Here's a fun one I hope you all enjoy! By the way, I'd just like to tell everyone that I love you all for your support. Some reviews that I got from that chapter "Blind Ones" were too angry for me to display onto my reviews list, and that's what was upsetting me most. But I so appreciate your love for these stories! Thank you for not giving up on me. There will be many more to come! :) I just have one question: are you liking the characters (and characterization) so far, or would you like things changed up? Let me know if you want - otherwise, just enjoy! :)
Jack looked at himself in the mirror one more time to be sure he looked his best. Mary-Sue was coming over for a romantic dinner-date, and he was going to be making it. His mother, father, and little sister Jessica had all left the house to give him some privacy - they'd gone over to the grandparents' house for the evening. Jack straightened his tie (yes, he did want to look perfect even when cooking) and went to the stove. He turned the heat on and began cutting the raw chicken. The recipe he planned to make was a delicious chicken marsala. He knew she liked this because whenever they went to a restaurant, she ordered something similar. As he mixed up the ingredients to make the sauce, he heard the doorbell ring.
Jack poured everything into the pan and put the lid on to let it simmer. He went to the door, drying his hands on a towel. When he saw Mary-Sue standing there with his favorite pink dress on, he instantly smiled. She cutely batted her eyelashes. "Mary-Sue," he greeted. "You looked breathtaking, as usual." She blushed now, taking his hand and following him inside. Once the door shut she removed her sweater, taking in a deep breath. "Mmmm something smells absolutely divine!" she commented. Jack brought her to the table, which he'd set with nice plates and silverware, flowers, and a candle. She sat down in the chair he pulled out for her. The two stole a romantic kiss. Jack went to the stove and checked on the food. Once he was sure it was thoroughly cooked, he removed it from the heat and portioned out the plates. The two sat across from each other in the dim light.
Mary-Sue loved the food, and complimented Jack several times on his ability to cook so well. The redhead just smiled and thanked her. At the end of the meal, she leaned over the table and put her chin on her hands, framing her beautiful complexion stunningly. "Is there anything you can't do?" she asked. Jack felt himself blush. Even though he fought it of course. "There is one thing," he replied seductively, taking her face into his hands. "And what's that?" she asked.
"I can't fall out of love with the beautiful girl I'm holding right now."
Mary-Sue blushed, and much to Jack's surprise, so did he. A silence fell over them, heavy and romantic. Jack gave her another one of his famous dramatic kisses across the table. He grinned - the dinner was perfect, she was perfect, his life was perfect.
X x X
Maurice rummaged through the cabinets and pantry at home. He was a little hungry. He wanted a snack. Upon not finding anything that would really meet his cravings, he called for his mother. Of course, she was in the other room sewing and did not hear him. He took in a deep breath. "MUMMY! I'M HUNGRY!" he shouted. After a few seconds (which indicated to him that the woman was trying to control herself) she replied, "If you can't find anything, then make something."
"HOW?!"
"Get together some ingredients and figure out how to combine them. And please don't shout anymore. You're giving me a headache."
"ALRIGHT! SORRY MUMM - OOPS!" He brought his voice down and whispered, "Sorry Mummy."
Maurice decided he was going to make himself some soup. He'd just gotten off his crutches, and was wearing just a brace thing on his (what he called 'flipper' as a joke) leg. It was mobile, so he didn't mind wearing it, although it gave a sort of hop to his step. He took out a big pot and turned on the stove. What does Mummy put into the soup? He thought. Maurice opened a box of chicken broth and dumped it in. He went to the pantry and began raiding that. Into the soup went uncooked pasta, salt, crushed-up crackers, and some of those little red pepper flakes he always liked touching. He moved onto the fridge. He decided to add some protein to his masterpiece, so he added in some leftover crabmeat (from the crab cakes they'd had a few nights previous), some shredded mozzarella cheese, a few cubes of white cheddar cheese, bits of bacon, and some butter. The cabinets offered him some more pepper, a cup of rice, and canned tuna. Maurice mixed the now yellow-ish brown mixture that was almost full to the brim. As it heated, it began to smell. "Mmmm!" Maurice said loudly as he breathed in the scent. Suddenly he stopped. It did not smell 'mmmm'. It began to bubble a bit from being heated too long, and Maurice got scared that it would blow up. He hopped into the sewing room and tugged his mother's sleeve. "Mummy? Um…can you help me with the soup? It's bubbling, and Bill told me one time that if it starts to bubble, it'll all catch fire and look like a portal to hell is in the kitchen. I don't want to meet the Devil. Can you help me?" he asked quickly. His mother abandoned her stitching to follow him.
When she entered the kitchen, she put a hand over her nose and mouth. "Goodness! What on earth is that smell?" she cried out. Maurice blushed. He knew that sooner or later, he'd be in trouble. His mother ran to the stove and flicked the heat off. She looked into the pot. "Maurice! Did you do all this?" she asked. He gave a nervous giggle. "I was hungry for all those things, so…I just sort of threw it all together into one recipe. I'm sorry, Mummy. I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me."
His mother sighed and dumped the heavy pot of disgustingness into the sink. She ran the water. Maurice twiddled his fingers nervously as he watched. She bent down and pushed a piece of hair out of her face. She rested her hands on his cheeks. "I don't care what you choose to do as a career in life, but just promise me you won't be a chef." she said with a sad smile. Maurice grinned. So he wasn't in trouble after all. He gave her a salute. "Yes, ma'am!" he agreed. She hugged him close. After a few seconds of a tender embrace, Maurice tapped her shoulder. "Can you make me a snack now?"
X x X
Bill, Robert, and Harold all got together one Saturday to play at Bill's house and watch television. Henry had been invited and planned to come, but he caught a bad stomach flu the day before and had to stay home. Bill and the others had just finished a game of pirates-on-the-high-seas outside when they decided they wanted a snack. "I know!" Harold suggested. "We'll make popcorn and watch television now!" Everyone loved the idea. Bill went to the cupboard. He retrieved the kernels, Robert found the butter, and Harold picked up the salt. They poured the corn into a pan and covered it, turning the heat on.
The three boys eagerly watched as things began to hop. Robert giggled when the popping sound picked up tempo. "It's like a battlefield!" he told them. The three then took to playing a quick game of soldiers (right there in the kitchen) with the erupting kernels as their sound effects. Unfortunately, they got too caught up in their game to time to cooking. The popping sounds stopped and were replaced with a loud sizzling. "Grenade!" Bill shouted, causing his fellow troops to duck and cover in their game.
They didn't realize until they smelled smoke.
Suddenly, Bill's mother and father came running into the kitchen, searching for what was causing the gray smoke to fill the home and smell so bad. The father swung the now flaming pan under the sink's running water. When Bill saw the flames, he pointed and screamed, "It's hell! It's the hell portal! The Devil has come for us!" The other boys shrieked in fear too. His mother tried to calm them down and fan away the smoke with some newspaper all at the same time. Once the father had gotten the flames under control and the pan cleaned out, the boys stopped screaming. Both parents turned to looked at them all. "Bill," his father said, waving some black smoke away from his face. "No more using the stove unless Mummy or Daddy is here to watch you."
X x X
Simon pulled Lucy through the front door by her hand eagerly. He couldn't wait to do the activity they'd planned for that day. She giggled and followed him into the kitchen, where all along the counter, he'd set up the ingredients and cooking utensils they'd need step by step in an orderly fashion. "Simon, what are we making?" she asked. Simon excitedly put a finger to his lips. "Shhh…don't let him hear you!" he whispered.
"Let who hear me?"
"Roger - he's upstairs in our room sleeping. Mummy is watching him to make sure he's alright. I asked her if you and I could make him some cookies to get him feeling better, and she said that would be wonderful."
"Is he sick?"
"No, he's just been having some issues with his mind. Mummy said he's been bounced around too much. I don't really understand that, but I just know that he watched his father get murdered a few days ago. He's going to live with us forever! But he seems a little distraught."
"I think cookies will definitely cheer him up!"
Lucy and Simon went step by step to make the batter. When it came time to mix, Simon stepped behind her (taking quite a few notes from Jack) and wrapped his hands around hers on the wooden spoon. He guided her small hands lovingly, planting a kiss on her cheek. Lucy blushed like mad from such unexpected yet romantic doings. Simon turned a little red too, but knew to conceal it so it would always look like he was confident in his actions. They decided, upon Lucy's suggestion, to stir some colorful sprinkles into the batter "To add a bit of color to Roger's life." Simon thought this was a wonderful idea, and climbed up the countertops to reach the package of brightly-colored flakes that resided in the high cupboard. The two were so excitedly with this, however, they accidentally ended up putting in a little too much. The cookies were practically multicolored, which neither decided they minded.
Simon and Lucy put the cookies on the baking sheets and stuck them in the oven. They found an old book in Mr. Louis' study that had information on animals of the sea inside, and spent the time that the cookies were baking looking at all the pictures of the world's mysterious marvels.
The pair skillfully removed the cookies from the blazing hot oven when it came time. They scooped each perfectly-shaped cookie off the sheets and assembled them on a plate. Lucy licked her lips. "Wow, do they look good!" she exclaimed. Simon picked up a cookie and held it to her mouth, encouraging her wordlessly to take a bite. She did, and giggled. "And they taste good too!" She then took the cookie from Simon and held it up to his lips. Simon took a bite as well. They both laughed. The boy remembered how the bride and groom did that at that wedding a while back, except they used cake instead of a cookie. Suddenly his heart leapt. He hoped to someday do what he just did with Lucy but with a slice of wedding cake and a new gold band on his finger.
Lucy and Simon crept up the stairs quietly with the plate of cookies between them. Simon pointed at a half-open door and mouthed, "He's in there," They stepped over and peered inside. Roger was sitting up in bed, Mrs. Louis speaking softly to him. He wasn't looking up. She had his little hands in hers, but he didn't seem to be wanting to interact much. Simon motioned to Lucy and the two walked in. Now the mother and the boy looked up. "Oh, children." Mrs. Louis said, clearly troubled. "Is there anything you need me to help you with?" Simon shook his head. "No thank you, Mummy. Lucy and I decided to bake some cookies for Roger to cheer him up. We thought we'd bring them in for all of us to share."
"Darling, that's very kind of you. Roger, did you hear that? They made cookies just for you!"
"We put chocolate chips in them, as well as some sprinkles to add some brightness to your day!" Lucy added sweetly.
Roger eyed the plate for a long time. He didn't speak. Simon and Lucy carried it closer, climbing onto the bed with the other two and setting it down. "Try one," Simon encouraged his silent brother. He put a cookie into Roger's limp hand. The dark boy raised it up to his lips, his pale fingers shaking slightly, and took a bite. After a moment of chewing, the corners of his mouth began to tug into a smile. A small smile, but one that the Louis family recognized. Simon flung his arms around Roger in relief at seeing that tiny reflection of happiness spark back into the boy's eyes. Lucy giggled and joined them because she loved both of their company. Mrs. Louis put a hand over her heart. Finally, things were on the mend yet again.