Gallo and Mackey

Boden's Chicken Bone Broth

Gianna's POV:

I just got back from a call. The fire department had a car crash where a woman and her child were hit by a drunk driver. I was thankful everyone was okay, but the call took longer than expected when the drunk driver refused any medical help.

We had to have the fire department hold him down because he was becoming too violent. We were able to get everyone to the hospital just fine though and it seems that the clean-up at the car scene didn't take as long as expected. The fire department was already in the station when we got back.

"Mackey, Brett, Boden is cooking." Mouch came out warning us.

"Oh, no." Brett had a look of dread on her face.

"Why? Isn't that good?" I asked, unsure of what they were talking about. "Doesn't that mean that we are off cooking duty?"

"I forgot you haven't been here while the Chief cooks." Mouch face palms himself.

"Why? Is he not a good cook?" I look between the two.

"He is the worst," Brett whispers. "His food is so bad that the stray animals don't even want any. We have tried to feed it to them before."

"That bad?" I asked, thinking they were over exaggerating.

"It's like eating a block of pure salt and washing it down with a hunk of cement," Mouch says looking pale just thinking about it.

"Well haven't you guys just told him that his cooking isn't that good?" I said. Brett covered my mouth with her hands and shushed me.

"Don't be so loud." She whispered.

"We can't tell him his food sucks." Mouch whisper yells.

"Then someone should just volunteer to cook so he doesn't have to," I said in a whisper to match their tones.

"We can't do that because he loves to cook," Brett said.

"So what then?" I look at them for an answer to the problem.

"We just have to eat it," Mouch says in a sad tone of defeat.

"It can't be that bad," I said.

"Oh trust me..." Mouch warns. "It is."

We all make our way into the dining room where everyone is sitting down with dreaded looks on their faces. I look at Gallo and his eyes are pleading for me to run.

"Oh, there you guys are." Boden hums.

I have literally never seen Boden happier in all the time I have been working here.

"Yeah we just got back," Brett says, sitting down beside Stella.

"Oh, good timing. One of you want a taste test?" Boden looks between me and Brett.

"I think I am going to let Gianna give it a try. She has never had your cooking before." Brett throws me under the bus.

I glare at her.

"Oh well, sure! Come on over Gianna." Boden says, getting a spoon full of the soup-like thing that was in the pot. "This is Chicken Bone Broth."

I take the spoon from him and look up to see everyone staring at me.

"I can't eat with everyone staring at me," I tell them.

I turn around and take a taste of it. Brett and Mouch were right. It was like licking salt. I scrunched my nose and tried not to gag. Once I was sure it was down I turned to Boden. "Good." I nodded.

"It was my father's recipe," Boden says, taking back the spoon.

"My mother makes it all the time." I nod.