils at home?" Robert asked Angus.

"Yes. We do. I ended up getting some other brand when i ordered supplies awhile back, and Zoe and Nicky sent me nasty notes about the crappy oil," Angus laughed. "So I had to send to Evan to send me more from here."

"Don't make us eat crappy oil, Angus," Robert laughed. "Just get the good stuff. Do we have Edward's wines?"

"A couple. Not a lot. Maybe I should have Evan send us some of each so you can try them."

"Do that. I always like an excuse to open a bottle of wine."

"Who needs an excuse? Just open it," Angus said. "Life is too short to not drink the wine."

"Spoken like a true philosopher," Robert laughed.

Jessie smiled and tasted the oil he was suprised at the flavor it held and nodded to Evan " makes sense, and it has a nice flavor" he said watching Carlo add alittle more oil to the steaks " I'll definalty get some and give it to Yu to use and I might try and lern to cook myself too if its going to taste this good." he said. Ruby heard Angus talk about how they used cheaper oil and were called out on it by Zoe and chuckled.

"so thats the secret, good olive oil" she said smiling at him when the mention of wine was brought up she nodded to Angus , " I heard a good wine is like a good woman, subtle, full bodied and very hard to come by." she said and chuckled.

"The secret is to always use the best quality ingredients you can find," he said. When she compared wine to women, he simply laughed. "People used to ask me why I was still single. Evidently that must have been the piece I was buggaring up. Seriously, though. Look at Evan. When he's talking about something he knows, he just exudes confidence, and the wine and the olive oil? That's something he knows and handles well, and I think he likes doing it. Just like Tyler likes the equestrian stuff. Evan wants to learn to fight, and I see nothing wrong with that if it helps him to feel he could defend his family if trouble came, but, by the same token, I see absolutely nothing wrong with him handling the businesses for Edward. That's just one more thing I don't have to do."

"If you ask me, I don't think that's why Evan wants to learn to fight," Robert said.

"What do you mean?" Angus asked.

"I think being able to defend one's family is the best reason but that isn't what motivates Evan, I don't think."

"What other motive could there be?"

"I think he wants to be like you," Robert said quietly.

"Lord, I don't think anyone should want to be like me," Angus said. "Surely not."

"And why not? You fight every bit as well as Edward does, and you were out with him making werewolf kills of your own while you were still in primary school. You're multilingual, and I don't have one more fighter that can match you in wand speed. Jack is fastest on his feet, bar none. You, though, have the fastest wand speed. You make it look like sword fighting."

"Maybe its because I've had fencing classes from the time I was small," Angus said.

"Oh, I'm not saying you didn't earn it. You bloody well did. You've got the true heart of a Gryffindor, and Evan is a man that wishes the hat had put him in Gryffindor too. He desperately wants that hero's heart and the skills to match. Every lad wants to be a swashbuckling pirate just for a little while, I think, and I don't think Evan is any different."

"i have to say honestly that I've never once thought of myself in those terms." He looked at Ruby. "Did you ever, even one time, see me as a swashbuckler?"

Ruby sat and listened to Robert and Angus and she felt her cheeks flare pnik as he asked if she saw him as a swashbuckler type. " well, um..you do have a flair when you use your wand that, um..makes you, if I can say the word." she leaned closer to him and spoke softly to the boys would not hear " sexy " she said then sat back up " that's the word I'd use more then swashbuckler" she chuckled " that makes you sound like a pirate, but I can see Roberts point since you move your wand like a sword, but its what makes you, you and thats what I love about you."

She could see the others swimming and Jessie sat sunning himself as he lay next to her.

"I never thought of my self with either of those words," he laughed, as Simone came over to refill some of the glasses with the frozen lemonade.

"Just so you know," Simone told him, amused, "those men who don't try so hard to be sexy are far more sexy than those who are just themselves."

"She's the only one who ever saw me that way, though," Angus said.

"Oh, no, no. That's not true," Simone laughed. "I see the way women look at you. You just don't pay any attention."

"Don't tell me any more. I don't want to know," Angus laughed. Robert laughed out loud. Carlo began taking steaks and potatoes off the grill as Rosaria brought a huge Caesar salad and a big bowl hot, toasty garlic bread out and put it on the table. Edward walked down towards the beach and called the kids to come up for supper and then walked back up.

"They're good kids," Edward told Angus and Ruby. "They found some water balloons and had a water balloon fight, and they're taking the time to pick up the broken balloons and toss them away before they come to supper. A lot of our adult guests aren't that respectful of the beach, quite honestly."

"We very rarely have to ever take them in hand," Angus said.

"Well, come to the table," he told them. "The kids will get here when they get here." He called everyone else to the table, and he opened a couple of bottles of wine while Rosaria filled glasses with ice water for everyone.

Ruby listened to Simone and laughed too "What a sexy swashbuckler" she teased " Smones right I see it too, every time we walk into a room or you fight with other women they watch you" she said "But I'm not jealous just glad you chose to be with me" she said with a smile seeing Carlo bring over some food and hearing about the kids she smiled " true testament to their parents" she said with a smile. Taking a glass of ice water she smiled and thanked Rosaria then took a sip to cool down.

Jessie opened his eyes and looked at Carlo and Rosaria smiling and thank int them both for the food and cold drink. " smells wonderfulCarlo thanks" he said taking some Caesar salad and a hot, toasty garlic bread.

"Well, I'm just as glad you chose me. Now, let's go choose a steak while there still are some," he smiled.

As they sat down at the table, Carlo sat a huge platter of perfectly grilled steaks and a bowl of grilled jacket potatoes. As people passed the plates around, Marcus had positioned himself on Angus's left so he could rescue the heavy platters that were too heavy to hold with one hand from Angus. Fortunately, for Angus, Marcus knew a nonverbal spell to cut Angus's steak into small, manageable bites so Angus didn't have to contend with trying to cut his steak one handed.

"I've come to like that spell," Angus told Marcus quietly. Marcus cast him an amused grin. "Oh, so you know," Angus told everyone. "Carlo has a system for the steaks. The larger ones will be more rare. The small ones will be well or medium well, and the mediums will, of course, be medium. If you want more, he'll gladly grill more. There are plenty." He took a potato and a helping of the salad and a piece of garlic toast.

"And, for those of you who prefer steak sauce, the gravy boat has a lovely tangy steak sauce that is of Rosaria's own design. It tends to be a favorite here," Edward said. "And, of course, there is dessert, so if anyone leaves the table hungry, its your own fault."

The kids came up and they were going to go change, but they saw everyone else was in their swim suits too, so they just came and sat down like everyone else.

"We could smell these steaks cooking all the way down at the beach," Anise said. "I can't wait. I"m starving."

"Then just help yourself, my dear," Simone said. "There's enough for even this hungry crew."

Ruby smiled at Angus as she fllowed him over to where the steaks were she chose a small one while Jessie tok a large liking it bloodie in the middle to add to his salad and garlic bread. Ruby chose a medum likeing it to be cooked all the way threw but still have some flavor to it. She listened to Angus with Marcus and chuckled " you have to tach me that nonverbal spell" she said moving to sit on the opasite side of Angus while Jessie sat on her opasite side with his salad and bread.

"this steaks wonderful" Jessie said as he ate then pored some of the sauce over it and smiled as he continued to eat every bite. Ruby ate slower than Jessie savoring her steak with the sauce pored delicatly over the top of it.

"have to admit this sauce is good" she said smiling " it adds to the flavor of the steak." she added

"It's an easy spell," Marcus said. "I'll teach it to you."

"It is a good sauce," Angus said. "I'll have to see if I can get the recipe from her."

All four of the kids took large steaks and tucked into them and then had seconds.

"I've noticed something," Angus said.

"What's that?" Edward said.

"Teenage boys are hollow, and so are all werewolves," Angus said. Edward and the others laughed. It did seem to be true. They knew that teen boys, traditionally, could eat large amounts of food but Angus had been around werewolves long enough to know that a werewolf, regardless of gender, could eat about the same as a teenage boy, without gaining weight.

"I think it's the difference in body chemistry and metabolism," Robert said. "The metamorphosis alone cause massive shifts in the body, and in order for the body to deal with it, it needs vast amounts of nutrition to accommodate it and to heal."

"That makes sense, now that you phrase it that way," Angus said. "Can't say I ever thought about it, though."

"Well, you wouldn't have to," Robert said. "You haven't had to know the difference in physiology like I have."

"So does that mean that when Sam and I have babies, they'll be werewolves?" Anise asked. Sam choked on his steak.

"Babies?" Sam asked, his voice squeaking a bit. Michael reached over and patted Sam on the back.

"Breathe, Lad," Michael laughed.

"No, it does not mean they'll be werewolves. That isn't how that happens," Robert said.

"Well, I hadn't ever seen one happen like that, but it made me wonder if it was possible," she said.

"No. It isn't," Robert said. "You need oxygen, Sam?" Robert teased Sam, and Sam just shook his head, glaring a little at Anise.