The Mercy of Birds

CHAPTER 36: THREADBARE MOMENTS

CHAPTER 36
THREADBARE MOMENTS

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"Jesus, Cam! It's called Catfish Stew not Your Finger Stew."

Clementine yawned as she opened her eyes to the view of the living room ceiling. She thought she must have fallen asleep on the sofa again as she checked the clock on the wall to see that it was almost dusk. How long had she taken a nap? The last time she remembered laying down was after lunch. Damn it! Why didn't Cameron wake her? She must help him cook dinner.

"Haha, very funny. Give me a break, okay? I'm new to this whole cooking thing!"

She caught up to the loud banter as she straightened to a sitting position, rubbing the lethargy from her eyes. She could hear the bustle coming from the direction of the kitchen. Was it Cameron and... Nicholas?

"Use the side of your hand to hold it down!" Nicholas instructed fervently.

"Oh, why don't you do it, Gordon Ramsay?" Cameron retorted in frustration.

"This is not even the right knife to do it. Do you have something more slender?"

She could hear the sound of cabinets being ransacked open as she got up and slowly approached the ardent commotion.

"In my room," Cameron answered just as she appeared at the entrance.

"What are you two doing?" she watched as both of their heads whipped at her presence. Nicholas was poised over the burning stove, holding a ladle, while Cameron was hovering on the sink with a raw fish cupped in his hands. She couldn't help the involuntary mirth that bubbled in her stomach and escaped her in a small breathless laugh.

Cameron beckoned the fish he was holding to his brother's direction. "Nico thinks it's a good idea for us to have a feast for the New Year's Eve."

He shrugged nonchalantly. He had put his hair up in a bun, small tendrils falling over the side of his face. "Well, living here with her just opened my eyes that any meal could be my last so why don't I make it count? Besides, I'm so sick of eating your stale soup."

Cameron launched the fish on the sink and it fell with a thud. "Stop talking about her like that! And what do you mean it is stale? CC eats my cooking every time."

"Of course, she is. She'll eat a fucking rock for you if you ask her to." He waved the ladle back and forth between him and her.

Cameron never looked more devastated than he was right now and Clementine brought her hand to cover her chuckle that only grew louder at their skirmish.

Cameron, although aware of the first ever sign of the manifestation of the delightful emotion from her, kept his façade of disbelief just so he could draw it out of her more. "CC? Seriously? Is it true? Or is he just fucking with me?"

Nicholas also turned to face her, urging her impassionedly as he slapped the ladle against the kitchen island just to amp the dramatic effect of the vital revelation. "Tell him. Tell him how you really feel."

Clementine dropped her hand and inhaled a deep breath, trying to acquire some sort of self-command. It was bad enough that she found humor from Cameron's betrayed face. "It is... more or less... since the first time you cooked for me... I couldn't bring myself up to tell you... you seem very passionate about it... so I always refrain from telling you that it is... truly flavorless."

"Truly flavorless," Nicholas repeated promptly to emphasize the point, just to make Cameron's agony greater. "See? She's a professional. She's been through three prisons and two hospitals, she knows what bad food tastes like."