Moonhaven

Chapter 11: Adulting isn't a Full-time Job

Days later it was evening, and Ridley had called to invite over Grayson for some intimate socializing along with Emilio, Aoife, Arthur, Iker, Martin, and Silas. He took a quick shower and bade farewell to Alex, who had his own plans to meet up with the gang at the grotto. Ridley had told Grayson to come on a partly empty stomach, so he made sure not to eat before leaving.

When he got to Umbramoor, he knocked only once before hearing someone yell, 'come in!'

As he entered, the first thing he saw was Emilio and Aoife, hands to hands, dancing the Foxtrot in the middle of the hall. There was blaring, swing music wafting through the house, as well as the smell of pecan nuts.

Grayson walked up to the dancing duo with a curious grin. "What're you two doing?"

"The Foxtrot, duh!" said Aoife.

"I wanted to impress you with my dancing skills," Emilio started, "but Arthur, Martin, and Iker got two left feet. And Ridley and Silas are busy baking, so Aoife's the only one free. I bet you're quaking in your steel toed shoes right now, aren't ya? Wanna lesson? Free of charge."

"Maybe next time, but thanks," Grayson said.

Ridley finally appeared from the kitchen and waved to Grayson. "Ah, Gray you're here! Come come, give us a hand in here and get first-hand experience of cooking with Silas Mitchell!"

Grayson smiled and started over to the kitchen. Emilio and Aoife continued with their rhythmic swaying from room to room as he passed them by.

The kitchen was a mess with all sorts of ingredients. Silas was busy rolling away at a patch of dough. Ridley led Grayson over to a counter occupied by a number of freshly washed passion fruits.

"While Silas is working on the pecan cookies, you'll help me with the passion fruit pudding," Ridley told Grayson.

"Greetings neighbor," Silas said without looking up from the dough. Grayson could see beads of sweat racing down his forehead.

"Hey Silas." Grayson whispered to Ridley, "he's really into it, huh?"

Ridley chuckled. "Well he absolutely loves to cook and bake. Since he was a plucky middle schooler."

Grayson nodded. "And hey, I'm not really the best in the kitchen. I cook from time to time, but Alex was always the whiz there. Anyone else might be a better solution here."

Ridley shook her head. "Arthur hates cooking, Martin's buzzed, Iker's running late, and Emilio and Aoife are quite engrossed in dancing and I'd hate to stop them. You'll do just fine. All I need you to do is slice the passion fruits in half, scoop out their insides, and then place them into this bowl. I've placed all the tools you need right here, so it-" She gasped a little as she caught a glimpse of a small cut on each of Grayson's hands.

Grayson noticed what she was looking at. "Oh, don't worry about those. They're small, they'll heal up quickly. It usually happens at some point during work, though I never really notice them."

"Oh, that won't do at all. Even the tiniest cuts can have a big impact on your health if not treated quickly. Not to mention it could contaminate any food you touch. Come come, I'll fix you up. No buts."

Grayson sighed as he was pulled to a dining table in the living room. Ridley sat him down and returned to the kitchen to get something.

While seated, he grinned as he caught sight of Arthur fast asleep in an armchair, with the remote on his lap and his arms crossed. Martin was sprawled out on the sofa, passed out, and a couple of empty beer bottles occupied the coffee table.

Ridley returned with a jar of honey, a popsicle stick, and a box of band-aids. She dipped the stick in the jar, and applied a small amount on each cut. "A handy method I learned from Silas a couple years ago."