“She’s gone to visit her family. She’ll be back in two months,” Darius said and I looked over my shoulder to see he was handling the onions pretty well. He was already onto the last one and not a single tear.
I nodded. Two months seemed like a long time. Maybe after this I could ask Darius for her phone number and give her a call. Hope everything was alright with her.
“Stir, Ivory. Not stare at the oil.”
I rolled my eyes and picked up the wooden spatula. I was waiting for the meat to cook before I stirred. I realised then that Adrian was a horrible teacher. He had no patience and yelled at the smallest things. He yelled when Darius dropped one small piece of onion on the bench, claiming it was a waste.
He yelled at the fridge for being too cold, at the sink for being too big, the floor for being too wet when he dropped some water. Darius and I shared a look as we watched him yell at someone on the phone. Whoever was on the other line was receiving his wrath.
“What’s that smell?” Darius asked, sniffing, and I had missed it till he mentioned it. Oh crap. I turned away from the bench, rushing to the stove and opening the lid. Everything was mixed together now and was meant to simmer to get the flavors together. Only it wasn’t simmering, it was burning.
“Crap,” I swore. Everything was going so well! I grabbed the spatula trying to mix it around. Most of it was good but I could see that some of the meat was stuck to the bottom.
“It’s burning,” I said worriedly.
“Mix it.”
“I’m trying. Where’s Adrian gone?” I asked, panicking. We couldn’t ruin all this beautiful sauce and our hard work because the meat was stuck to the base of the saucepan and now it was browning, fast.
“Here, move aside.” Darius’s arm came onto the handle on top of mine and the other took the spatula as he stirred. Only I was between him and the stove.
“Um, Darius?”
“Yes, Aluminium?”
“You going to let me out?” I didn’t know how I was meant to move aside. I was too scared to turn around and come face to face with his eyes, so instead I watched the spatula stir harder, getting the meat to unstuck from the pan.
“I think I’m fine.” And I felt his chin rest on my shoulder.
“It tastes okay,” I said, nodding as I tried it.
“It tastes good,” Darius agreed with me.
“It tastes like burnt charcoal,” Adrian snapped when he took a taste, spitting it back out. We both winced. Okay maybe we burned it, a bit, a lot.
“I quit,” Adrian blurted, standing up and taking off the apron he was wearing. I agreed, that apron looked silly. “You both need professional help.” He shook his head in frustration and walked out of the kitchen and Darius and I looked at each other.
Now what?
“Um,” I said, looking around the mess we made in the kitchen, the sink filled with dishes, splashes of sauce all over the stove and bench near it, rubbish on the ground. I then looked at Darius. “Let’s order pizza.”
He shrugged, taking out his phone. “Okay, who’s cleaning up the mess?” he asked and I put my hand up.
“Bags not,” I said, rushing out of the kitchen. His hand grabbed mine before I could go too far.
“Someone has to do it.”
“That someone can be you,” I said, pulling my hand back and patting his shoulder. “You can learn some house work, dear husband.”
“How about the loser does it?”
“The loser to what?” I questioned him.
“Monopoly.”
I smiled. I could finally win. I forgot everything I said about the last monopoly game, because this time I was going to win.
“You’re on.”
CHAPTER FORTYNINE
The longer I stared at the mirror, the funnier it got.
I was on the bed staring at his reflection. His eyebrows were furrowed as he focused on the task at hand. Watching him try to tie a tie was just plain entertainment. It was better than netflix.
I played with the hem of my black dress, leaning against the headboard and waiting for his poshness to finish. And here I thought I was going to be late. It took me an hour to find a nice black dress to wear and in the end I settled for a simple yet elegant long black dress with a high neck that had big rhinestones as a design.
"You know if you need help, you can ask," I told him after he undid his tie and started again. Was this the third or fourth time? I was waiting for him to ask me for help, but he didn't. He looked up, his eyes meeting mine in the mirror and sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't wear a tie."
I raised an eyebrow and reminded him, "It's a black tie event."
He pulled the tie and turned around to face me. I had to admit, I preferred him without the tie, with the button undone. It looked better but a black tie event meant he had to wear a black tie, or a bow tie, or a tie at least.
I shook my head and stood up. If he wasn't going to ask, I'll do it anyway. "Alright, come here."
I grabbed the black tie, trying to straighten it out. With the attempts he made, it was more crinkled than a twisties chip. I placed the tie around my neck, doing the knot. "You know, it's really easy. I can teach you."