69. The Grill

        "You must be hungry" Hedena could see that Zara had been put to work underground. "It is unfortunate that you are so late..." she handed Zara a menu "...the waitress already took our orders."

         Zara heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's okay, I don't need to order anything, I can't stay for long anyway."
         "What do you mean you can't stay?" Hedena snapped. "I invited you to luncheon, didn't I?"

         "Yes, Your Honor!"

         "So what is more important than luncheon with Hedena?"

         Zara felt her cheeks redden, like old times bad feelings came back to haunt her. "It's not that... I..."

         "It's not what?"
         "It's... I'm working across town in the Moha Lab today and it's really busy... I only have half an hour."

         Giggles erupted around the table, not so discreetly.

         "You work in the Moha Lab?" one of the goddesses echoed, smiling, mocking...

         "Of course she does, look at her!"

         Zara wanted to die, how badly she kept setting herself up. "I work in the Design Department..." she explained, "Infrastructure..." hoping they would understand. "We're re-designing the lab to accommodate the Gora Lab move from Gorias" she smiled nervously, making an effort to look around the table at everyone equally, trying to remain calm but beneath the table she was twisting the table cloth in her hands. They were all there. It was like a Vine Club reunion. Eden, Medena, Dena, Mel… The garbage tossers... There were a few she didn't know.

         "Is that a wig?" Dena asked. 
         Hedena noticed the table cloth tugging and called the waitress over, pointing to Zara's empty glass.

         "Fill it up!"

         "Oh, no!" Zara reached out her hand. "Thank-you!" She tried to refuse but it was too late. "I'm... I'm still at work."

         "Are you refusing the libations I serve you now?" Hedena scolded, embarrassing her again in front of the snickering goddesses.

         "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Zara recanted, realizing she had just done it again. "Your Honor" she quickly apologized urgently. "Please forgive me. Yes, please, I would love some MoonWine!"

         Snickering broke out again, what had she said now? Zara felt no bigger than a shrew, now she couldn't even look at them, even though she could feel the burn of Hedena's chartreuse laser beams, making her unsure of herself in every possible way.

         "She'll have the Lobster" Hedena ordered.

        

         Moments later the waitress returned with platters of food, exotic dishes of delicious looking morsels, beautifully presented like colorful works of art. Zara gasped as a big red lobster plunked down in front of her, never in her life had she eaten such a thing, she had no idea it looked like that. Were those it's eyes? She dared not ask where it came from!

         Nervous about the time, she stole a peek through the window, from where she sat, she could almost make out the city sundial... 'Make sure you're back in half an hour'... The words echoed through her mind over and over again. She glanced back at the lobster, how would she eat it all? Now she had to, there was no way she could leave the luncheon.

         She tried not to think about the fallout and studied the goddesses for clues on how to eat her food. Shit was hitting the fan in the Moha Lab and she was skipping work, about to eat lobster and drink MoonWine with Vine Goddesses at The Grill.... Who would object?
         Feeling panicked, she took a deep breath and told herself not to worry, repeating her affirmations and envisioning the invisible string. Surely Hedena's invite would override the rules? After all, obeying Hedena's orders was what she had been taught to do; the god's orders above all, was it not the Law? Surely she was doing the right thing by obliging her?

         As the waitress left the table, Hedena made a toast, switching the mood back to it's original beat. "Here's to forgiveness" she hailed.

         "To forgiveness!" The goddesses lifted their glasses for a toast and the tensions instantly eased.

         Zara picked up the glass of wine and took a sip but it was another nasty shock, it certainly wasn't MoonWine. It tasted strange and bitter, it was thick, it had a meaty odor…

         "Ewwwwww!" Dena suddenly blurted out, her silver knife waving in her direction. "Is that, like, BLOOD on your sleeve?"