Onions, a Ghost Hunt flash fiction.
"How are you ever going to live on your own if you can't cook, Oliver, darling?" Her son, shrugged, a half effort as only one shoulder sagged slightly, but this was Noll.
She'd only been his mother since he was a mere eight-years-old, yet she dared to say she knew him better than anyone. Which was why, even after so many rebuttals, she remained standing on the other end of the kitchen, hands on her hips and defiance blazing in her bright blue eyes. Noll was nearing the age of independence; in fact his 21st birthday was only a few short weeks away and she would be damned if he were to be allowed to leave her household without learning a thing or two in the kitchen.
Surely, for someone so adept at advanced physics and theoretical science, cooking should be incredibly simple.
Luella plastered a huge smile across her face, hoping to appeal to his inner child obligations. "Won't you help me?"
Noll turned the page of a thick volume most likely covering his most recent interest. "If I am ever in need of learning how to make Shepard's Pie or some other offensively British plate, I'll be sure to phone you."
Annoyance spurred through her at his indifference. That was how it was going to be? Well, then. No more Mrs. Nice Mom.
"Oliver. Davis." Luella seethed through gritted teeth. She pointed at her slippered toes as if calling a disobedient pet. "You will come here this instant and help me with dinner."
This did not warrant the reaction she expected. She expected him to frown, to rattle off all the reasons why cooking would be a waste of his time. Instead, he glanced up at her, meeting her gaze as he slowly set the book down and sighed. "Is it really necessary?"
"It is."
Closing his eyes in a resigned sort of way, he pushed himself from his seat at the table. The sight of her youngest son padding quietly into the kitchen was so unexpected it was enough to make the very reason why exactly he was in the kitchen slip right from her mind and not until his dark blue eyes were piercing her expectantly did she remember again.
"Alright. Now, Madoka and Lin are stopping by for dinner so I thought we could make Lancashire hotpot. I picked up some lamb from the grocer yesterday ー what's that face for?"
Noll had crossed his arms and leaned contumaciously against the counter, brows furred together in distaste. "Lin and I are preparing for a case in Leeds in a few days."
He stopped there as if that was all he needed to say, a small smile twitching the edge of his lips.
She knew that look. Both her boys' sported a disgustingly self-assured smirk whenever they thought they'd somehow gotten their way. She knew very well that it was tradition that Lin and her son would go vegetarian for the duration of some cases where intense spiritual activity was expected and Noll seemed to think this was the prefect excuse not to help. Well, she was most certainly not allowing him out of this so easy.
Luella clapped her hands together, "Not a problem. We'll use vegetarian beef and a vegetable broth. I'm sure we still have some in the fridge." She forced a smile, pretending not to notice her son's growing agitation. Now he was sneaking glances at the book lying abandoned on the table. "Well, why don't you start chopping the vegetables while I get the broth ready? I've already set some out on the counter."
She gestured to the small pile of onions, carrots, and garlic behind him.
With a sigh he unfolded himself and, with a seconds hesitation, fished a rather big knife from the drawer.
"Don't you think that's a bit big?"
Noll regarded the glinting knife with a dismissive glare. "Is it?"
"A bit."
He shrugged again, poising the knife over the middle of one of the onions.
"No, don'tー" The knife hit the counter with a loud thwack, cutting the onion in half. Luella cringed, but stepped away as Noll put the knife aside to peel off the skin. "I'll… I'll get you a cutting board."
He was picking up the knife again as she dashed around the other side of the island where they kept the kitchen essentials. She pulled a small wooden cutting board from one of the shelves and flitted back in time to hear a soft sniff.
"Noll?" She asked tentatively. His back was to her and he'd stopped cutting, staring down at his fingers. "Are you okay? Did you cut yourself?"
He shook his head and sniffed again, tilting his face up to the ceiling now. At this angle she could see his eyes squeezed shut and tears leaking from the corners. She couldn't help it; the giggles left her before she even had a chance to stop them.
Noll rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, "It stings."
"Of course it does," she managed through another fit of giggles. It wasn't funny, really, but Noll just looked so vulnerable as he pried his eyes open to look at her, tears still rolling down his cheeks.
He put the knife down and backed quickly away from the counter, still whipping his eyes and sniffing feebly.
"Where do you think you're going?" Luella called after him, giggles subsiding. She'd forgotten to warn him, but really, who didn't know that onions made you cry?
He didn't turn back as he marched to the table and palmed his book. "My room where I can read in peace."
"Butー" she protested, "We're not done!"
"I am." He said, already disappearing into the stairwell.
"Oliver!" She called after him but a second later, his bedroom door slammed shut. The thought of going up there and dragging him back down crossed her mind, but thought better of it. Noll wouldn't do anything he didn't want to once he'd made up his mind.
Maybe today wasn't a good day to teach him how to cook, anyway. She would try again tomorrow night with something simpler, she thought, picking up the knife and shuffling the rest of the onion onto the the cutting board before resuming slicing.
Something without onions, perhaps?
A/N; I work as a prep at a restaurant where I swear onions are my worst enemy. No matter what I do my eyes always sting for hours after. So I thought I'd turn my pain into art. Specifically of the GH kind. I just think the idea of Naru shedding tears for a completely mundane reason is hilarious.