Cameron: I'm from Germany. Stacked cabbage (Schichtkraut in German) is simply cutting a head of white cabbage into pieces, setting it out on a large and high pan or pot (I use a high casserole for this) and interspersing the layers with meatballs. Then you cook around 500 ml of vegetable broth (you can use those from a glass) and add that, then cook the cabbage for at least 45 minutes and regularly shifting the cabbage so all parts get essentially steamed until they're soft. It's very tasty. I cook it for myself every few weeks
Also, in my other story, they didn't eat goose/goose soup (what's that anyway?) on Thanksgiving but on Christmas Eve (that's what we used to do in my family when I was a kid, these days, I usually work during lunchtime on Christmas Eve). They had turkey on Thanksgiving ^^ On both Christmas days, my family eats a goose with self-made dumplings and red cabbage. My mom always used the liquid that dripped from the goose during the oven process as the basis for the soup. Add vegetables and some soup noodles and you're good to go ^^
Enjoy this one :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.
It was a dreary early summer day. A sudden downpour had started an hour ago and since Mike and El had time, they would have had to walk Bella, so to decide who had to go out into that weather, they had flipped a coin. El had lost. So, now, she was walking back to the house, her raincoat clinging to her skin since the temperature was still quite warm, even with the rain.
"Ugh." El cursed after she opened the door, leading Bella into the bathroom so she could clean her. "Why did I have to lose the coin flip."
As she took off her shoes and raincoat, she saw Mike typing furiously on his laptop sitting on his lap, his feet on the coffee table. She walked into the bathroom and mentioned for Bella to jump into the shower stall, which the dog obediently did. El turned on the faucet and cleaned Bella's underside, the dirt from the outside dropping off of her.
When El was done, Bella jumped out of the stall and did what every dog did when wet. She shook herself, water droplets splashing everywhere and with a curse, El took a washcloth and cleaned those from the bathtub, the shower stall walls, the toilet, the mirror and the tiles on the wall and floor. After washing out the cloth, she hung it up and exited the bathroom, seeing Bella walk underneath Mike's legs, brushing her back against them but Mike didn't even react, his eyes fixed on his laptop.
El walked behind him, curiosity overcoming in as to what he was doing. She and Mike had had their last finals the day before while their other three roommates still had one more the next day, so whatever he was writing, it shouldn't be college related. She walked as far away from him as possible before walking closer again from directly behind him so he wouldn't see her out of the corner of his eye and she hoped, there wasn't a reflection of her on the laptop screen.
"Oh my god!" she whispered when she read the paragraphs that were visible on the current page, the names of the characters known to her.
She quickly turned around and ran into the hallway leading to the rooms of her girlfriends.
"Emergency meeting!" she said to Stacy after opening her door.
"Why?" Stacy asked, standing up but El had already left the room.
"Emergency meeting!" she said the same thing to Max after opening that particular door.
"What?" Max looked up confused from her books and followed El and Stacy into the Jennifer's room, the latter only shrugging.
"What's going on?" Jennifer asked as she saw El lean against the closed door while Stacy and Max could only look as confused as Jennifer.
"Girls, remember The Torn Heart?" El asked them.
"You mean the bible for every girl or woman that was ever dumped by her boyfriend or husband?" Stacy chuckled and pointed to Jennifer's copy on her bookshelf. "Of course we know that."
"Why?" Jennifer looked at El. "Are there information about a sequel?"
"You could say that." El nodded, still unable to believe what she now knew. "It's being written right now!"
"How do you know?" Max gasped. "Is there a blog out there? Has someone found out who the author is?"
"Yeah, I did." El nodded. "The author is currently sitting on our couch!"
"Uh, Mike is sitting on our couch." Stacy said after opening the door and looking down the hallway before noticing El's incredulous look. "NO WAY!"
"WAY!" El shouted after closing the door again. "I came in with Bella and saw Mike in one of his writing trances. I walked behind him to see what he was doing and he wrote texts about the characters."
"Are you sure he isn't writing fanfiction?" Jennifer wondered.
"As far as I know, there's no fanfiction about that book." Max said.
"OH MY GOD!" Stacy squealed. "I can't believe this. Mike Wheeler is Marl Young?"
"If that's true, I wonder why he chose that pseudonym." Max mused and looked at the name on Jennifer's copy of the book. "Wait a second."
"What?" El asked, looking where Max was looking.
"Oh my god, it's so simple." Max gave herself a facepalm. "It's an anagram for Normal Guy."
"Weird." Stacy chuckled.
"Girls, can we just get back to the fact that the author who wrote one of the most emotional books ever is sitting on our couch?" El asked.
"I think El's ovaries just exploded." Max laughed, seeing El's expression.
"I wonder if he lets me read it if I offer him sexual favors every day." Jennifer mused.
"Don't you dare, he's mine!" El spat before realizing what she had said. "I mean..."
"El, we all know." Stacy laughed.
"Know what?" El asked, feeling lost now.
"You're in love with him." Stacy stated.
"I'm not." El tried to state but it only came out as a whisper.
"Let her figure it out." Max said. "El, as much as I love us talking about our favorite book, I really have to get back to studying."
"Me too." Stacy and Jennifer said in unison.
"Alright, I leave you alone." El nodded.
"And don't try to dry-hump him right away." Max joked.
"Shut up!" El huffed and returned to the living room, seeing Mike not writing anymore but kneeling on the floor, playing with Bella. "Hey there."
"Did you walk her yet?" Mike asked.
"Have been back for several minutes." El laughed. "Haven't you noticed that she was wet."
"She was?" Mike wondered and ran his hand along her underside. "Hey, it's still a bit moist."
"Told you." El giggled. "I had to walk her through the rain."
"Well, you lost the coin toss." Mike shrugged and smiled at her.
"You could have been a gentleman and volunteered." she retorted, enjoying the banter.
"In this weather?" he looked aghast. "Nah."
"What about my smooth skin?" El gasped. "It's now wrinkly."
"No, it's not." he laughed. "And you'd still be pretty, even as a prune."
"Pff." she scoffed. "Hey, wanna order in food?"
"And have some poor delivery boy go through this rain?" Mike gave a theatrical gasp.
"So, you have no problem having me walk through this rain but a delivery boy shouldn't?" El pouted.
"Hey, a plant needs to be watered so it can grow." he winked at her.
"Hey!" she laughed. "I'm petite."
"That you are." he chuckled and gave her a quick, affectionate hug with one arm before heading to the kitchen. "Come on Bella, time for dinner."
With an excited bark, Bella jumped up from her blanket and followed Mike into the kitchen, sitting down and waiting while Mike opened the can with dog food. He emptied the entire contents into the dog bowl and placed it on the ground next to the dry food dispenser, which he refilled while Bella ate.
El watched him work, marveling at the ease that he did things in the kitchen. A few days ago, she had watched him cook a, what he had called, simple meal and he had effortlessly worked with three different pots and pans cooking at the same time, nothing burning or becoming over- or undercooked. And the fact that he had been, like they all had, busy with studying for his finals, made it even more impressive.
"You need something?" he asked her, noticing her presence.
"No, just wanted to look." she smiled warmly, her eyes moving between him and their dog, the moment interrupted when his cellphone rang.
"Hey." he said into the speaker. "Yeah... uh hu... I thought we'd move out at seven... no, Lucas is staying with Max anyway, so he'll be here... yes, we're coming to you first so we can get moving at the same time... yeah, will do... see you Saturday."
"Who was it?" El asked.
"Dustin, he asked about our departure on Saturday."
"Are you still going to drive thirty-six hours?" El still couldn't believe it.
"Yep." he nodded. "We each drive for six hours, then change places and the other can rest. If we get too tired, we'll simply stop at a motel."
"You all are leaving me alone with her." she pouted, pointing to Bella who was finishing her bowl.
"You got this." he laughed and squeezed her shoulder as he walked past her.
El watched him as he grabbed his laptop and walked to his room. She still couldn't believe that the man who wrote her favorite book was now her roommate. And that he kept it a secret from them all. On the other hand, she could understand it since people who wanted a sequel would pester him for details about the plot. El was dying to ask too but she knew that he'd probably never tell her.
Two more days passed quickly and before she knew it, it was Saturday morning. Mike and Lucas, the latter of whom had spent another loud night in Max's room, bustled to and fro, both drinking Mike's cinnamon coffee and collecting some last minute things they didn't want to forget. Their bags were suspiciously small for a month but then again, they were visiting their parents, so they could surely do some laundry.
"Alright, you girls take care of yourselves and El, don't burn the kitchen down while I'm away." Mike chuckled at the four women still in the living room, although three of them would also leave in one or two days.
"Ha ha." El huffed. "Remember, if you find my starved body when you return, I will haunt you for the rest of your life."
"I can't think of a cuter ghost to do that." he laughed and gave her another squeeze. "But hey, if you really pass away from lack of food, I'm pretty sure Bella will take care of your corpse."
"Very funny." El grumbled and moved closer to him to whisper to him. "You are aware that my petite and tight body can only feed her for a day or two, right?"
"Give yourself some credit, at least a week." he winked.
"Pff, to think I might die a virgin." she huffed again.
"We can take care of that when I return." he returned but then stopped when he realized what he had said. "Uh... I mean..."
"Yes, what did you mean?" she smiled seductively at him.
"Um..." Mike struggled to find words.
"Mike, you ready?" Lucas asked, inadvertently saving him.
"Yeah, I am." Mike breathed a sigh of relief and turned away from El.
"This isn't over." El moped.
"Max, I'll see you in a month." Lucas said to his girlfriend who stepped into his arms. "Love you."
"Love you too, stalker." Max sighed and hugged him hard. "Call me when you've arrived, alright?"
"Will do." Lucas nodded and separated from her.
"Girls, you too have fun on your vacations." Mike spoke to all of them. "El, take care of Bella. Don't let her starve to death."
"Yeah, yeah." El waved him off.
"Bella, you be nice to her and don't eat her, I like her a lot." Mike looked pointedly at the dog, who barked and wagged her tail. "See, she won't do it."
"Oh, you speak dog now?" El laughed. "Get out of here."
"Bye, see you in a month." Mike waved at them and walked to his car, unlocking it so he and Lucas could get in.
"Boy, I wish you weren't going." El whispered to the door after closing it.
"I still can't believe it." Stacy said. "Mike Wheeler is Marl Young."
"And he's writing a new book." Jennifer almost hopped in anticipation. "We need to communicate to him that we know so he can at least tell us when it will be ready."
"Maybe he can get us free copies." Max smiled.
"Maybe we shouldn't tell him at all and simply not bother him about it." El suggested. "It might get weird for him if he knew."
"True." Stacy admitted and walked into her room to start packing for her upcoming departure.
"Wow, I've never felt more exhausted." Mike groaned when they arrived in Hawkins and parked their cars at Benny's.
"Tell me about it." Dustin agreed and stretched himself.
Even though they had planned to drive straight through by switching every six hours, after the first day, all of them were so tired that a stop at a motel had been a necessity. After arriving at three in the morning at one, they checked into a single room with two large beds, each car couple sharing one and slept until nine in the morning.
They managed the second leg of the journey in another twelve hours, arriving in Hawkins at about nine in the evening. Since their families would have eaten dinner already, they had decided to stop at Benny's, the bearded man greeting them warmly after he recognized the quartet from years before.
"So boys, what will it be?" Benny asked.
"Food!" Dustin said.
"Can you be a bit more specific?" Benny raised an amused eyebrow.
"Cooked food!" Dustin repeated.
"I'll take three chicken burgers, extra large fries and a large Sprite." Mike ordered.
"I'll have the same with some nuggets as well." Lucas said, his stomach audibly growling.
"Two fish burgers, small fries and a diet soda." Will ordered.
"I take everything on the left side." Dustin pointed to the large menu board.
"You sure about that?" Benny laughed.
"Okay, the top half of the left side." Dustin clarified. "I'm serious."
"Coming right up." Benny laughed again and put all the required patties on the grill before dunking the fries and nuggets into the fryer.
"How has life been in Hawkins?" Mike asked the cook.
"Same old, same old." Benny shrugged. "The mayor is still trying to get a mall built here but the business owners association is blocking it as much as they can."
"Aren't malls a dying business anyway since online shopping became the thing to do?" Will wondered.
"They are, that's one of the reasons they are against it." Benny nodded from his place at the grill. "The other is that a mall would take away what business they still have."
"What about you?" Dustin asked.
"I'm against it as well, for the same reasons." Benny shrugged and took the fries and nuggets out of the fryer, hanging them up so the oil could drip off. "Malls have food courts, and if one of the fast food franchises were to move into there as well, my business is done."
"And if you moved into the mall?" Mike wondered.
"I know the amount of rent that malls charge for businesses." Benny told him while he put their burgers together. "This building here is mine, so that's costs that I don't have. Moving to a mall would slowly ruin me, even if I increased my sales by fifty percent, and that would be a generous assessment."
"Thanks, Benny." Mike said as the man put their food in front of them and handed him a bill. "Keep the change."
"Thanks." Benny smiled, the others doing the same thing Mike did.
"Wow, I missed this." Dustin hummed after biting into his first burger, the other four still on his plate, along with his three bags of fries and three drinks.
"You never had a burger since you left here?" Benny chuckled, not believing a word.
"I did, but none were as good." Dustin clarified. "There's something about a real fast food cook doing it on a grill instead of what all those fast food chains do, simply reheating some freeze-dried meat that had been cooked before in a factory. It's as if I put a patty into a toaster."
"The fries taste the same though." Lucas laughed.
"I don't think any short order cook cuts fries out of potatoes." Benny reminded him. "I also don't mix the sodas or slice the salad."
"Too bad." Lucas shrugged and took another bite.
"So, what are you guys doing here?" Benny asked. "Vacation?"
"Yeah, it's summer break." Will nodded. "Visiting our parents."
"For how long?"
"A month." Lucas told him. "I'm staying for a week, then me and my family will head over to my grandparents in Toledo for a week."
"Where did you guys end up?" Benny wanted to know.
"California." Mike told him. "Close to Palo Alto."
"All of you?"
"Yeah, though I was at Northeastern before I transferred, while Will was at NYU but also went over." Dustin said. "Mike's at Stanford, as is Will now and Lucas is in the Police Academy in San Jose."
"So, what are you studying?"
"Art and art history." Will said proudly.
"Engineering." Dustin was equally proud.
"Criminal psychology is my major, literature my minor." Mike smiled.
"Though he should have made literature his major, since he's a successful author already." Dustin chuckled.
"I wrote one book." Mike shook his head in exasperation.
"Which sold somewhere like five million copies world-wide since it launched a year and a half ago." Dustin huffed. "That guy is rolling in dough."
"I'm really not." Mike denied.
"Even if you only got one dollar out of every book sale, you should be a millionaire." Will pointed out.
"Seriously guys, stop it, I'm not laying out my finances." Mike groaned.
"And this guy moves into a house with four of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen." Dustin threw up his arms, almost letting go of the burger he was holding, a piece of lettuce dropping on his head. "He could buy the house and tell them to shove off."
"I doubt El would sell it and I like living with people." Mike shrugged, thinking about one of them in particular he had started to love to live with.
"And he didn't even tell his parents that he's loaded now." Lucas added.
"Why?" Benny asked, wiping the counter.
"Because I'm not really on that good terms with them." Mike sighed. "My dad at least. I love my mom and my sisters. I even started a college fund for Holly, in case she needs it."
"What's wrong with your dad?" Benny inquired.
"He's... I don't know, call it a disconnected dad. He goes to work, comes home, falls asleep in his lay-z-boy and expects me to follow in his footsteps. Finding a boring but well-paying job, marry a woman who doesn't argue and have kids."
"And I guess that's nothing for you." Lucas said.
"What would I want with a wife who never talks back?" Mike harrumphed. "I want someone who challenges me, who makes me want to become a better person."
"I think you have found her already, you just don't know it yet." Will chuckled.
Mike had no comeback for him, Will's remark making him think about the woman he kept thinking about, the one who had allowed him into her house to live. His heart began beating faster when he thought about her coy smile, her more than cute pout and of course, her body since he was a guy after all. Despite all her sometimes flirtatious behavior towards him, he still wasn't sure how she felt about him, if he had just a case of wishful thinking or if there was more.
"Thanks, Benny." Mike said after they had finished, Dustin almost inhaling all his food.
"Good night, boys." Benny waved at them, beginning to close up once they had left.
"So, we're doing something now?" Dustin asked.
"Yeah, I'm heading home to get some sleep." Mike nodded.
"Already?" Dustin gasped. "It's still early."
"If you hadn't drank so many sodas, you wouldn't be this awake now." Will shrugged.
"Not to mention that in a few minutes, his stomach will probably start hurting from all that food he ate." Lucas added.
"You're no fun." Dustin moped. "Will, can you drop me off?"
"Of course." Will nodded. "Lucas, you wanna come with me too? Your home is on the way to mine."
"Sure, let me just get my stuff from Mike's car." Lucas nodded.
Mike helped him with his stuff and once they had placed it in Will's car, they bid each other goodbye, Mike getting into his car and driving to his parents' house. When he arrived, he found his father asleep on his usual chair while his mom greeted him warmly with a hug, his sister squealing in joy and jumping into his arms again.
He told them about his studies and how his living arrangements had changed, her mom perking up when he talked about his landlady, a knowing smile forming on her face when she listened to how he talked about her in comparison to the other women he lived with. Half an hour later, Mike went to bed, his dreams beginning to revolve around the girl who had, as his friends have already figured out, stolen his heart.
"Shit, I'm bored." El said to herself, sitting on the couch and petting Bella, who was spread out next to her and had her big head on El's leg, both staying inside to keep out of the heat.
El had never imagined that she could be so bored again. She had never been alone since letting the girls move into her house but now, everyone had gone home to see their families and only their new dog keeping her company. She looked at the animal who lazed on her leg and imagined her not being there, how even more boring it would be then. Then suddenly, her front door opened and as El jumped up greet the one person apart from those who lived here that had a key, Bella jumped off the couch as well, standing in front of El to defend her from the unknown intruder, the man stopping to walk and looking at the animal.
"Uh, honey, do you wanna catch me up?" Jim asked, seeing the growling dog.
"Daddy!" El grinned, running to him and jumping into his arms before calling Bella to her. "This is Bella."
"When did you get a dog?" Jim asked, letting her go from the hug as Bella walked over.
"A few weeks ago, old man Tillis died and we took her so she wouldn't have to go to a shelter." El explained. "Hold out your hand, palm up."
"Okay." Jim nodded and did what she said, allowing Bella to sniff his hand.
"See, she likes you." El smiled as Bella rubbed the top of her head over his palm.
"She seems well trained." Jim nodded impressed.
"Yeah, we used to have her a weekend or two sometimes when Mister Tillis' kids couldn't take care of her but she was always very hard to control." El told him. "I wasn't so sure to take her completely but Mike did a very good job training her."
"And who is Mike?" Jim asked.
"Oh, he's our newest roommate." El shrugged.
"Is Mike the short form for Mikaela?" Jim looked at her.
"No, it's short for Michael I guess, if it's a short form at all." she said. "Why?"
"You have a boy living with you?" Jim was even more confused now.
"Yeah, after Amanda, I told Max to find a new roommate and she came back with Mike, much to my surprise." El nodded. "I wasn't so sure about it but Mike is an amazing cook and we were tired of eating takeout or microwave food."
"And he's behaving?" Jim was suspicious.
"Dad, if you're asking if he fucks all of us whenever he wants, then no!" El said indignant.
"Language!" Jim was surprised at her outburst.
"Dad, Mike is probably the sweetest guy I've ever met." El defended him, even though Jim wasn't really accusing him of anything. "He's kind, he's caring, he's polite and he..."
"I get it, I get it." Jim laughed at her tantrum. "It's nice that you've found someone."
"We're not together." El gasped.
"Yet." Jim winked. "So, how about I take my daughter and her new dog on a walk through the park and for some ice cream?"
"God, I'd love that." El nodded vigorously and grabbed Bella's leash.
"So, what else is new?" Jim asked. "How did you finals go?"
"Pretty well." El nodded and handed him the leash. "Here, you walk her so she gets to trust you."
"Okay." Jim accepted it.
"By the way, remember my favorite book?" El grinned.
"That heart something?" Jim guessed.
"The Torn Heart." El corrected him. "And in the year and a half that this book is out, nobody has ever seen the author in person."
"So?" Jim looked at her.
"Guess what." El giggled. "The author is my roommate."
"Are you serious?" Jim gasped. "This Mike?"
"This Mike!" El smiled. "And he's writing a second one. I read a few sentences when he was writing it on the living room couch!"
"You seem very excited." Jim chuckled.
"I do seem to be, aren't I?" El laughed. "I can't wait. If it's even half as good as the first, I'll be happy."
"And you may even get it for free." Jim laughed with her as they arrived at an ice cream stand.
She ordered one for herself and for her dad, buying a water bottle to give Bella something to drink too and they enjoyed the cool treat. They kept walking around the green area until Jim had to leave, his job making it necessary to get up early the next day. They bid their goodbyes and El returned with Bella to her house, entering it and before she headed into the bathroom, she turned on the AC, only to hear a loud clank coming from the basement.
"What the hell?" she talked to herself and opened the door to the basement, checking out the AC.
"Oh, fuuuuuck." she cursed as she saw the machine not working.
A second activation attempt resulted in another clank and then silence. Cursing, she returned upstairs and grabbed her phone, dialing the number for the company that was listed on the manual. After a short description, she was advised to disconnect the power and wait for the repairman, who they told her would only be able to come to her house in five to seven days due to most of the people working there being on vacation.
"Right, you let your guys go on vacation in the hottest summer in decades where surely no air conditioning system can fail." El cursed loudly and flopped down on the couch, feeling the heat of the day seeping through the house.
She just hoped she would survive the week until the AC was repaired.
Alright, this is it for this one. Poor El, alone and in heat (get those dirty thoughts out of your heads, you pigs :D )
Review please :)
