“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
Amelia grimaced as she walked into the kitchen after hearing Owen’s voice. She yawned and ran her hand through her hair as she looked around the room. “What are you doing? It smells like bleach in here.” She said softly. “Have you been cleaning?” She asked.
“I have. I opened the window so the smell wouldn’t be so bad. Also, Betty is at school and Leo is spending the day with my mom.” Owen replied.
“Why? I thought we were going to spend the day with him?” Amelia asked. It was their first day off in almost a month and they had agreed they were going to spend time with Leo since he was stuck in daycare all day while they worked.
“We are. Later. But, right now, I am going to give you a cooking lesson.” He told her softly.
Amelia raised a brow at what he said. “A cooking lesson? At nine am?” She asked. “You were serious about that?” She asked with a small, nervous laugh.
“I was serious about that. Now get over here.” Owen told her. “We can start off easy, if you want.” He said with a shrug. “It’s your choice.”
Amelia walked slowly over to where Owen was standing. She didn’t think he was serious when he told her he was going to teach her how to cook one day. She was curious, of course, but she didn’t think he’d actually do it. With a small laugh, she leaned against the counter and looked at him as he washed his hands. “Can we make pasta?” She asked softly. “Spaghetti?” She asked. He knew that was one of her favorites and, of course, he got all the ingredients for that when he went to the store the day before.
He smiled and stepped out of her way so she could wash her hands. “Spaghetti it is. But, you have to eat what you cook. That’s the only rule.” He said. “Just so it doesn’t go to waste.” He said with a wink.
Amelia laughed softly. “Okay. I promise I’ll eat what I cook, as long as it’s edible.” She said. “How’s that?” She asked as she washed her hands.
“Sounds like a deal.” He said with a nod. “Okay. First of all... do you know what all you need?” He asked her when she was done washing her hands.
Amelia leaned against the counter and raised a brow. “Um.. noodles, spaghetti sauce... wait.. are we making the sauce or did you just buy it in a can?” She asked.
“Oh, no. We’re going to make it.” He said softly.
“Okay... um.. so, you need noodles, obviously. For the sauce, you need... meat, tomatoes, onions... um, there’s something green in it, I think?” She said. “I don’t know.”
Owen laughed a little. “Green pepper, yes. You got most of the ingredients, though. We also need salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and garlic.” He said.
“Yeah. What you said.” Amelia told him.
He smiled and shook his head. “Alright. What do we do first?” He asked.
“First, we get the ingredients. Then, we... cook the meat first?” She asked, biting her lip.
Owen nodded. “Exactly. The noodles won’t take long to cook, so it’s better to get most of the sauce done first so it won’t get cold.” He said. “You ready?” He asked with a smile.
Amelia smiled and nodded. “Yep. Let’s do this.”
.......................................................................................
“Okay, you have to make sure you don’t cut the pieces too big, but not too small either.” Owen said. “Here, let me show you real quick.” He said as he grabbed a knife and an onion. He cut just a few pieces just to show her how big to cut them, then he handed the knife to her and smiled a little.
Amelia took a deep breath as she took the knife from his hand. When he pushed the cutting board with the onion on it over towards her, she shook her head. “I don’t know about this. I’ve never done this before. What if I cut my finger off?” She asked.
“Then I’ll sew it back on.” He said with a laugh. “You’re a surgeon. You can do it. Just be careful.” He said softly.
Amelia took another deep breath and cut the onion as carefully as she could. When she was done with it, she added it to the sauce and mixed it up just like he told her to do. “Okay, now what? The green pepper?” She asked. When Owen nodded, she smiled and grabbed it. He showed her how to cut it, and she followed along pretty easily. She added it to the sauce after she was done with it, then she looked at him again. “Now can we do the noodles?” She asked.
Owen laughed softly. “Now we can do the noodles. But, you have to watch the sauce, too.” He said.
Amelia nodded as she grabbed the other pot from the cabinet, then she filled it with water and set it on the hot stove. “How long will it take to make bubbles?” She asked.
“You mean boil?” Owen asked with a laugh.
“Yeah, that.” She said softly and smiled at him.
“Not too long. Just a few minutes.” He replied. ”In the meantime, you can add your spices to the sauce.” He said.
“How much?” She asked softly.
“That’s up to you. Just... not too much. You want to be able to taste everything.” He said with a small laugh.
“Okay..” She said softly and bit her lip.
“Here. Let me show you.” He said. He took her hand and grabbed the basil, then poured just a little bit out into the palm of her hand. “That should be plenty.” He said softly.
Amelia smiled as she did the same with the rest of the spices. When she was done with that, she stirred it up, then moved over to check the noodles. Owen smiled as he watched her. She was a natural. It was just hard to get her to do something she didn’t want to do. She was stubborn, but when she got the hang of something she was passionate about, she would do it more often. Owen had a feeling she would do a lot more cooking if she just knew how to. He knew she enjoyed being in the kitchen; she watched him cook most of the time, but she didn’t dare touch anything, not even when he offered to let her. Hopefully this would help. She seemed pretty into it, so he was hopeful. Also, the view wasn’t bad from where he was standing. Amelia wasn’t just a beautiful woman on the outside, she was beautiful on the inside as well. She was kind, genuine, and empathetic, and he loved that about her. They weren’t exactly together at the moment, she was just staying with him while she took care of Betty and he took care of Leo. It was.. complicated. There were feelings, from him at least, but neither of them knew what to do about it. They didn’t really spend a lot of time together unless they both had they day off or they just wanted to do something with both of the kids, but Owen still had feelings for her. He enjoyed spending time with her when he could.
“You’re staring,” Amelia said softly.
Owen smiled. “Sorry.” He said softly as he moved his attention to what she was doing. “Are your noodles done?” He asked softly.
“Um.. I think so?” She said softly. “This is where you throw it against the wall, right?” She asked.
Owen laughed. “That’s not how I do it, but yes. You can.” He said.
“And if it sticks, it’s done?” She asked. When Owen nodded, she smiled and grabbed a noodle after she let it cool of for a minute. She threw it against the wall and laughed out loud when it stuck. “They’re done!” She said excitedly. “And the sauce is done, too!” She said as she turned the stove off and looked at him. “I did it?” She asked.
“You did it.” He told her. “Now we taste it.” He said.
Amelia bit her lip as she watched him grab two plates from the cabinet above him. When he put some on her plate, he grabbed a fork and handed it to her. They both sat down at the table after. “Together?” She asked.
Owen nodded and smiled. “Together. Ready?” He asked.
Amelia nodded as she picked some up on her fork. “Ready.” She said, then they both took a bite. Amelia smiled and looked at Owen, waiting for his opinion. “Well? What do you think?” She asked.
Owen smiled. “I think it’s the best spaghetti I’ve ever tasted.”
Amelia smiled wide, dimples showing. “I cooked.” She said. “Something other than waffles. I can’t believe it.” She said excitedly and Owen laughed. “We should do this more often.” She said.
Owen nodded and smiled. “It’s a date.”
