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 Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 11:50 am
The prospect of heading out at 9 in the morning to slave over a meal for half the day was well... incredibly exciting for Aurora Namid! The past few Thanksgivings had been spent in different boarding schools. And while the meals were adequete, she didn't really get a chance to cook for anyone herself or spend it with anyone she really wanted to.
Cooking huge quanities of food was not something that bothered her.. with a father and six hungry hard working and growing brothers at home she was used to creating what many did for Thanksgiving at least once a week. No.. the actual logistics of it did not stress or bother her. If anything it was calming, almost mindless work that she could do while thinking about other things.
So the whole cooking thing hadn't even phased the young woman. It was the last message that her boyfriend had sent that had her a bit nervous as she neared the familiar home. Aurora had never met Azzo's family before.. which was stressful enough. But knowing how much that Azzo didn't like his father.. and how stressed and unhappy he'd been since they showed up, it only added to the mild tension and worry that she had.
Would they like her? Even though it probably didn't matter she'd taken care to pretty herself up to make a good impression. Hair perfectly arranged in it's many braids, light fresh makeup, her blouse and skirt outfit was modest but elegant. More importantly.. how would Azzo take it or react if they didn't like her? Would Azzo be moping or raging around all day? It wasn't like she could blame him... what with his worrying about his grandmother and the stress of his family being home.
The small bouquet of fall colored flowers, which contained a small tag wishing both a Happy Thanksgiving Get Well Soon, switched from her right hand to her left as she reached out to knock lightly on the door. Hopefully she was just worrying too much.
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 12:04 pm
Azzo's voice came muffled through the door. "I've got it!" He was headed then when his mother opened it instead. So he stood there eying her he loved his mother but sometimes things were important that he do them.
"Oh hello, are you Azzo's friend?" She asked with a smile. As she opened the door to let the girl in. The appeared a man beside of Azzo, taller; he looked almost like Lt Surge only black hair that was slightly graying. "Who's this?"
Azzo rubbed the bridge of his nose. "This is Aurora." He answered as he stepped away from his father and towards her, "Let me get those, mother really you could've invited her in." He said with a sigh.
"You can interrogate her later." He said under his breath as he held a hand out for the flowers, "Why don't you guys go back with Grams I'll show Aurora where everything is."
His mother looked at him curious, before nodding, "Oh how silly of me where's my manners. Come in, come in."
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 2:12 pm
The woman that came to the door was friendly enough, a face she'd never seen except maybe out of the corner of her eye through pictures around his house. She was old enough though, and her presence at the door had her guessing it was his mother. And for a short moment there was a pain in Aurora's chest, a deep desire and longing for her own mother. It was a feeling that was left to fade however when Azzo appeared.
His father was big and large.. but in a way quite different than her own father. Far more intimidating. She hadn't been expecting to be bum rushed at the door, but luckily she'd been to enough ettiquite classes in her lifetime to be able to hide the nervousness under a polite smile and bowing in of her hand and shoulder. "Hello. Pleasure to meet you."
A hand reached out towards his mother to introduce herself, when Azzo did the job for her, at the same time taking the flowers she'd brought. If she weren't trying to make a good impression she might have shot Azzo a look of his own for what seemed to her like mild disrespect. But she didn't try to stop him from leading her off either, offering an apologetic. "I suppose the sooner I start cooking the sooner we can eat."
She was... just a little curious though. His friend? Had Azzo not actually told them what she was? It certainly would make things a little easier but at the same time... she couldn't help for a brief moment think that he might been too embarassed of her to let that information slide. That couldn't be it though... what was their to be embarrased about?
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 2:52 pm
Azzo knew probably how Aurora was feeling as he managed to get them to the kitchen without a parade of it. He sighed and slumped into one of the chairs. "I'm sorry they've been nothing but...." He paused glancing at the closed door, "... a pain in the a** since they got here."
He'd stopped long enough to give Grams the flowers and let her see Aurora before excusing both of them to go to the kitchen. "They think it's my fault she fell... If I'd been here that wouldn't've happened, on and on and on." He ran a hand through his hair.
"Seriously if I wanted to feel like a rat I would've joined the army." His nose wrinkled, he had nothing but respect for the army but it wasn't his thing. He paused, "Oh I haven't had a chance to tell them..." he stopped eying the door... "they've been too busy telling me what I did wro..." He paused seeing the door move, "I know you're there mother." He added, brown eyes looking towards the swinging door.
Azzo's mother stuck her head in the door and smiled, "Haha you caught me." She walked in and looked around, "So Aurora was it? Do you need any help? I know my son can't cook, so maybe you need a capable hand?"
"You can't do any better last time I checked...." He chimed in and shook his head, "Anyways, Aurora this is my mother Glenda."
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:20 pm
He was obviously stressed... obviously upset and she couldn't blame him. Things had been intense lately, probably overwhelming for him, and there was little she could do about it other then simply give her support. When they reached the kitchen and Azzo slumped into a chair Aurora moved to stand behind him, one hand resting softly on his shoulder as the fingers of her other hand gently rustled and ran through his hair, voice hushed. "You know it's not your fault... There is no way you can be with anyone 24 hours a day. Don't let them get to you."
Her thought confirmed she leaned in, offering him a reassuring and she hoped comforting smile. "Shhh... It doesn't matter really. It's not like we're eloping tommorow or anything. It's probably easier this way anyway."
Her hands had slipped down to let her arms wrap loosely around his neck and she was leaning in to try and press a kiss against his cheek when he suddenly paused and his eyes darted to the door, addressing his mother. She nearly jumped out of her skin to scuttle away from him and towards the counter. Digging through the drawers for an aprons, she was quickly trying to tie one on herself as the offer sounded. "I'm really very used to cooking a lot of food myself so it's no problem. But I'd never turn anyway anyone who wanted to help."
Glenda... not Mrs Crowley? She seemed a little hesitant to call her by her first name. So for the moment she simply avoided it, looking between the two curiously. "Is there anything in particular I need to make? Any family favorites?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:35 pm
Azzo moved to get out the stuffing mix and the bread heals from the freezer. "There's a recipe for gram's dressin in the red book." He answered as he dropped the stuff on the table.
"She normally uses onions, celery and sometimes a little green pepper. Oh and chicken broth." He added as he pulled out those as well. "The sweet potatoes just need to reheated. She baked them the other day when she was making the pies."
"Did she managed to get the gravy?" She asked, "And you can call me Glenda if you want dear, or whatever you're comfortable with." She added to Aurora as she picked up another of the Aprons. "I'll start chopping the onion. It's something I won't mess up."
She stuck her tongue out at Azzo, "Besides I've learned how to cook, I just wouldn't've been able to do Gram's thanksgiving food. You have to remember you haven't lived up us since you were ten."
"It's easier this way" Azzo answered her and pulled out the Turkey making sure it was thawed, "If there's anything you like to make Aurora just let us know. It's not like it has to be the same every year. After the Turkey, Dressing and Gravy we sorta wing it anyways." He informed her.
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:31 pm
Special stuffing, check. Reaching for the red book, she flipped through the pages until she found the particular recipe, looking it over once before nodding softly. It seemed simple enough and Azzo was already pulling out the ingredients it called for.
"That would be lovely Glenda." She nodded to the offer, the name rolling off her tongue with a little trepidation. It would probably get easier with time though. She wouldn't have dared ever call her own parents by their first names... nor teachers.. but she had said it was alright.
A soft look of longing touched her as she watched the playful banter his mother shot him. But then she was back to business, lifting her fingers as she mentioned foods for their approval, seeming to get a little carried away and excited the more she spoke.
"So we have turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pies... How about a cheesey rice and brocolli casserole? And some regular mashed potatoes to go with that gravy. Rolls or bread of some sort of course. Cranberry sauce. Green beans with bacon and french onions?
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:50 pm
"As long as those green beans don't have mushrooms in them it sounds wonderful." She gave a nod as she chopped onions for the stuffing. Humming, "So Aurora is you're family not here for thanksgiving?" She asked curiously.
He placed the turkey in the skin before grabbing a pan for it, tapping at it and turning on the cold water to let it run over the bird while they worked.
"I didn't buy any cream of mushroom it's all cream of chicken and celeary. Oh right I did get Cranberry sauce!" He moved to the pantry and pulled out the few cans he had bought. "Green beans with bacon and french onions does sound good." He was digging and produced cans of green beans and paused. "Hmm.... I thought I bought...."
He shrugged, "Well I can try to find the french onion bag in a little bit... Do you want me to open these cans?" He asked as he moved to the can opener and grabbed some bowls from under the cabinet. The bacon he'd probably find for her after he found out what she wanted him to do with the cans.
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 1:56 pm
"No mushrooms" She repeated with a soft nod, making note to keep the ingredient out of anything that she was making. It shouldn't be that hard, since most of the ingredients were being provided and she was following other people's recipes it wouldn't likely come up. Her eyes glanced softly to the stuffing directions though in curiousity, always used to including mushrooms there herself.
The question surprised her a little bit despite the fact that it was pretty ordinary and expected. The answer though was easy enough. "My family is still all in Alaska so I usually don't see them more than once or twice a year. Maybe for Christmas this year."
"Azzo has been very kind though always letting me spend the holiday with him and his grandmother instead of alone at the Academy." Whether Azzo saw it or not an appreciative glance and smile was cast his way before she began to put some of the prepared items into a large bowl.
"Oh umm.. sure" She nodded a little to his question, musing mildly. "I'm not used to having so many helping hands. We're going to be done much quicker then usual. Not that that's bad, I know someone who's always hungry anyway."
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:51 pm
Glenda paused as she put the onions into a bowl and grabbed the celery to start chopping that before moving to chop the carrots. "That's a shame. Everyone should have their family at the holidays."
She paused when she looked at Aurora when she mentioned that Azzo let her stay with them for the holidays. That was before she glanced at her son curiously.
"Don't get any ideas mother." He said before shaking his head as he dumped the green beans into a pot. The dressing directions seemed pretty simple with bread crumbs, cream of chicken, carrots, onions and celery.
Azzo opened the cans of cream of chicken as well. He didn't comment on the always hungry. As he moved along and rinsed out the cans, "You don't need those do you?" He asked as he held up the cans.
He could grab the turkey and stuff out after he found out what she wanted with the cans. He glanced back at his mother, as she worked and kept glancing between them. "You know what I'm going to take this stuff out the recycle bin." He said as he walked out of the kitchen.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:25 am
"Family is very important" She agreed wholeheartedly, nodding very enthusiastically before she began to mix together the drier ingredients of the stuffing, awaiting the soup. "Even though I can't see them very often I speak to my Papa a couple times a week. And though I'd like to be closer... I really did love Crystal Academy while I was attending there. It's one of the better boarding schools I've been to."
There were other reasons of course.. but ones she couldn't duvulge. Not to her own father, so certainly not to Azzo's mother. But needless to say... whether or not she felt a desire to stay in Destiny City she was locked there by responsibility.
"I don't need them, thank you. Be carefully with the lids."
The looks that had been being thrown around and Azzo's sudden departure did not gone entirely unnoticed by Aurora. Perhaps she should have worded her answers more carefully... After a moment she added on lightly, speaking soft enough that she hoped Azzo wouldn't hear but with enough feigned indifference that she hoped Glenda wouldn't realize she was simply trying to backtrack and cover their level of intimacy. "It's too bad Melody has been so busy lately and can't be here. The three of us used to do everything together." Boys didn't usually have two girlfriends right? Especially not ones that knew each other.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 8:37 am
Glenda listened as Aurora talked about her family. "Sometimes I wish Azzo would do that. His father's got him so... well I don't know what it is but they never got along so I never get to speak him. Well, unless I call him."
She was leaning on the counter now that she'd finished chopping vegetables. "Are you done with school then?" She wasn't entirely sure how old the girl was. So it was a reasonable question, of course Glenda was curious as to why the girl hadn't gone back to Alaska if she was finished and family was that important.
There was a pause when Aurora mentioned Melody. There came a sudden thought to her mind and she frowned. "Ah yes well... that happens." There was a small shrug and she brought Aurora what she'd chopped.
"I think I'll go see what Conway and Fiona are doing."
Azzo paused as he was coming back from the garage as his mother stepped out of the kitchen. He slinked back so she wouldn't see him and waited until she'd gone in the living room. Once there was no risk of him being stopped by her he slipped back into the kitchen and started pulling out the Turkey.
"Sometimes I worry about her." He said lowly glancing back towards the door half expecting her to come back.
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 11:26 am
Aurora offered a sympathetic nod as Glenda mentioned Azzo's issues. Really.. she didn't get along very well either with her step mother, but it was one of those things that she was able to deal with. Because in her case she was always put first. And really.. Aurora was happy that while she was so far away her father and brothers did have someone there to take care of them.
"Graduated from Crystal Academy over the fall. But I'm going to be going to the university as of spring. So I've still got a few years to go."
The sudden departure of the woman made her wonder if perhaps she'd said something wrong.. frowning a little she turned her attention back to the food.
When Azzo reappeared she lifted her head, pondering his words for a moment before she answered, her voice lowered. "You think he's unkind to her?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 7:56 pm
Azzo paused as he glanced back to the living room. The question Aurora had asked took him some thinking over what the appropriate answer would be. "I guess it depends. He can be unkind to anyone, but intentionally hurt her? Never."
He leaned on the counter watching his girlfriend work, "He knows gram's is got enough fight in her left that if he did so much as hurt my mom she'd manage spank him. War hero or not."
Azzo sighed, "He's just disappointed in me because I never had an interest in going into the same war as he did. His ideal world is to have his son rank up and help train grunts in some far off country." He paused to sneak his hand into the cookie jar and steal a cookie.
"Obviously I'm defective, so he treats the boys in his training camp more like a son than I'll ever be." Azzo answered in an uncaring tone if anyone heard him or not. His mother knew his opinion of his father and so did his grams. He was nibbling on the cookie he'd just taken from the jar. "I'm the only one he's intentionally unkind to. He thinks he's teaching me a lesson by being that way, at least that's what me and Gramps came up with." This had obviously been a topic of conversation before.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:32 pm
She glanced up briefly from her work to look at him as he seemed to think, nodding softly when he finally gave the answer.
What a strange way the world worked. Did Azzo see the irony in it himself? Or was he so close to the situation that he couldn't see it.
Azzo didn't want to join a war.. and yet he had, whether by choice or force. And he was a good and dutiful solider at that, as dedicated as she was to the cause, willing to put it all above himself. Surely if his dad knew he'd have to be proud right..? But of course he couldn't tell him... so instead both would go dissapointed and jaded.
A hand reached out to touch his arm for a brief moment, a soft smile on her lips. "You know you aren't defective." Soft words, simple and matter of fact before she turned her gaze back down to the food.
What was it about holidays that always dragged up the family drama and strife? And what was it about families... that often clashed when they should have been embracing each other.
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