Have Faith in Me (Ianthony)

Chapter 9: I Wasn't Expecting That!

Anthony chuckled, taking a tray of rolls out of the oven. “Whatever, man. The point is, we have a stove and an oven and we know how to use it.” 

“We’re just lazy,” Ian finished for him. 

Anthony sat the tray on the counter and took off his mitts. “Precisely…All right, I think everything’s ready. Go get Audrey and we can eat. I’ll get the plates and forks and cups and stuff.” 

Ian jumped up from his chair and sprinted down the hallway. Despite the fact that Audrina had only been asleep for around thirty minutes or so, he knew that if he didn’t wake her up now, she wouldn’t sleep at all that night. 

“Audrey…,” he whispered, reaching into her crib to pick her up. 

Her little blue eyes fluttered open and she gazed right up at Ian. He smiled broadly at her and even though she didn’t smile back, he didn’t mind. He truly loved her and every little thing she did totally melted him. “It’s dinnertime,” he said, picking her up and holding her close to his chest. He kissed her hair and hugged her close. He then carried her back to the kitchen. 

He noticed that the lighting was very dim and a single white candle sat in the middle of the table. 

Ian set Audrina down in her high chair, noticing that a jar of peach baby food and a spoon sat out in front of it. 

He chuckled, sliding into his own chair. “A candle, man? What is that for?” 

Anthony shrugged. “I just thought that it might be a little romantic.” 

For a while, Ian studied Anthony, trying to decide if he was being serious or if he was just kidding. His heart had started beating impossibly fast as he waited for Anthony to say something, anything. 

Suddenly, Anthony burst out laughing and Ian was forced to fake a smile. “Nah, man,” he said. “I just thought it would be funny.” However, he made no moves to turn on the lights or to blow out the candle. 

Ian feigned a chuckle. “Yeah, yeah, thanks, man.” He reached over to grab Audrina’s spoon to feed her, but Anthony held his hand up. 

“Is it…is it all right if I feed her tonight?” Anthony asked shyly. “I haven’t gotten to yet and I wanna see what it’s like.” 

Ian nodded, a genuine smile stretching across his face. “Sure, dude. I mean, if you really want to.” 

Anthony grinned. “Awesome…Well, your plate’s ready so…Dig in.” 

Ian watched as Anthony dipped the little spoon into the jar and Audrina opened her mouth, welcoming the food. He tore his eyes away only for a second to twirl the spaghetti Anthony had made around his fork. He was surprised that it was not only edible, but pretty tasty, as well.

“Told you I can cook,” Anthony said, smiling smugly. 

Ian rolled his eyes, eating more spaghetti. “Whatever, man. You can cook one thing.” 

“Try the bread.” 

Ian tore off a small piece of his bread and took a bite. “Well, it’s hard to ruin bread, idiot.” 

Anthony shrugged, feeding Audrina another spoonful. “You can burn it.”

Ian rolled his his eyes, chewing. “Yes, but you have to be a real dumb bucket to do that.” 

Anthony chuckled, chewing quickly on a piece of bread. “Dumb bucket?” he repeated. 

Ian shrugged. “I don’t wanna curse in front of Audrina. I mean, think of what her first word could be!”