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 Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 12:34 am
Mel laughed as her arm fell to her side. "Go get some sleep city boy." Laughing some more she ruffled his hair before setting her cup in the sink. "I'll check on you later and I'll bring some dinner with me." Slipping her shoes on she laughed again slightly. Leaning against the door she watched him for a moment. "Really try to at least rest. If you want when I come by later I'll feed the animals for you....Don't be afraid to take a day of, I'd hate for you to get really sick then the animals not have their keeper."
With that she put her shoes back on and slipped out the door. Grabbing her basket she ran down to the path, and made her way to the town. A small smile on her face, actually happy she had made the stop. It made her hellish night seem like a thing of the past. A bad dream in other words.
Going around town she handed off the cookies. While other girls flirted she merely tried to be social. No one seemed to even like her in that type of way anyway. Mel didn't complain she didn't have eyes for any of the men in the valley. It was fun to see the little boys cheer and hug her neck when she gave them the treats.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 12:54 am
The moment Mel was out the door, Hataru surged to his feet and went back into his room. All vestiges of sleep were long gone as he grabbed his jacket and practically ran out the door. Making quick work of his chores, tossing hay at the animals in the barn, seed at the devilish chicken and setting his shipment for the week outside by the barn door, he then looked out towards the open pasture.
If he could not still his mind from the thoughts that plagued him, he knew he could at least run his body to be rid of the excess of energy. He ran, like he used to back home. As fast as he could for as long as it took for the beast within to calm and go to sleep. He knew it wouldn't fully rest until the moon began to wain, but he could at least wear it out for a while.
The wind, the open sky, the tall swaying grass, the trickle of water from the nearby creek, the buzzing of insects. All of it like a soothing mantra to ease his mind and spirit.
Hataru ran for several hours before coming back inside. It was still the heart of the day, mid afternoon by his rough guess. Sweating, but happy, he kicked off his muddy shoes just outside the door before going inside to clean up the second time in a day. Then he collapsed onto his bald mattress to dose for a while.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:17 am
After the long task of her choir she wished everyone a happy holiday before making it back to the farm. Not bothering to change she got straight to work. With in no time flat she was done and packing the food up. Gathering everything she needed she made her way over to the ranch. Knocking on the door she waited a few minutes. It wasn't lock so quietly she entered his house.
Setting her bags on the table she went to investigate. Finding the bed room door wide open she stepped in to find the city boy fast asleep on the bed. Leaning against the door framed she watched him for a moment...did everyone look that peaceful? Shaking such thoughts from her head she made her way back to the kitchen and got to work. Finishing the cooking and making sure everything was warm.
Honestly she hope no one thought this was a date. To many dates happened on these type festivals. Mel wasn't exactly into that. In a very pretty container was the last thing she sat out. A beautiful apple pie that looks like something from a doll's house. It had taken her an hour, but she had pulled it off. Looking back at the table as she was at the door, wanting more to stay then anything. Fear that he would think she was a stalker was setting in, and she couldn't decide. So she stood by the door debating it all.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:29 am
The smell of flowers drifted into his dreamless slumber until it slowly pulled him to consciousness. One eye cracked open as the aromas of food made his stomach growl.
Was that apples? He couldn't help smiling, hidden against the mattress as it was. As he shook off the dregs of sleep, he honed in on the sounds of Mel, for that was the only person he knew it could be, as she worked in the kitchen.
When things started to get quiet, he knew he must rise or she might leave without him getting the chance to thank her. Getting to his feet, he walked into the main room in nothing but his jeans. Hair mussed and eyes still foggy, he rubbed his face as he walked.
"You aren't leaving after all that work so that I have to eat it all alone, are you?" he asked in a gravelly voice. His throat still felt dry after his run so he rumbled it to clear the cracked feeling.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:41 am
Jumping just as she put her hand to open the door. Giving a slight nervous laugh, "I didn't mean to wake you up...." Turning around she hadn't even taken off her apron. "I figured I had intruded enough on you're personal space for today." With that she walked back to the table. "It wasn't that hard of work, you give me way to much credit." Looking at him she actually tried not to laugh. Really she felt horrible about waking him up.
Taking note that he hadn't put a shirt on yet she leaned against the door with an amused expression. "Just so you know I won't eat unless everyone is dressed and seated. Granny was very strict when it came to dinner manners." Her tone reflected her amusement. With that she playfully winked at him before she went to his cabinets to dig out plates and things.
"I brought some lemon aid as well. Not sure if you area fan or not. I figured it would be a good try since I use no added sugar." Her smirked didn't falter as she finished setting the table. Hoping he was amused and not creeped out.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 2:01 am
"One, I don't mind waking up to the smell of home cooking, two if you were unwelcome in my home I'd tell you and three anyone who makes food from scratch instead of from a box deserves more credit than they think they are privy too," he answered in succession to her statements. When she inadvertently told him to get dressed, he nodded and darted back in to grab a shirt with a muffled, "sorry."
He knew it was bad manners to waltz around half naked when a girl was present, his mother was rather strict about civility codes too, but he'd forgotten in his hurry to stop her from leaving so soon.
"I've never had it before actually," he answered when she asked if he like lemonade. "Unless you count the pre-made powder kind, which tastes awful."
He reappeared a moment later with a white button down shirt, open slightly at the collar. He may have to be dressed, but it was warm out and he didn't like being uncomfortable if he could help it.
"So what did you make? The whole house smells wonderful," he asked as he walked into the cozy little kitchen.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 2:25 am
Blushing for the first time when he complemented her cooking. "Honestly its nothing really. Just learned from my grandma. "Honestly it's you're home you didn''t really have to get dressed I was joking. It not like I haven't seen it before." With that she brought the food to the table.
"Okay so first of if you don't like something please don't think you'll offend me by not eating it. First we have a garden salad, then we have a steak with green beans and mash potatoes. Then for dessert we have apple pie and I made some fresh whip cream to go on top. "
Taking another look at him she smiled. She had to admit he did look good, but she wasn't about to say that out loud. Sitting a the table she pulled her hair behind her ear. Pouring them each a glass of lemon aid she smiled. "Ummm...do you do anything for a meal. Like....I don't know?" She asked looking up at him.
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 2:37 am
Hataru grunted, but made no further comment about his dressing. He didn't want to admit that it amused him, her teasing him like that.
Following her out to the table, he forced himself to sit and admire the spread instead of shadowing her. He worried a part of him might want to paw for scraps, which only made him chuckle to himself.
The more she spoke about the food before him, the more his mouth watered. He realized then that he had only had coffee and half an apple to eat that day. He wanted to dig in right away, but her comment about doing anything before a meal made him pause. Hataru took a mental tally. He already had two showers today, so he knew his hands were plenty clean. Dressed and washed were usually the two big ones before a meal. There was one last thing. With a snap of his fingers, he looked at Mel with sudden realization.
"Ah grace," he said finally. Putting his hands together, he bowed his head for a moments silence. "Good mood, good meat, good god let's eat." With that he lifted his head, a smile on his face. Ah the small touches of home.
"No no, it all looks fabulous," he said in awe as he grabbed the bowl of mashed potatoes. "These are my favorite, ever since I was a kid. Gran used to scold me all the time for making sculptures with the scoops," he said as he took a couple dollops. "She always saw food as a time of reverence, not experiment. Me? I say, why can't it be both."
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Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 12:02 pm
"And here I"ve been thinking that this whole time I was the only one who did that." Shaking her head with a smile on her plate as she began to eat her salad. This was the first time she had ate with someone for dinner since the death of her grandfather.
"So did you have a nice nap, I didn't even know you where here. I figured you left the door unlocked for me though. Thanks for letting me cook you dinner." Mel was the kind of person who liked to share her talents. Cooking and farming where her only two, but still. Obviously she didn't have many friends, but everyone in the valley like her somewhat.
"So in the city my Grandpa tole me the celebrate a holiday kinda like this one. What was it called...mhh" She thought about it for a moment. Taking a bite of her salad as she did. Snapping her fingers together as she remembered. "Valentine's Day yes? What is it like compared to this one." Trying to make a conversation, and the fact she had never been to the city in her whole life. She had always wanted to go, but the seasons kept her busy, and the green house took her time in the winter. Mel figured she was young, maybe one day when she got older...
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 1:48 am
"Well back home that was the best we could get before the kids started getting antsy," he answered as he slid one of the steaks onto his plate. "Best to keep it short and sweet with eight kids at the table." Thinking of home made him smile a little sadly, but he soon was too preoccupied with the food to worry over what he could not change.
"I went for a little run beforehand, but yea. It helped a lot," he said between bites. He frowned a little at hearing the door was left unlocked. Hataru had no problem with her coming over, especially if she was going to be cooking like this for him. What troubled him was that back home he had always been so attentive to such a detail.
"Thanks for making it. I haven't had good home cooked food in a while." Hataru was in the middle of chewing a particularly rubbery piece of meat when she asked him about Valentine's Day and subsequently choked on it.
"The difference is a lot of exchanging of candy toys and cards, all fueled by the retail industry. It's a very shallow event," he replied in a steady voice.
He didn't hate the holiday because of the fact that he never got any such tokens from girls, at least not entirely. To Hataru, the whole affair was meaningless for everyone save those in love. And since most people weren't actively so, he thought it a waste of time and money. Though he gave koodos to the industries that made bank during that time. They thrived on pointless merchandise and fake mockeries of love. It was one of the reasons he thought marriages didn't last forever like they should. Not that he felt Mel really wanted to hear all of that. She probably would think he was depressing, or else opposed to romance, which was not true. At least not entirely.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:13 am
"Well that's to bad then. Grandpa said out holiday's here where always better. Never fully thought her was right." With that and a shrug of her shoulders she remembered something. Taking a bag from her basket she handed it to him. "I remembered the main reason I made them. I wanted you to have a token for it, you don't have to eat them, but they will smell nice for a few days. Oh! They are also pretty to look at...We all just really want you to feel welcome here."
Finishing her salad she refilled them both on drink before fixing her plate with some real food. "From the sounds of it you had a large family. What's that like?" She didn't want him to know how her mom had her when she was young then her father left before she was born. Mel didn't want other people's pity, she pitied the people that left her.
"We have another day in the winter that is kinda like this one. White day where they boys that received chocolate from a girl is suppose to give her something back white, but you're suppose to only do it for guys you 'like' then in the winter if the guy 'likes' you back you get something. None of us here really do that though. I give all my cookies away with out anyone knowing who did it, but Ruby told my secret to everyone. I see it more as, really giving thanks. Like for the kindness someone has show me. I usually only get white roses for white day"
White roses where actually a joke, since they meant innocent, and Mel had never had a serious relationship before. Hataru didn't need to know that either though. One rose from each guy she gave cookies to, though she figured it was someone's mother doing it. Either way.
Putting a strand of hair behind her ear she kept quiet. Not wanting to do all the talking, she hoped he'd asked her some questions. Mel was curious by nature, but at the same time she like telling him about the traditions of his new home. Already extremely she had somewhat became friends with him.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 11:11 pm
"Well that's not to say they're all bunk," Hataru quickly amended with one hand raised apologetically. "Halloween is pretty awesome. I mean, it's more or less a harvest festival, but everyone get's to dress up as monsters and get candy from all the neighbors."
Hataru eyed the bag she handed him, his nose already telling him that the contents were cookies. He wanted to remind her that he wouldn't eat them, but stopped just in time to hear her reasoning. After that, he set it beside his plate, unable to decline the gift. It was the first time a girl gave him something so personal after all. Back home, classmates would pass cards and candy, one and all the same. Nothing personal, just another name on their list.
"Thank you," he said sincerely, bowing his head bashfully. When she asked about his family, he didn't right away answer. Pushing his pile of gristle to the side of his plate, he thought about the home he'd left.
"If I had to sum it up, I'd have to say noisy," he stated finally with a gentle smile. "My mother was a sucker for a sad story, so she became a foster parent. I was one of eight kids she took in off the streets. She was strict when it came to her house rules, but she protected us," he said as a far off look clouded his eyes. "Gave us all the chance that the rest of the world would not have. They are the happiest days I can remember."
Shaking off the blank look, he focused on the girl before him and smiled just a little. "Well, the happiest so far at least," he added as he returned to his food.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 11:52 pm
"Like I said you can throw them away, but I wanted you to have something actually to show. I hope that's okay, I really put the effort into them. So I hope it is okay that I give them to you." She was just about as bashful as he was. Quickly she pushed it off and smiled listening to his story. It made her think of her own mother. How Mel was sure the woman had died of a broken heart barely even 24, and Mel was just 5 at the time.
Mel didn't think of it as sad. "Same for me as the time with my grandparents. I look forward to happy times. This dinner is the happiest I've felt in a long time. I haven't got to really cook for someone in such a long time, not a big meal anyway. I really miss eating with other people." She gave a laugh showing she really wasn't worried about it.
"Mhhh, we have a festival like that. I remember doing it as a child. Getting candy from neighbors. The children now don't really come up this way though. To far of a walk by themselves." With that she started eating her food again. Getting quiet as she ate, not able to think of other questions for him.
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 12:33 am
Hataru didn't say anything when Mel rambled about giving him the cookies. He already said he'd take them, and normally would have been annoyed, but she looked so pleased that he had accepted them, he didn't have the heart to verbally berate her.
"That's too bad. About the kids I mean," he answered after she explained the local harvest festivals. He was very interested to know the local customs, but somehow he knew that he wouldn't get the chance to attend most of them.
Taking his first sip of the lemonade, Hataru was pleasantly surprised that it had a well balanced taste. It wasn't too sweet, but not so tart that he made faces. It tickled his tongue in a tantalizing way.
"Wow, this is really good," he exclaimed.
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 1:09 am
Mel smiled and thanked him for the complement. That was basically how the rest of the dinner was. Clearing the dinner plates it was time for the her favorite part of the meal. Getting clean plates and things she cut two nicely sized pieces and places them on both of their plates. Taking a container out of the fridge that she had placed there when she first arrived.
Putting a good amount on home made whip cream on both of their slices. "Dig in!" With that and a smile she sat back down and quickly began eating her dessert. It was perfect, not even that sweet at all. All the ingredients melding to make the apples the star of the show. Almost as good as her gradmothers, not exactly there yet, but she had time. Looking up to see if Hataru liked it she noticed he had whip cream on the side of his face.
With out realizing it she reached acrossed the table and licked it off. Making nothing of it she sat back in her seat and continued to eat. Not exactly realizing she had just reached over and licked whip cream off of the boy she barely knew's face. On the edge of his lips none the less. More or less it was that she didn't fell sorry about. Mel didn't linger on little things, unless one of them wanted it to be a big thing.
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