COUSINS
Chapter 2: Picture Imperfect
"Dum-de-doo-de-dah-doo-dee-dah-doo," Cupcake sang, while cooking dinner.
It was quarter to five, and Cheri had just stepped into the house. Her pockets were full of fish, and the stench quickly glided throughout the house, catching Cupcake's nostrils by sudden surprise. The pink bear didn't like the smell of fish.
"What is that disgusting odour?" Cupcake barked, walking to the front door.
The bears' house consisted of three small rooms: the kitchen and living room area, the bedroom and the bathroom. Cupcake didn't have to go far to find her cousin removing her shoes.
Stretching her arms, Cheri greeted her cousin with a smile and a cheery, "Hello!"
"Don't give me that kinda crap!" Cupcake snapped at Cheri. "The number one rule around this house is that we don't bring fish into it. If you want to cook it, that's fine by me, as long as it's done outdoors. Now I've got to go to Nook's and buy an air freshener. How horrifying it would be when Butch came over and gagged because of the... eww, fish!"
Waving an arm and Cupcake, Cheri cried, "Yeah, yeah. Just let me put my pole away. Oh, by the way, Olive just went to the museum to apply for that... what's it called again? ...Oh! Right! Visual artist! Yeah, so, she said she'd probably be back by 6:00 o' clock."
Cupcake smiled. "What a trooper! I hope she gets the job! Now, take all of this... eww... stuff outside, please, Cheri!"
The red bear complied, and quickly removed all of the fish she caught from her pockets, and tossed them out onto the front lawn. "I can boil some water and we can put the fish into the salad you're making. That would taste remarkable."
"Indeed. Now go wash up before you go back out. You smell of freshwater gobies!" Cupcake exclaimed, cupping her nose with her hand.
While the red bear went to change into different attire, Cupcake walked back to the stove, where she found her spaghetti starting to overcook. Fast as lightning, she turned the stove off and took the lid off of the pot. Steam rose like a fire had been set on the noodles. But once it all blew away, Cupcake found that the noodles were just right.
Dumping the food into a big bowl, Cupcake started working on the sauce.
At around 6:00, just like she had promised, Olive knocked on the front door.
"Did you get the job?" Cupcake asked, not even letting Olive remove her shoes, or say a word of her own. But she didn't seem to mind though, because her face was long, and it looked like the only thing that would bring it up again was cosmetic surgery.
"If you really want to know all about it... okay, I'll tell you, but it's a horrible story..." Olive mumbled under her breath, but Cupcake was still able to catch each word in the order she say them in.
"I guess," Cupcake replied, suddenly losing a bit of interest.
Sighing, Olive began her story. "When I got there a few hours ago, I was introduced to Blathers, the manager of the museum. He told me to paint a picture, so he could evaluate if I was good enough for the job. After I painted the picture, he laughed. He commented that it was the worst piece of art he'd ever seen and threw it to the ground. It tore in half. I wanted to burst into tears, but just ran. And that's how it ended."
Cheri and Cupcake looked at each other, and exchanged shocked looks. They couldn't believe that Olive had been rejected for something that she had been good at her entire life. But from the looks on her face, she didn't seem to mind, even though she wanted to cry at the time.
"It's not the end of the world. I'll just scout out for a different job," Olive told her cousins, a little more cheerful than when she had told the story.
Walking into the other room, Cheri and Cupcake heard Olive letting out a large groan. Her feelings were going to come out eventually, and they just hoped that it wasn't going to be during the dinner that was in an hour.
Butch rang the doorbell at 7:00 p.m. sharp. Cupcake was sitting on the couch, and suddenly jumped to her feet. "Like, oh my gosh! He's, like, here! Cheri and Olive, get to the table this instant! And serve those damn fish salads before I have a seizure! NOW!"
The two bears rushed to the table and obeyed Cupcake's commands like she was a wicked witch planning on eating them if they hadn't. They could hear Butch being greeted by their pink cousin and showering him with compliments. Olive just moaned.
"...Yes, and this over here is our living room, filled with the most elegant of furniture you will ever find: classic! High-priced, glorious, delicate classical-themed furniture! I do hate bragging, indeed, but I must admit that it is fun to do it every once in awhile! My apologies if I'm extending the limits right now!" Cupcake was heard exclaiming in the other room.
"Hag," Olive said, under her breath, and Cheri let out a small chuckle.
After a few more minutes, Butch and Cupcake walked into the kitchen, smiles on their faces.
"Good evening, Mr. Butch," Cheri greeted the dog, shaking hands with him. He said hello to the red bear, and then shook hands with Olive, who gave him one of the most sarcastic expressions that he'd ever seen on someone's face.
The first thing that Butch did when he saw what was on the table, was sniff. Spaghetti was etible to him, as was the fish salad. The only thing that he was unsure of was the small dish of carrots and celery they had. The dog was not a fan of any vegetable except for sweet potatoes.
Cupcake sat down at the head of the table and said, "Before we eat, we must say our thanks to the lord for this food. Cheri, you will read the latter of the prayer tonight, and Olive, you will read the middle. I shall start it off. Butch, you shall listen."
Shrugging, the dog nodded his head.
"This joy we bring to the table,
Is a blessing from the gods.
Thank you for this meal,
Thank you for our shelter.
Thank you for this life,
This life that we are living.
Amen."
After the prayer was concluded, the four animals dug into their food. Cheri began by eating the fish salad that she had made, while Olive started with the vegetables, as did Cupcake. Butch, being the dog he was, rotated between each plate. He decided that he would eat the vegetables, just to please Cupcake.
"So, what did you say your job was again, Butch?" Cupcake asked her crush, through sips of champagne.
Not wanting to make Cupcake wait, Butch quickly swallowed his food and answered, "I work at the dock. Remember?" He smiled a toothy smile, revealing noodles caught between a few of his teeth. Olive burst into a bust of laughter.
"HEY!" Cupcake screamed at the top of her lungs, forcing Cheri to cover her ears. "We don't need any laughter from the peanut gallery, Olive! Besides, what do you know about working? All you do during the day is paint and draw. So if I were you, I wouldn't be talking!"
Cheri jumped to her feet. "Yo, shut your mouth, Cupcake! We barely began dinner and you're already raising a fit!"
The pink bear turned to look at her red cousin. "Keep out of this, Cheri. Dinner may have just begun, but so far, Olive has not been cooperating! We don't require any immediate laughing when I turn to ask a question! Utter nonsense!"
Olive was so angry at her cousin that she threw her bowl of vegetables at her. Cupcake was covered in vegetable sauce, carrots and celery. It was a frantic site. Butch was shocked to see how fast that three girls could turn on each.
"YOU... IDIOT! I'LL THROW YOU OUT OF THIS HOUSE IF YOU DO THAT AGAIN!" Cupcake bellowed so loudly that she cut off her own voice. "...AS A MATTER OF FACT, THAT'S NOT SUCH A BAD IDEA! GET OUT!" Grabbing a pot, Cupcake began chasing Olive around the house.
Butch got up from his seat and headed towards the door. Just before he left the house, Cheri clutched his shoulder and said, "I'd better warn you that Cupcake and Olive have been feuding against one another since the day they had been introduced to each other! It's barely been three days, but I don't think it's gonna be a good idea having these two under the same roof."
But Butch just shrugged. "This isn't my problem, Cheri... but... I have an idea. If you want to separate these two - wait a darn minute. They weren't fighting yesterday or anything. They actually looked like two best friends, and all of a sudden they just turn on each other? Doesn't that just seem a little more than just confusing? I don't believe you. This is an act. You set it up, didn't you? Goodbye."
And he was gone.
And he was right.
"We're not very good actresses, are we?" Olive asked Cheri, putting an arm around Cupcake. The two sisters laughed at each other and began cleaning up the mess they had left from trying to win over the dog. But it hadn't worked.
"So, what are we gonna do tomorrow? Nothing at all?" Cheri asked, standing in the bedroom doorway, watching her sisters.
"I guess not," the other two replied in unison.
After cleaning up, the three cousins went fishing until 10:00 p.m. Olive, who was an early-to-bed, early-to-rise girl, crashed out immediately when they returned home, while Cheri stayed up another hour. Finally, at midnight, Cupcake turned her lights out.
And asleep the three bears were... awaiting the dawn.
The next day would too be a bundle of surprises.