Sixty-four: Inhaling food

I was distracted from my thoughts when Kiran passed by the lunchroom and a soldier there placed two big packets in my lap with two bottles of water while we passed. The thought of food made my mouth water. My tummy rumbled.

"Hungry?" Kiran smiled and laughed when I only gave him a look in reply. "Don't worry. I'll help you prepare it. It won't be long."

He put me down on the bed, letting me lean against the wall and opened the first packet. Out of the packet came a little tray, cutlery and a myriad of other packets. He opened one of the smaller packets and shook its contents hard, placing it in the big packet along with most of the other packets and then folded the top of the big packet to seal it. I watched him in silence, curious, but too afraid to ask any questions in case I broke the mood and discovered this was all a dream.

Onto the tray, he placed a squashed bun of bread that reinflated upon being released from its plastic packaging. He buttered it for me using a little pat of butter that had been sealed in foil. A small chocolate bar appeared, together with two jam cookies, a muesli bar and a sachet with powder that he poured into my drink bottle for me. He shook it up and the water turned green. Lime flavoured perhaps. Finally there was a handful of roasted and salted mixed nuts with dried fruit that he poured into a certain compartment of my tray for me.

"While the food is heating up," he said, "you can get started with the other stuff. We'll leave the cake for later," he placed a rectangular packet to one side. "I'll start preparing my food too."

He opened his big packet and I watched him methodically lay out his food in his tray as well, while I tried not to inhale the chocolate and nuts. I tried to pace myself, but Kiran still snatched the tray away from me and made me chew fifty times before I swallowed. Then only did he allow me to take another mouthful of food.

"Jean," he scolded. "Slow down. You'll make yourself sick."

I could only give him a crumby smile around my mouthful of cookie.

I could see steam rising from the big packet of warming food and could barely keep myself from wriggling in anticipation.

A cough at the door distracted me from the food. The doctor stood there, proudly holding up a simple, brown dress of the same material as the blanket that I was wearing. He closed the door behind him.

"Here you are, Jean," he said, slipping the dress over my head while Kiran kindly averted his eyes. He helped me get my arms into the empty sleeves and settled the blanket I had been wearing over my lap. "As you were."

"Thank you, Doctor," I said with a shy smile, amazed that he had finished making the dress already. The shape of it hadn't looked too bad when he'd held it up earlier.

"No sweat, darling girl," he told me and said behind his hand. "I cleaned you up while you were asleep. I wanted to enhance you too, but Kiran wouldn't let me, so I gave you some beauty treatments instead. I hope it was worth it."

Frowning, I cocked my head, not quite understanding what he meant.

"Thanks, Doc," Kiran said in a gruff voice. "That'll do."

The doctor bowed and exited the room, closing the door behind him, muttering something about things being no fun when you can't undress them properly.

Kiran looked irritated for a moment, but the frown broke into a smile when he looked at me. Lifting me up so that my feet didn't touch the ground, he allowed me to tug the dress on straight, while he averted his eyes again, but this time I caught him peeking. He covered my lap with my blanket.

"You peeked," I accused.

"Couldn't help it," he grinned. "You look so much better."

"No peeking next time," I wagged a finger at him, finding my affronted feelings being mixed with pleasure that even in my current state, someone might still like me enough to look at me that way. Then again, he could just be playing me. Trying to get me on his side more. Who could like someone who looked in the condition I did?

"Yes, ma'am," Kiran said, carefully reopening my closed big packet, releasing a cloud of steam. Because the packets were so hot, he took care to empty them out into my tray for me.

There was some sort of a meat and vegetable stew with beans in it as well as a smaller packet of some sort of grain that didn't quite look like rice. Then there was a pack of what looked to be grilled corn kernels with what smelt like butter. Heavenly.

Before I could dig in, Kiran pulled the tray beyond my reach.