Bailey Bacardi half wondered if he was crazy for going to bother her for such a thing. Did he really have to learn? It wasn't like he couldn't live the way he and his family had been since as long as he'd been with them. But really, was that fair to Kahlua and Sinny and any other kids that happened to end up there?

His mother's tastebuds were shot, the only thing she could really taste anymore was orange juice and some booze. Charlie could taste things but wasn't picky. And none of them could cook to save their lives. They lived off of instant meals (they could all follow directions pretty well) or takeout. That was nice and all, but really it wasn't the most healthy option.

The solution, it would seem, would be for one of the kids to learn to cook - having no tastebuds or preferences tends to not be the makings of a good cook - and Bailey was the one that task would fall upon. Firstly, it fell to him because it was his idea and he was the one who really cared how or what they ate. The second reason was because neither Kahlua nor Sinny would be able to. Kahlua just wasn't cut out for kitchen duty - not that he wanted it anyway - and Sinny was just a baby.

This left Bails as the one who had to go out and find someone or something to teach him how to cook. His mother had let him go on his own - he could take pretty good care of himself, and he was responsible enough to actually come back so she didn't worry. He'd just have to search around till he found someone who could teach him the basics.

His first thought had been to look up cookbooks but a book just wasn't something he could learn from as well as he could learn from a person. That meant he had to find a teacher but there were very few people he could think of who could cook.

There was that guy Charlie had been seeing - he was a chef and knew was he was doing. But the snake boy didn't know Vic that well - had only met him once - and didn't think asking for such a thing would work as well. Plus learning from a master chef was a bit beyond the boy's level anyway; best to start with someone who cooked for the same reasons he wanted to.

His mind settled on one person he might be able to ask: Dixie. He'd met the woman only a couple of times but she was a member of Archie's family and a fellow ex-criminal, giving him a feeling of more comfort talking to her. He knew where her house was and knew she could cook - she'd been the one doing the barbecuing after all - at least a bit.

So that was what ended him up standing in front of Archie's old house in jeans and a t-shirt, knocking on the door and hoping to see Dixie. Man, he hoped he didn't screw this up.