Elizabeth woke up around six o'clock the next morning. She sat up in the huge, soft, queen-sized bed and observed her surroundings. The wallpaper was pale pink and crème in color, yet she had to squint to see it because it was fading. She crawled over to the bottom of her bed and looked up. A print of Copley's "Watson and the Shark" was hanging above the bed. She figured from the painting, wallpaper, and furniture that her uncle was an American Revolution buff. It only made sense that Ben would have a print of Copley, as he was one of the most famous painters of that time. He was renown for his portraits of patriots. When the Revolution was in force, Copley fled Boston for England, as he was a loyalist. Elizabeth shook her head, trying to examine the rest of the room and put her thoughts of the painter to rest.
She tiptoed out of bed and opened the door. Looking out into the hallway, she couldn't see a soul. Then a door began to open, crying out with a creek. A tall male figure emerged into the hallway. Elizabeth shut her door quietly and quickly, and then jumped into her bed. The steps to her room grew closer; she enjoyed the anticipation of finding out who was coming near. The doorknob turned and the door was opening. She almost stopped breathing.
There, standing in the darkness was a shirtless young man. His chest was full of dark curls. He had a bit of a tummy, but in general he was quite attractive. Elizabeth looked into his face.
"Riley?"
"The one and only. What's up with open door-close door gig? Are you alright?"
"Yes, I am. I just woke up and wanted to see if anyone was up yet. I am really sorry if I woke you up." He went over and sat on her bed.
"It's alright. You didn't wake me up. Ben and Abby should wake up about an hour from now. I don't know about Patrick though. But since we are up, let's get some breakfast."
"Shouldn't we wait for everyone else?"
"In theory, yes. My stomach though says that they would not mind." Elizabeth chuckled.
Riley and Elizabeth went down the stairs to the kitchen. Riley threw open the refrigerator door open. He leaned over in the machine as if he was going to climb in.
"We have," he began, "left over potatoes, greens, Watergate salad, yams, some turkey, pasta, eggs, pizza, salsa, and cheese. I personally plan to go for the pizza. What do you want?"
"Pizza is not breakfast Riley. You sit down at the table and I'll fix the both of us breakfast. Hold on, do you think Ben would mind?"
"Not really."
With that said, Elizabeth pulled out a frying pan, eggs, greens, and cheese. Riley attempted to what she was cooking, but to his dismay he was sent to the dinning room to wait. Five minutes passed by.
"You know pizza would have taken less time," he called out.
"That is true. But what I'm making is healthier and better for us in the long run. Anyway, don't you know cooking takes time?"
"Not if you go to McDonald's." Elizabeth sighed. "Really! That's why I only eat food that I can throw in the microwave or food that is already made for my consumption."
Elizabeth looked into the dinning room. Riley looked up at her and grinned. His ice blue eyes gleamed with mischief. She smiled back at him. Looking back, she saw that the omelettes she had prepared were ready for serving. She turned the stove off and placed on each of the plates she had in front of her an omelette. Carrying the plates out, she smiled and placed Riley's in front of him.
"What's this," asked Riley when his plate was set before him. He studied the yellow and green object.
"It's a spinach and cheese omelette. Enjoy!"
Riley looked down at his food. He didn't care for vegetables at all. It was a dislike that he carried with him from childhood. He could remember his aunt pleading with him as a five year old to eat his veggies and he'd flat out refuse to take part in eating them. Taking his fork, he prodded the omelette. When he looked up at Elizabeth; she was pouting a little and her dark eyes showed sadness. He sensed that her feelings were hurt because he wasn't enjoying her cuisine she had made.
"I just want to make sure it's cool, that's all. I don't want to burn my mouth." Elizabeth smiled. Riley took a piece of his food and stabbed it with his fork. He then put the food in his mouth and began chewing it. Much to his surprise, he liked it! His eyes gleamed with approval and he commented on how much he enjoyed the meal. When Elizabeth got up to put away and clean the dishes, Riley stole her unfinished portion and devoured it. She came back to see her omelette gone. Riley's only reply was that he was still hungry.
Author's Note: Hey guys! I can update more frequently now since I'm out of summer school. So stay tuned for more chapters of FAMILY TREASURE! Thank you all who have commented my work.
