Just a Little Sugar

Chocolate fudge and a brownie mix with a hot caramel glaze

He squinted a little bit,shaking his head from side to side. As if to say don't freak out.
And just like she was reading his mind, Sheila breathed out, "I'm not freaking out. I'm not" she said. More like she was trying to convince herself not to freak out. "Okay. I'm going" She said as she left.

Sugar turned to Mark chuckling. "She was definitely freaking out."

"And she's going to continue freaking out in her car" Mark added.

"So...  Why did you decide to start calling her mom." Sugar asked

"I thought about what you said. But honestly it just came out" Mark replied.

Sugar chuckled her mind coming back to what was behind him

"No" Mark said as if he could sense where her eyes went.

"I need to see." Sugar begged, "Please"

"You're just going to laugh because you're amazing and everything you cook is amazing." Mark whined.

"Mark take your meds" Sugar said.

"Nice try. I'm not leaving this spot" Mark replied

Sugar looked around trying to find something that would draw his attention away from the cooker.

An idea popped into her head and Sugar raised herself onto her toes on her left leg, something that was very hard to do and extremely uncomfortable, and pressed her lips to Mark's.

She felt Mark gasp. For like a split second he was frozen but then he held her and kissed her back. Sugar wasn't going to lie and say the kiss was electrifying, it wasn't. But she did feel like she belonged there. With Mark, him holding her and kissing her. She wanted to be there all there. But now her leg was hurting and she needed to see what was on that stove top.

"Ow" she moaned

"What?  What's wrong?" Mark asked worriedly. Sugar felt a little bad but she twisted round and reached for the  chocolate fudge in the pot.

"It's good" She hummed, "Needs a little more butter but it's very good. Just the right amount of sugar"

Mark sighed and simply rubbed his hand on his face.
"Sugar"

"What? " Sugar asked feigning ignorance

"Really?"

Sugar stared at him. She licked the brownie mix off her fingers ND rinsed her hands in the sink. The mix was good. A little chunky but good.
She walked over to where Mark was standing. He had just swallowed his meds and his hands were running along the edges of the empty medicine cup.

"I'm sorry" She said finally

"You kissed me to throw me off and not only that I thought something was wrong with your leg."

"I'm sorry. It was getting a bit uncomfortable standing on my toes. But I'm sorry" she said wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning into him.
He was standing there, probably still mad at her but she didn't care. She wanted to hug him
"I'm sorry"

"Please don't do that again" He asked.

"Why is you heart beating so fast?" she asked looking up at him. She had her ear to his chest.

He ignored her question and chuckled instead raising her chin up to kiss her.

Neither Mark nor Sugar remembered that there was anyone left in the house until they heard Richard groan loudly.

"Arrrghh. Stop it." he yelled, "Happiness. I'm allergic to happiness" he said as he took a seat by the counter top covering his face up with he blanket he was holding.

"Richard, buddy, go and take a bath" Mark said chuckling

"Leave me alone. Let me be sad all by myself. Why did the sun come up today" Richard groaned again.

"I'm sorry Sugar please sit" Marknsaid gesturing to a high stool. Sugar didn't care though. She just went over to fix the brownie mix. She didn't know how Mark was going to get Richard to take a bath and look human again.

"Buddy, I have a client for you today" Mark said, "I need you to shower so you can meet them today"
Sugar knew this was a lie. But anything to get Richard to the bathroom would work.

"I don't need money. They are may fashion designers in Lagos. Some need the money. I don't. I used to spend it on my wife. Now I don't have a wife anymore"

"Richard you deep shit you're not divorced. Go and take a bath" Mark yelled

"Do you know how much her nails cost? 5k. 5 grand. Her hair cost three times that on an average. And let's not even talk about her sneaker collection. What am I going to use my money for now? Spend it on myself ? How? How boring was my life before I got married?"

"Oh for fucks sake...?!" Mark yelled. He pulled Richard off the stool backwards onto the ground. Sugar didn't expect it. So she gasped in surprise. She didn't intervene but Richard was perhaps ready for this fight. The way he struggled with Mark showed that this had been done a couple of times. Soon they were tumbling along on the floor. Sugar winced when she heard someone's elbow hit the door frame.  She was perhaps a little more worried for Mark than she was for Richard.

Another sound that sounded like someone's bone hitting the floor and Sugar couldn't hide the horror in her voice. "Mark!" She yelled

"Yeah babe?" he answered. His tone was breathy and quite like he wasn't worried if his head was split open from this fight.

"Do you have a mixer?" she asked.
Sure sugar. Make up a stupid reason for why you called him. You don't want him to know you're praying that he doesn't break a bone. Acting like you haven't mixed with just your hands before. Her brain ridiculed her.

" Top left. Behind you" Mark manged to say a little rushed before he was knocked to the ground again by Richard.

Sugar figured she might as well act like she was using the kitchenaid mixer. A mixer that she'd always wanted to buy but couldn't afford.

Still watching the drama unfolding on the floor. Soon Mark was on top again and Sugar couldn't help smiling. He dragged Richard out of the room with Richard's grey shirt sweeping the floor.

Mark came back minutes later. He brownie mix was in the oven and Sugar was now working on the chocolate glaze.
His shirt was wet.

"What is your shirt wet?" Sugar asked him

"The idiot. I threw him in the bathroom and turned on the shower and he pulled me inside with him."
Mark said like he was irritated. She wondered if she was the only one that could see that he wasn't irritated at all.
"I need to change this shirt right?" Sugar only smiled and nodded.