Chapter 1: Baking
It was a quiet Saturday morning. A few animals have already left for their weekend jobs while a few had the luxury for having the weekends to themselves. In this case, the family of an interesting bunch:
A blind Honduran white bat, a black and white harlequin rabbit, and their two hybrid daughters.
Early in the morning, Arthur would be the first to wake up just to have a morning flight around the neighbourhood before returning through an open window before his family. He was thinking of making them breakfast of muesli oats in low fat yogurt with some berries and bananas.
And of course, tea. Everything goes well with a nice cup of tea.
Despite his blindness, Arthur was chopping up the fruits carefully before placing them into a bowl. Although he wished he had his phone to put on some music, every single sound within his hearing range was like a domestic symphony.
From the sound of chopping fruits to the clinking of mugs, inspiration was all around him.
Of course, his ears could pick up footsteps while he was focused on something else. A pair of soft, velvet arms wrapped around his already fluffy body. He lets out a small squeak before turning his head to capture the figure in a kiss.
"Good morning, honey," Mizuchi giggled through the kiss. "Making breakfast this early?"
"Of course! Can't start a day without a little nibble," Arthur laughed before letting out a soft gasp when she began nuzzling and rubbing at the crook of his neck. "A-ah, love? What's gotten you all so cuddly this morning?"
Mizuchi purred into his ear. "Is it wrong that I want to shower my husband with a kiss?"
Arthur smiled, putting down the utensils to wrap her into his winged embrace. No matter how much time had passed, Mizuchi will always be beautiful in his mind. Cupping her cheek, he began to trace her face, remembering every detail from her cute nose to those elegant ears.
It was his way of capturing her appearance and he wouldn't changed it for the world.
They were about to share another kiss when two familiar squeals were heard from upstairs. That was the signal for Arthur to finish making breakfast while Mizuchi sets the table. Both of their daughters were hopping down the stairs.
"Daddy! I heard berries and oats! Are you making parfait?" asked his oldest daughter, Azura. Her little sister, Lillie was bouncing beside her with excitement. "Berries and yogurt!"
Arthur laughed, telling his girls that breakfast will be ready soon and they could spend the day together. Ever since they had children, both Arthur and Mizuchi tried to find time to spend with their girls despite their schedule.
Both of them were glad that the weekends were the best days to do so.
The family enjoyed their breakfast, chatters and laughter filled the air that brought their home alive. All of their ears could pick up the 'ping' sound from Mizuchi's phone, indicating that she had a client for today.
As much as it pains him, he was proud of his wife with her work life that even he could not keep up. He would absolutely fail if there was anything that involved colours. For him, his work of composing music for movie producers as well as being a music teacher were fulfilling.
It gave him more reason to spend time with his daughters and be involve with their lives.
While Mizuchi was talking on the phone, Lillie tapped him on the wing. "Dad?"
"Yes, love?"
"Can we bake something today? Mommy is always busy and I think we should do a tea party."
Arthur blinked, touched by his youngest daughter's idea. Azura pipped up. "Yeah! Can we please do it, dad?"
With a smile, he gathered both of his daughters under his wings, to which they squealed with delight when he peppered them with kisses. "Of course we can. We'll have to wait for mummy to go before we can start."
...
Mizuchi kissed her family goodbye before leaving for her temporary work with one of her clients. After hearing the car fading away, both father and daughters got to work.
They have decided on baking a banana cake for the following reasons:
1) It was simple
2) Delicious for all
The blind Honduran white bat loved cooking since all the sounds in the kitchen gave him a bit of inspiration for some upcoming soundtracks for a horror movie that involved a restaurant on a deserted island.
What better way to get some inspiration than in the kitchen!
He had the responsibility of preheating the oven and listening to what Azura read in the cookbook.
When chopping bananas, he taught his girls by using the colourful (not that he could see those said colours) utensils they would bring out for guests with children. Lillie enjoyed counting and measuring how much ingredients they needed for the cake while Azura wanted to be the one to mash the bananas.
"Dad," Azura called from where she was hanging. "Why does mommy have to work on a Saturday?"
"It's because other animals love your mummy's work on their clothes. Does she makes them pretty?"
"Yes, dad," both of his girls chorused. He was happy to answer their questions, even if they were out of left field. How else would they learn about the world growing up? Speaking of which, since his daughters were hybrids, there were so little perks and benefits due to his interspecies marriage with Mizuchi.
That had not stopped him because he discussed this with Mizuchi before the girls were born. Parenthood wasn't easy but it was moment like this that he knew it was worth it. Like his time growing up, he would make sure his family's happiness was secured.
As he placed the tinned cake batter into the oven, he faced toward his daughters. "Girls, aren't we forgetting something?"
He could imagine the two putting on their best thinking face until Lillie spoke up, "Tea?"
"Aside from tea," he chuckled but still maintained his firm tone. "What can you see?"
There was silence until he smiled at the sound of Azura's gasp. "We have to clean up! Mommy doesn't like anything messy!"
'Clever girl,' he thought to himself as he assigned a game of who could clean up before noon would get the first pick of watching their favourite show on the television. Although blind, his way of 'watching' would be to listen to something on the radio on his phone.
He was careful at selecting what was appropriate for his girls to listen to.
When the cake was done, both of the girls resisted the urge to devour the banana loaf whole. But Arthur reminded them that they wanted to surprise Mizuchi so the three of them head to the living room where they unanimously agreed to watching a show about a heeler dog family and their crazy shenanigans.
When Mizuchi arrived home, she was greeted by her daughters who put on their fancy tone. "Welcome back, mother," Lillie greeted her. "You are just in time for something special."
"If you follow us," added Azura, "we have a surprise for you."
And that was Arthur's cue to fix on his bowtie as he does his best waiter impression. Taking her soft paw gently with his two fingers, he bowed. "Afternoon, madame. Your table awaits."
This caused Mizuchi to giggle and sat down to join them in their little game. At the centre of the table, there was an aromatic scent of the warm banana bread served with a cup of vanilla tea and some cream.
Mizuchi took a bite out of a sliced cake and she leaned back with a moan. "This is delicious! Did all of you made this today?"
"Yeah! We want to surprise you, mommy," said Lillie, who began to climb into her mother's lap. "Did you like it?"
"Of course, I love it," Mizuchi kissed her on the cheek before doing the same with Azura. Arthur had never been more proud of his daughters. The mission to make a tea party for Mizuchi was a success. "Come, let's finish this cake together. Arthur, there's something I want to talk you about tonight."
Arthur fluffed up his fur in embarrassment. He hoped everything was alright with her at work. However, it turned out later that evening, the both of them shared an even sweeter moment.
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi guys! I thought of writing these short stories for fun, If you have any ideas for more short story scenarios, feel free to review :D)