Drew learned how to cook and how to wash his clothes perfectly while making them look fabulous at the same time. Still, many skills were left for him to add to his repertoire, and for this he was uncannily excited, partially for the conquering of his ignorance, but also because on his endeavors he'd be mentored by Caroline, whose company Drew found to be very agreeable, and their humours went together like the clearest and most nurturing water and a rose eager to grow. Max himself noticed the enjoyment that would be obtained from Drew and Caroline's partnership, and, although he normally wouldn't care about helping out with the chores of the house, he stuck by them as they prepared a very special dinner, one that would be enjoyed by Harley, who was to come back from the hospital that very day. Now more than ever was Drew happy that he had made the trip to Petalburg, and the disappointment of the contest was well behind him.
"People your age don't usually seek to learn such mundane tasks," Caroline said as she set the timer on the oven, which had the thoroughly prepared main course for the dinner inside
"people my age usually don't need nor care to learn them," Drew replied,
"and what made you change your mind?"
"What made me change my mind? I believe you're using the wrong interrogative,"
"Would you care to enlighten me?" Caroline asked him, she was rather confused,
"I most certainly care, however, I believe it would reveal an intention of mine at an earlier time than I would prefer, therefore I must hope you can excuse my silence," Drew replied, with the intention of continuing being cryptic with his words,
"you are excused, and I shall excuse myself for feeling disappointed, I thought I had acted in a more comfortable and open manner,"
"you have, and yet I must keep silent, specially to you, how priced my silent must be then?"
"You sure are a joy Drew, however you are not hiding anything which I do not already know...if I had asked who made you change your mind instead of what, would you have answered me?"
"I would have not,"
"and why is that? I'm sure I wouldn't be anything but pleased."
Drew looked at her, his eyes told of everything that was inside of him, and although Max had not the faintest idea of what they were talking about, Caroline certainly knew what Drew was hiding. He had been found out, perhaps it had never been a secret to her that he loved her daughter. It was written all over his eyes and to his utmost disappointment he couldn't keep them closed forever. But he was not simply distressed, a part of him was ecstatic; a thought made Drew almost jump from happiness, Caroline approved.
"Of course my view on the matter wouldn't be of real importance," Caroline continued, "at least not in the most important aspect,"
"and what is that?"
"What is that? I believe you are using the wrong interrogative," Caroline said with a sassy air,
"I am defeated," Drew said completely demotivated, in his mind he was a master of subtlety and silence, he was wrong,
"but Drew, don't give up so easily, besides, as I said, I wouldn't ever dare to declare that I have a say in this matter, it is not to me that you should be revealing this to,"
"I have not revealed anything out of my own volition,"
"because there was nothing that needed to be revealed, everything was known,"
"I am about to faint,"
"hang in there Drew, dinner isn't ready yet. Were you hoping for me to speak of you in a favorable manner to a certain what?"
"I must say in the past I would've hoped for that, but not anymore, now I'm certain it should be me who speaks,"
"good, because I wouldn't have put on a good word for you to my daughter anyway,"
"you're a joy Caroline."
Caroline winked at Drew, then she told the two boys it was time to clean up the kitchen and prepare the table, but as soon as Drew heard her utter those words, he volunteered himself to complete the task on his own, and he rebuffed all of Caroline's protests to, at the very least, help him clean up, and on this task to stir Caroline away from the kitchen Drew was most graciously helped by Max, who promptly took his side.
"At first I thought you were exercising that masochist attitude of yours," Caroline said, "but now I'm led to believe I'm being the victim of a rather vicious and cruel prank, as no son of mine has ever volunteered to help me, lest of all to clean the kitchen, drop this farce at once children,"
"what are you talking about mother?" Max exclaimed, "I am always eager to help you, it is just that you have never asked for my help,"
"that's not true,"
"yes it is," Max replied as he looked at Drew while nodding decisively, it was obvious he was trying to impress him,
"all I can hear is that Max wants to help cleaning up," Drew intervened, "and I was certainly not joking in any way when I demanded to clean the kitchen,"
"but..."
"how am I supposed to learn how to do it if I never do it myself? Besides, you deserve a rest for putting up with me for so long, now please pour yourself a glass of tea enjoy this beautiful day, you know what, I'll pour you one myself, I won't take no for an answer."
Caroline stopped protesting and allowed herself to be taken into the living room with a drink on her hand. From there she could hear the two boys diligently cleaning up, and it sounded like the most beautiful symphony to her ears, she was delighted. After they finished tiding up and Caroline gave her effusive approval to their work, Drew decided to take a break on the garden, with Max's adhesive, albeit pleasant company by his side.
"Drew, where do babies come from?" Max suddenly asked once they had spent some time on the garden by themselves,
"excuse me?" Drew did a double take; he gazed at Max with his mouth open. Max was staring right at him, waiting for Drew to answer him with nothing but the truth.
"well, babies come from their parents,"
"elaborate on that,"
"why do you want to know this stuff?"
"Why does the sun go on shining? Because it's always on fire, the sun is fire itself, and I will set my self on fire if you don't answer me, so answer me please,"
"I take it your past endeavors trying to uncover the mysteries behind the creation of human life have left you unsatisfied, and grumpy,"
"I'll admit, I have been deceived before," Max said as he adjusted his glasses, "but I know you won't deceive me, where do babies come from?"
"They come from the love between two people,"
"love cannot create something out of thin air,"
"I take it you've never been in love then,"
"you sound like my sister on a rainy day,"
"what does she do on a rainy day?" Drew asked with interest,
"oh you know, just what is usual for her, she goes outside and takes long walks and when she thinks nobody's watching she starts dancing around in the rain, like a crazy lunatic hoping to get sick, now back to my inquiry please,"
"fine, babies come from the union of the genetic data from two compatible people, inside a space on the mother's body which is especially designed to contain all of said data, she will then host the mixture of the information from the start to the complete formation of the new creature,"
"I know all of that, I've seen it,"
"pardon?"
"I've seen pokemon being born,"
"ah, right, of course,"
"and conceived,"
"what! Why?"
"Research,"
"fair enough, so why did you ask me then?"
"I still don't have the information necessary to put all the pieces together, from nothing to a baby, I guess what I should've asked from the beginning is this: what does the process of conception entail?"
"you don't need to know that, I reckon I don't need to know that myself,"
"but don't you want to know?"
"I guess I do, but that's not something that you need to know right now, at all, it is really not important for you, and I know that's an awful excuse to deny someone information, instead, a good excuse, and in this case a good explanation, is that I cannot yet be certain of what really happens either, and the important thing to know is that it is fine, it is important to wait,"
"waiting is for suckers,"
"and yet, thinking that time isn't an essential factor, one that is absolutely necessary to truly learn an important life lesson, is more for suckers,"
"fair enough, you've won, you've made me disappointed...you're alright,"
"thank you."
Fortunately for the two of them, although more specifically for Drew, they finished talking about that subject right when Norman entered the garden. He approached the pair and stood right behind them, and raised his arms high on the air as he let out a big and prolonged yawn,
"do you happen to know when dinner will be ready?" he then said,
"quite soon, in a few minutes I believe," Drew replied,
"nice." Norman finished, and then the three of them settled into a rather comfortable silence for a moment.
"I've not had the opportunity to compliment you for your work in the garden," Drew then broke the silence, "I guess I must also thank you for allowing me to behold a kind of beauty which also shows all the care that went in behind it in the most delightful way,"
"your compliment fills me with pride, as it comes from you,"
"thank you, and you must be sure of its sincerity and gravity, I long hope to have a garden like this one day,"
"I can see you achieving your goals,"
"you must reveal to me all of the secrets behind such a perfect appearance,"
"the secret is perseverance, which is only a secret because nobody cares, given that perseverance isn't very glamorous, and although it seems like a difficult task to maintain this many flowers, in this condition, it is actually much more simple, the first thing they need is a good and fertile soil that allows them to grow healthy, the right amount of water, pruning is just as important, cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth, and it can never be forgotten to prepare and adapt them for cold weather. Simply put, the right amount of water and sunlight, added to a little bit of grooming, and your roses shall thrive." Norman put his hand on Max's shoulder, then he continued, "and remember, roses are resilient plants, a little bit of freedom only helps. So, if you occasionally forget or muff something, the plants are surprisingly capable of surviving on their own."
After Norman finished his extensive yet informative lesson, Drew and Max went back into the kitchen to check on the oven and found, to their surprise, and to Max's sudden rage, that May had taken the dish, which was ready, out of the oven, and had served herself a sizable amount of the mushrooms bathed in tamato berry sauce for herself. She was already half done with her plate when they found her gleefully sitting at the table, and Max quickly went off on her,
"May! You reckless, uninhibited spawn of gluttony! Do you lack the capacity to wait for the briefest moment to pass? Must you always surrender to your most lowly desires? You suck,"
"give me a break, the food was ready," May excused herself,
"so what, couldn't you wait? Why am I even asking you? I know you can't,"
"I'm hungry when I'm hungry, I was always going to leave enough for you,"
"that's not the point!"
"Max is right, the time for dinner hasn't arrived yet," Drew intervened.
And May closed her eyes, and lowered her head with her mouth full of food,
"I'm sorry," she then said,
"that's fine," Drew replied, "would you like some more?"
"Yes" May shamelessly exclaimed before Drew finished his sentence, and he diligently went over to her and filled her plate. Meanwhile May tried to hide her enthusiasm; she quietly observed her brother and Drew as they argued, and hoped they ignored her enough time for her to continue eating.
"Don't give her more! How will she learn then?" Max called Drew out for his over-indulgence,
"maybe I don't want her to learn," Drew calmly replied
"oh come on, you're perpetuating the cycle of debauchery,"
"she was hungry, what was I going to do, let her starve?"
"yes,"
"no way, do you need anything else?"
"no, this is fine thank you," May replied with food in her mouth
Drew then sat in front of her and rested his cheek on his hand, and his elbow on the table. He blissfully stared at her as she ate the food that Drew had prepared, just for her. During the preparation, he had seen her enjoying the food in his mind, and now that thought had become a reality.
"You know," Drew added, "I'm getting quite good at cooking, maybe I could cook something for you sometime, if you want to,"
"you can always give me food you don't have to ask, this is really good, please continue with your mission from heaven good sir,"
"I will, however what I meant to say is that I'll cook anything you want, whenever you want to, just for you," Drew said in a blatantly sweet and caring manner. May couldn't help but become startled, she was taken aback by how serious and intense Drew seemed at the moment.
Everyone else joined them at the table, including Harley, who was just back from the hospital after returning to full physical health, if not emotional. They had a most pleasant time and everyone voiced their happiness and relief to Harley, who received their wishes in a more subdued manner than he would normally do, although he did manage to communicate his immense gratitude. After dinner, Drew and Harley went out for a walk and pondered about their future, Drew seemed centered and relaxed while Harley seemed fatigued and somber.
"Harley my friend, I feel glad and guilty at the same time, for this trip to Petalburg has brought you so much misery as it has brought me distress, but also joy and wisdom,"
"I'm glad, I'd be ashamed if my reckless actions had dragged your spirit down along with my body, I brought my misery to myself,"
"I have found that we don't have to think that way, people can act like monsters all they want, that doesn't mean acting like monsters is the only way to act,"
"I'm afraid, it is,"
"No it is not, it is the easiest path to take, therefore that is what everyone does, nobody cares about hard work or the diversity that is life itself, people can come in many shapes and forms and that doesn't mean they are any less human, you can release your grief, separate yourself from them, reach out for something you don't know, but make sure that it is what you want, and that nobody else is moving you,"
"oh Drew, how much time have I been dormant? Has my absence released the restraints I had on you?"
"Don't speak like that Harley,"
"it is too late for me, but I'm very glad that you have found what you were looking for,"
"I have, and you can too, it is inconceivable to me that it is too late for you, lamenting yourself forever takes as much effort as freeing yourself from the grief,"
"do not awaken my feelings, for they are long buried,"
"you can't help but hear what I say, you can't close your ears like you can close your eyes, and you like what you hear, it is moving you whether you like it or not,"
"where did you learn to speak with such a persuasive air?"
"I don't need to convince you of anything, I want to show you the truth and you'll become convinced yourself,"
"ha, I dare to say that if you teach me to display a verbal prowess like you are doing at the moment, I might just follow you,"
"perfect."
To be continued...
