Woman's Work
Lucien entered the kitchen excitedly. "Jean, go change into something gorgeous. I'm taking you out on the town tonight!" he announced.
She closed the oven and stood up, turning to him as she wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry?"
"We're going out. Dinner and a movie," he told her, proud smile on his face.
Jean frowned. "Did we have plans I forgot about?"
"Well, no, but I thought we'd be spontaneous." His expression was starting to falter.
"Be spontaneous on your own time. I have to bake a dozen cakes for the church sale tomorrow," she told him.
He crossed the kitchen to her, putting his hands on her arms affectionately. "I thought it would be nice if we spent some time together. Just us two," he said quietly, obviously trying to charm her.
Her demeanor softened at his touch and kind words. "That would be nice, but I do need to get this done. I can't go out tonight. Although you're welcome to help me bake. That we could do together."
"You want me to bake?"
"Or you could frost the cakes after they cool."
His brow furrowed as he blurted, "But that's woman's work!"
Jean gave him a steely look. "If Charlie can make a roast and Alice Harvey can perform autopsies, I don't think it much matters what is or is not woman's work. At the moment, I am a woman and this is the work I'm doing. If you'd like to spend time with me, this is your choice. If you aren't going to help, you can just leave. I don't have time to stroke your ego or any other part of you right now."
And with that, she turned away from him to begin on the batter for the next batch.
After a fraction of a second, Lucien came to stand beside her at the counter. "Alright, what can I do?"
Jean smiled and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek before explaining how much flour and sugar and how many eggs and sticks of butter to combine in the bowl.