Milla discovers the origin of butter
"Turn out the lights" Carol giggled clenching a good handful of Lilac's popcorn.
Milla was excited to get to the couch and dig in. Movie night wasn't movie night without popcorn and lots of butter. Maybe a bit more than a lot. She leaped a good distance and plopped down beside Carol on the couch
"Milla!" Carol called out.
"It's fine." Lilac assured, stretching out of her chair to turn out the neglected light. "I've got it."
"What are we watching anyway?" Milla asked stuffing herself.
"Garden of gnomes." Carol replied, "It's pretty lame."
Lilac chuckled, "So you like it then."
"It's okay."
"You like silly movies."
"No, You like silly ones, I like the really bad ones."
"Bad how?" Milla intervened between mouthfuls of savoury bliss.
Carol explained while eyeing Milla's bowl "Like the ones that are so bad it's like they purposely made th- Milla, these are drenched." She announced starring at the yellow mass that barely held its form.
"I like butter." Milla replied.
Carol pulled out a rather golden piece "I can feel it running down my arm."
Lilac smirked "Mine isn't that greasy."
"I need my own bowl, how can you even stomach this? It just can't be healthy."
"I can't help it..." Milla confessed, "I added some extra and then it just smelled so good that I... Um."
Carol rolled her eyes. "It's fine... Say, what is butter even made of anyway?"
"I don't know." Lilac answered.
"I know you don't know."
Milla smiled hiding bashfully behind her bowl. "Goodness?"
"I kinda guessed." Carol said getting up
"I can pause the movie..." Lilac said before being interrupted.
"Nah, I've seen it like twelve times now. I gotta make something I can actually eat." Carol said resolute.
"Twelve times? So you do like it then."
"Next time we're in town you can pick up something else for us to watch." Carol left, pointing to the pitiful stack of tapes beside the TV.
"Did I do something wrong?" Milla asked ashamed.
"No." Lilac assured. "But I'm not going to stick around to smell that mess later."
Morning came. Everyone was weary, Carol still curled up asleep. Lilac shook the milk jug. Her creased eyes returned to her poured cereal like rusty faucets, then back to the near hollow jug. It was time to make a shopping trip.
"We should also pick up gas for my bike." Carol added a few minutes along their trip.
"You could walk like the rest of us." Lilac suggested.
"I just got up, I haven't even eaten yet after someone used the last of our milk and I'm not using water again."
"You snooze, you loose. Also we need more butter after someone used the last of it."
Milla whimpered.
"It's fine." Lilac reminded
"Yeah," Carol added, "You didn't really have to listen to her stomach gurgling like I did." She chuckled.
"I was asleep."
"I wasn't."
"Oh be grumpy."
Jingle. Carol was still locking her bike up the the outside of the shop. The isles were freshly stocked in a bright shimmer of the morning sun. As usual, Kent was stocking the back, poured into his business they left him alone. Carol made her way in and got distracted with the entrance candy stands. Milk, fresh and ready they were just in time. Just to their left was the butter. "Can we get two?" Milla begged as politely as she could muster.
"No, just one will do. I'm not letting you chomp down another one like a Knickers Bar." Lilac enforced.
"Kent, what is butter? Is it bad for you?" Milla asked.
Kent put down his work and patted his head. "Hello girls. Butter... Well it's made from cream."
"And what's cream made out of?"
Kent got a good chuckle "It comes from milk."
"Do they cook it?"
"No..."
"That's enough questions." Lilac intervened.
"It's quite alright." Kent admitted, "She's just curious. It's in milk, they take it off the top."
"What's she curious about?" Carol asked arriving.
"Milk." Lilac answered
Carol propped herself against the shelf "Huh... Where does that come from?"
"Yeah, I've always just bought it from the store." Lilac confessed
"Well," Kent explained, "Typically from cows. I don't really know how though. Our milk comes from Valva Dairy, they have a bad track record of their prolonging new their products but their always amazing and loved when the do. We get our cheese from there too, they have two kinds, cheddar and mozza...They've been claiming to be working on a third variety for the longest time now but I don't think it's ever going to happen."
"Better than Eccentric Artisans." Carol added, "Their stuff never seems to be finished curing."
"Haha." Kent laughed softly, "No one bought it so we stopped selling it."
"Thanks." Lilac said grabbing the butter.
"Your welcome, and if you want to know more, Valva Dairy is located on 16th across from the Stream Luncheonette."
"Will do... Carol..." Lilac noted, "what's all that?" She said pointing at her friends arms.
"Just a little something special."
As described, the Valva Dairy was right where they were told. It was a small place, hard to imagine it was a milk, cheese and apparently making butter factory. It looked more like a normal apartment but had a sign point out it was clearly the place "Common, lets go inside." Milla skipped along. She tugged on the door but it was locked.
"Do you think anyone is here?" Lilac wondered. "Maybe they are not open yet."
"Maybe they are not up yet." Carol suggested.
Milla knocked on the door. Silent. She knocked again
"We should just come back." Lilac decided.
Milla heard someone inside. "Hi!" She announced knocking again.
"Someone there?" Carol asked coming closer. She peered in and saw movement. The stranger came closer to the door, soon unlocking the mysteries inside.
"Can I help you young girls?" The lady asked, a full dark brown cow emerged revealing her face with a tender smile.
"What is milk and where does it come from?" Milla impatiently blurted out.
The cow adored the innocent demeanour and smirked. "Did your mom never tell you?"
Milla shyly looked down. "No." Lilac said in Milla's stead. "We were all wondering actually."
"Well, would you like a tour?"
"Yes please!" Milla jumped to the offer.
The cow smiled. "Then come inside. My name is Ursa. Inside you will meet my co-workers Matilda, Grace." A cow immediately, assumedly grace, poked her head out from the hallway then went back to her business. "And Patricia, she's probably outside having a break."
Inside everything was even smaller, kinda unappealing with no counter. They didn't really have a reception area. There was a small couch and chair by a table with some dairy paraphernalia, awards and a painting of a farm by a valley. Around the corner they entered a room with many large tubs of milk. Along one side was a pit of curdled liquid and fine white cloth hanging wet sacks above. "This is our main processing room." Ursa informed. "This is where we figure out what to do with our various batches. In there is the cheese room, over here are the butter churners where most of our cream goes..."
"This is where the butter is made?" Milla pipped up.
"Yes, we take cream and move it around until it becomes fluffy and stable, then we add salt."
"If you couldn't tell, Milla here loves butter." Carol announced. Milla nodded fulheartedly.
"If you want I can send you home with some." Ursa offered.
"Nooo-ho-ho-ho. We already got some." Lilac showed their shopping bag.
"So, you haven't really told us yet." Carol mentioned. "What is milk anyway?"
Ursa walked over to a set of tubing and cups. "Well, it comes from our utters." She motioned to her chest.
"Utters?" Lilac asked
"They Like..." Carol added embarrassed "boobs?"
"Yes." Ursa confirmed. "Every baby has been breast fed at some point."
Carol tilted her head kinda weirded out. "Milk comes from... Boobies?"
"Have these children never been told where milk comes from?" Said one of the cows walking into the room.
"No, I thought I'd give them a tour and tell them."
"Well, I'm about to put on the pumps, I'm not sure it's something they want to see or not but I have no shame."
"No thanks, I think we'll pass..." Lilac decided.
"Well now you know. While Patricia does that how about we check out the curing room where we age our cheese." Ursa suggested.
After a long tour of their small facility the girls went home with a few reluctant samples. "These cheese curds are pretty good." Milla announced, savouring a piece for a little too long.
"Doesn't knowing all that kinda turn you off of milk and stuff?" Carol asked popping down another liquorice drop.
"Not really, it's still tastes really good." Milla replied blissfully.
"Well, I'm glad someone likes it."
"Carol, does that mean its going to stop you from eating anything Dairy ever again?"
Carol stopped to think about it, "Ehh, probably not."
Following not long after, Milla remembered something, "We forgot To get some more movies to watch when we were in town."