Creative cooking
Penthouse - late afternoon, Thursday, March 30, 2024
Preparing dinner for Max had become a major task, since her pregnancy progressed. Logan never knew what bizarre combinations of taste she was up to, but he did his best to be prepared for both the amount of appetite and the possible wishes for taste. He was sitting in the kitchen and prepared the vegetables for a salad, as he heard the doorbell ringing. Putting down his knife and the carrot, he was tidying up his hands quickly in a towel before wheeling towards the door. He had no idea who could stand on the other side of his door at that time of day and sifted quickly in his head possible friends who might drop by, with no result. In earlier days, he could have spied simply through the peephole. But that was not possible nowadays. He considered to fetch his gun, but remembered that it was now stuffed in the lower drawer where he couldn't reach it easily anymore. So, with a pondering heart, he wheeled sideways directly beneath the door, that he could comfortably reach the key to unlock the door and was in the same time able to block it with his wheelchair, if necessary. Logan turned the key, opened the door just a crevice and peered through it.
Zack was standing there, calmly waiting. Logan quickly unblocked the door and wheeled backwards. "Hey Zack, come in!", Logan greeted him.
"Hey Logan", Zack gave back as he entered the flat. "Is Max around?", Zack peered around the chambers. - "No, she is still at work, but will arrive within the next 1-2 hours, I think. Like to join me in the kitchen to wait for her?", Logan asked with a welcoming expression.
Zack smiled slightly and followed Logan into the kitchen, where Logan resumed the vegetable-preparations. Zack asked: "Can I give you a hand?" - Logan froze for a second, then smiled broadly and said: "Yeah, thanks, you know, since Max is pregnant, she needs a lot of food...so why don't you start with the potatoes? They are in the cabinet over there, down left." As Zack knelt down and began to proceed to fetch out the potatoes from the back of the lower cabinet, he stopped short, gazed from Logan's upper belt to the lower cabinet and asked finally: "And how did you intend to fetch the potatoes originally? I mean, you couldn't know I was coming, right?" - Logan smiled sadly: "As you gathered with your superenhanced abilities, my spine degradation has progressed since the last time we met. Yeah, I admit, it would have been quite difficult now. The truth is, I had no plans for that and would simply have waited for Max to do it. You know, the daily living is already complicated enough, you can't plan everything in advance and sometimes you simply can't do things. I am still trying to learn how to deal with that."
Zack was taken aback by this openness of Logan towards him. - "Well, yeah, uhm... I think I better start the potatoes...", Zack pressed out. Logan calmly watched Zack's sudden awkwardness. 'Yes', Logan thought to himself, 'the reality of this nasty bitch of disability is hard to take in - even for Zack. Funny, that just now I seem to have less problems with it than he does.'
Zack felt Logan's gaze upon him. He had a million questions to ask, but was afraid to snub Logan with it. Logan sensed that Zack wanted to ask something but didn't dare. He said provocative: "Spill it, go on, ask. What do you need to know?" Zack looked directly into Logan's eyes and asked: "Isn't it too much of a burden for Max to have a baby and to have to care for you? I mean, how do you think this can function?"
- Logan felt like someone slapped him in the face. Yeah, that would be the natural question for Zack, who always praised effectiveness and perfection. Logan's countenance petrified. He said with a calm and emotionless, nearly professional voice: "Frankly, I asked Max the same question, as I had also doubts in my abilities that slip away. Now know what she answered?" As Zack was shaking gravely his head, Logan continued: "She told me she didn't care, that we'll figure it out and that the principal thing is our love for each other." - "Right", Zack answered. "But with love you can't diminish the purposes.", he added with a softer, but still earnest voice.
Logan gazed at Zack a while, before he answered with a slightly sarcastic voice: "In your eyes I might be already a useless and imperfect cripple, but I am still able to accomplish things. And I'll be able to do things in the next couple of years aswell.", then Logan's voice changed and became more loaded with meaning: "I can help Max with the baby, and if one day we reach the limitations, we can still reach out for external help. We have friends." Logan seemed to transfix Zack with his eyes.
Zack looked quickly down and continued to treat the potatoes. - "I just wanted to be sure that Max is all right", Zack answered slightly contrite. - "I know, Zack, and I am as eager to comfort her as you are, believe me. But I also know that she'll be alright, if she has the baby to mother and if she has the man she loves around her. She badly wants to settle down and have a real family." - Zack admitted: "I know.", then fell silent and peeled the potatoes. Logan continued with his carrot, sighing. They worked silently for nearly an hour, Logan shuffling more vegetables and other foodpreparing to Zack to help him.
The door of the penthouse swung open and Max entered with a happy "I am back darling!" Logan glanced at Zack and called out: "In the kitchen." - Max quickly entered the kitchen, already starting to talk to Logan "Great, you prepare food! I am quite hungry - oh, Zack", she interrupted herself, as she noticed Zack, who was helping Logan on the opposite side of the table. "Hey Max, I wanted to talk to you, and Logan invited me here...", Zack answered, glancing quickly at the other man. Logan interjected: "Hey, you two go talking, take your time, I am cooking your meal, and Zack is invited. Just do me a favour and fetch the olive oil from the cupboard, ah, and could you already start the potatoes cooking on the hotplate on the back?"
Max fetched the olive oil, Zack started the potatoes on the stove, then they went outside to talk about 'family stuff'. Logan sighed, as the door closed behind them. He was not sure if he was still capable to accomplish all of the cooking on his own, but he would try it. There was no point interrupting the two and asking for help in front of Zack.