|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:49 am
Backdated to May 2025 With Teddy off to play with Abby, Henry, and Elsie, and their other friend Lola, Chris could finally turn his attention on Teddy’s older brother and apparent guardian. Admittedly, he knew very little about Cary or Teddy, although it wasn’t for lack of trying. Teddy had been frequenting their home at least once a week for a while now, and Cary was always with him. There was a part of Chris that wished Michael would have been that way with him, but he understood why that was never the case.
Cary was closed off and cautious. Skeptical but polite. He seemed more concerned about Teddy than himself, which Chris didn’t blame him for, since he felt the same way about his own children.
He just wished he could figure out a way to get Cary to talk to them, and not just give generic answers. Paris tried as well, of course. But there was only so much she could do before she just shrugged and decided Cary just needed his space. There was probably a really good reason why he was untrusting of adults.
“Are your teachers really giving you a lot of homework so close to the end of the year?” he asked with a smile from where he was standing at the island counter in their kitchen. He’d set Cary up in his usual spot at the breakfast table next to the large window that looked out over the backyard, which was strung up with decorative lights so they could see the children as they tried to catch fireflies.
They weren’t alone, of course. Eld was out there with them, and Chris could have sworn he saw the swish of Lucasta’s tail in the bushes.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:55 am
The truth was, no. He was giving himself quite a bit more homework as well. He didn’t want to lie to Chris but he was somewhat reluctant to open up about the truth of it all. Over the months that he’d been coming here, he’d become very aware of how polite and courteous the adults were, but he kept waiting for the other foot to drop. Most of the time, they exchanged a few words, and then they went about their business and left him to his quiet corner, where he did his best to stay out of sight so Teddy could spend time with his friends and pretend like Cary wasn’t there, too.
He appreciated that Chris had gone out of his way to give him somewhere by the window so he could keep an eye on Teddy while giving him some space, but he was always worried about being too present whenever anyone else was in the kitchen.
“I have some makeup work,” Cary said somewhat cautiously. He didn’t want Chris to think he was stupid. He wasn’t smart but he was overworked. He knew he could do better, but he was doing the best he could.
“I’m really close to bumping up my grade. I wanted to try.”
He’d finished the worksheets he needed to already, which left him with some time to do his own personal studying. He’d borrowed a book on budget planning and financial responsibility from the library and had been taking detailed notes while he tried to build a better framework for himself. It wasn’t like he was hiding the info–he was, he had a stack of papers to carefully conceal just what he was working on, in a way that would have made it easy to hide somewhat inconspicuously if anyone came over.
Cary chewed on the inside of his lip, torn from raising his gaze to meet Chris’ while they spoke and leaning into the book to look busy. He wasn’t trying to sound rude; he knew that normal conversation flow should dictate that he say something more in response. He clammed up instead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 9:56 am
As always, Cary was quiet and closed off. It wasn’t unexpected, although Chris was running out of ideas to gently pull Cary out of his carefully constructed fort of protection. Chris didn’t want to do anything that would upset Cary, but there was so much below the surface that he felt was important to dig to that he felt like he needed to at least try.
He didn’t mind when Cary didn’t really respond, or give him more to keep a conversation going. And Chris didn’t want to interrupt him if he really was focusing on studying. Like he always was, it seemed.
Instead, he took the time to check the oven. Satisfied with what he saw, he pulled out a tray with what looked like biscuits.
“Does Teddy like strawberries? I wanted to make some strawberry shortcake. The twins and Elsie love them. They’re best when they’ve cooled for a bit. Want to be my taste tester? I want to make sure I don’t put too much sugar on everything. Or not enough!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:02 am
What was Chris actually saying? Cary heard the words, but it was as if he gave himself an extra hurdle to jump over not just to understand them but to dissect them, too.
The whole kitchen smelled good so Cary really doubted there was any reason to need a taste tester.
“He likes strawberries,” he said cautiously. It didn’t look like Chris was making cake though, so maybe he was actually bad in the kitchen. Something in Cary’s mind was short-circuiting because the twins and Elsie love them but Cary didn’t actually know what shortcake was. Biscuits? But didn’t you bake things into the batter, or…?
Teddy would be happy–or at least polite–whether or not something was too sweet or not sweet enough, and if his friends liked it, Teddy probably would too.
Cary’s stomach had sunken a bit, because he didn’t know what to expect from whatever project Chris was working on. His kids seemed to like him, and Cary had come to trust that the food was safe to eat, but he was still wary about things he couldn’t identify. How was he supposed to know if something tastes good if he didn’t know what it was supposed to taste like in the first place?
He didn’t want to disappoint Chris, who had been polite and friendly and always very accommodating. Cary knew he was dead weight and an awkward plus one on all of Teddy’s play dates so he supposed Chris was probably just trying to be a good host. He didn’t have to work as hard as he did; Cary could have just sat quietly, out of the way, until it was time to go home.
“I…can try. I don’t know if I’d be a good taste tester, sorry. I don’t eat a lot of sweets,” he said, because he didn’t want to just admit that he honestly had no idea what a strawberry shortcake was and he didn’t want Chris to think he was dumb. “But I’m sure however you make them will be good,” he insisted, even if he doubted it would save much face.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:03 am
Chris did his best to hold back a smile. He didn’t want to startle Cary or make him think there was anything weird going on. He already knew that Teddy had never had strawberry shortcake before, because his own children told him how horrible it was that he’d never had some before. Which led to him getting strawberries for a quick summer treat.
“Don’t worry, it’s not too sweet. Just a little bit of sugar in the dough. Ah, shoot. I forgot I needed to make the whipped cream. Have you ever used a hand mixer before? Would you mind helping me out while I get the strawberries ready?” he asked, wincing apologetically.
“Unless you’re really busy with studying. Sorry, I’m not trying to get you to stop.”
He was. He was trying to get Cary to engage however he could, rather than just sitting there. He had a feeling that there were a lot of things Cary and Teddy were missing out on, based on what the twins said. Although apparently it was just as hard to get information out of Teddy as it was Cary.
“It’s really easy. I just have some heavy whipping cream and you hold the mixer in the cream until it turns into whipped cream,” he explained, pulling out the hand mixer from the cabinet below the counter and holding it up for Cary to see. The beaters were already attached, almost as though he’d prepared for this ahead of time. Not that Cary would know that. Hopefully. He was a very perceptive kid, so he had to be careful about any white lies.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:03 am
Oh no, Chris was asking him to do something. He’d given him an out–’if he was really busy studying’. Yes, Cary was really busy studying, but he couldn’t just say ‘no, I don’t want to help.’
It was the perfect trap but Chris didn’t look like the devious sort. Cary looked down at his notes and felt an anxious twist in his gut. “Um, no. I can take a break,” he said, and quickly collected his things a bit. He assumed he’d be going back to his desk but he couldn’t risk someone wandering over there and seeing what he was working on. Besides, it looked messy if he wasn’t there actively working.
“I’ve never used one before,” he said, already dreading what felt like an inevitable failure. Chris said it was easy so that only made it worse.
He’d seen hand mixers before. His parents had at least four, and maybe two dozen beaters to go with them, and a slew of accessories that he couldn’t identify. He didn’t know what they did or what they were for; he couldn’t remember the last time he’d even seen his parents cook.
“Can I please wash my hands first?” he said, already rolling up his sleeves. He looked at Chris like he needed to get permission before touching anything in the kitchen, but it wouldn’t have been hygienic for him to not wash up when dealing with food. He also quickly reached up to pull out his hair tie and make a tighter ponytail behind him and brushed off his clothes to make sure he got rid of any invisible dust.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:04 am
“Please, I insist,” Chris nodded in agreement as he took a step back from the counter to give Cary room to get washed up. He hadn’t commented on it before, but he’d noticed that Cary especially liked to keep clean. Which was why he always made sure wherever they set him up had been scrubbed clean of any crumbs left by the children.
To hopefully make Cary feel better about making sure everything was clean, Chris pulled open a drawer with neatly folded dish towels, and placed one on the counter beside the sink for Cary to use once he was done.
“The concept is pretty simple. I hope you don’t get too bored with it. You basically just need to make sure it doesn’t turn into butter. Don’t worry, you’ll know long before you've reached that point. And I’ll be right here cutting the strawberries,” he promised as he pulled out some of the heavy whipping cream and poured a generous amount into a pre-chilled bowl.
“The colder it is, the faster it’ll get whipped up,” he explained, but was patient to wait for when Cary seemed ready for more instructions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:05 am
Cary found comfort in the predictability of washing his hands while he listened to Chris. It was a minor distraction but he clung to it. Something he knew how to do and something he didn’t.
His stomach was stupidly doing flip-flops and he found the energy to resent himself for panicking but tried to ration that this was just going to take a moment. Chris knew that he was new to it. He could have done it himself if he wanted perfection, so by asking Cary he was already prepped for disappointment.
“Okay,” Cary said lamely. He’d washed his hands well, scrubbed them clean and dried them with the same enthusiasm, and then stepped over to the bowl Chris had prepared for him. He seemed ready to try, but really he was just ready to get it over with. The more time between now and when he started, the more time he had to imagine all the ways he was going to mess up.
Make the liquid into whipped liquid but not butter. But didn’t they make whipped butter? How did he know when it was turning into butter? Had he ever had butter in his life???
Cary had a miserable look on his face and was already so caught up in thinking about the ways he could ruin this that he didn’t even have the brain power to keep a straight face about it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:05 am
Chris felt bad, but he didn’t lose the smile he wore. Trying new things was scary, so little steps at a time was important. Besides, he was just trying to gage what Cary was comfortable with.
He handed him the mixer and pointed to the buttons. “That turns it on. Do it before putting it into the bowl. It won’t spray everywhere, I promise. Then turn it up by two and, well… just hold it there until you can see it start getting less liquidy.”
He reached over to make sure the cord was plugged in, and pushed the bowl a little close to Cary. He’d already washed his hands, but since it seemed like a very important thing for Cary, he made sure to turn to the sink to wash his hands again before handling the strawberries.
“It’ll take a few minutes. It’ll look like nothing’s happening at first. You can move the beaters around in the bowl to get to the edges. We’ll try some sugar with it in a bit.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:08 am
Cary drew in a deep, dreadful breath and held it. The mixer was plugged in. Chris was working on the strawberries. He didn’t really have an excuse to procrastinate.
If he splattered batter everywhere, he’d just clean it up. It was fine.
Chris has promised it wouldn’t spray everywhere so he was trusting him. The mixer wasn’t as loud as he thought it would be, which was an immediate relief. He was very careful, shifting positions and hunching over the bowl just slightly so that if it did splash everywhere, the mess would get onto him and not Chris or the kitchen.
No mess, yet. He touched the tip of the beaters to the liquid. They splashed a little but it didn’t leave the bowl. He pressed them deeper, and then turned it up by two.
He did everything Chris had said.
Nothing had exploded.
Cary was still holding his breath so he had to force a slow, steady release. He angled his head away from the bowl just to make sure he didn’t accidentally get his air on it.
For the first few seconds, he just held it perfectly still. Chris said it would take a few minutes but Cary figured he was doing something wrong. Oh–maybe because he wasn’t moving the beaters around in the bowl. He could do that.
He moved in a very precise, evenly paced circle to make sure he gave every part of the bowl the same attention.
Cary stayed on high alert, torn between watching the liquid as it mixed and trying to keep a psychic eye on Chris so he’d know if he was being watched, as if doing so would allow him to immediately detect a mistake and correct it.
He knew he should say something, he just couldn’t think of conversation and focus on not destroying the kitchen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:08 am
Chris thought Cary was doing a good job! And maybe he would never want to do it again, and that was fine, but he hoped that Cary would learn that he could trust him, at least a little. At least when it came to simple instructions and making stuff in the kitchen.
He didn’t watch Cary too much. He was pretty confident he knew how long it would take for the cream to get whipped, so he focused his attention on slicing up some fresh strawberries and tossing them into a bowl with some sugar.
And really, he didn’t mind if Cary did turn the cream into butter. They had plenty of cream. And if all else failed, they had the ready made stuff, just in case.
“Sorry it’s such a tedious task,” he apologized, offering Cary another sympathetic smile. “But I think you’re almost there. Just a little more. See the folds in the cream? Once it starts looking a bit more like clouds, you’re done. If you stop too soon, we can just mix it up some more,” he promised.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:09 am
There had to be some point to this, Cary just couldn’t figure out what it was.
Yes, he was helping, that was the point, but Chris had given him this task. He hadn’t asked him to toss the strawberries in sugar–which seemed much easier. But Chris was capable. Cary might not have said much but the table he often sat at to do his homework gave him a good look. Chris didn’t seem to struggle to make food, or sweets.
He couldn’t have been afraid of the mixer.
So why had Chris asked him to do this?
Cary couldn’t figure it out. There had to be a purpose.
“Okay,” he said cautiously. He still watched the cream with an intense gaze but his face had relaxed somewhat. He didn’t look so miserable now that he was settling into some sort of normalcy. He’d still feel better when he was done with this.
How much closer to clouds could cream look? What sort of clouds was Chris looking at?
Cautiously, and only because he could feel the cream getting denser, he looked up at Chris.
“Does this look right?” he asked, like he already expected to be told something was off.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:13 am
Chris glanced over at the whipped cream Cary was working on, this time a little more obviously than simply watching in his peripheral. He didn’t want Cary to feel like he was being crowded or watched, so he purposefully made sure Cary knew when Chris was looking.
“That looks perfect. Here, I’ll get you a tasting spoon. I hope you don’t mind. We use a different one each time. Don’t worry, we have plenty,” he explained, pulling out a small spoon that Cary could use to taste the whipped cream once he’d turned off the hand mixer.
“It won’t taste like much. Just cream. I usually like to add in about a spoonful of sugar, but let me know if sweets aren’t your thing. The strawberries will still have a nice tang to them, and the cakes have some sugar, but it’s not too much.
There were a lot of things that Chris had observed about Cary that he hadn’t been able to address with him. He seemed so ready to close himself off, so… Chris wasn’t exactly giving up, but he figured there was no point in trying to force it.
“It’s not always easy to spot when to stop on the first try. I think you did a good job. The first time I tried making this uh… well, let’s just say I know it’ll take a while before it turns into butter, but it’s possible,” he smiled a bit sheepishly.
“And that was just about a month ago!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:16 am
Cary didn’t believe him.
He looked so put together, how was he supposed to believe that Chris couldn’t do this a month ago. He’d been teaching Cary as if he had been a professional all along, like he’d been doing it for years.
But what was Cary supposed to do, call him out? That seemed like a fast way to get on his nerves and lose whatever this thing was that they’d built over the last few months.
Cary was an unfortunate accessory; wherever Teddy went, he stayed nearby. He wasn’t here because he had any right or reason to be. Teddy’s presence was conditional on his, and he thought he’d done a good job staying as much out of the way as possible. He was quiet, didn’t take up much space.
He did strange little tasks when asked. In his heart, he knew Chris didn’t need help. He just couldn’t figure out what the purpose of this was.
But, if Chris said he needed help, Cary helped. If he said he only learned how to do this a month ago, okay. If he wanted Cary to taste the whipped cream, he could do it.
“I don’t mind sweets.” He just didn’t like how much bugs liked them, too. If he couldn’t keep the conversation going, it felt like he was failing, and he didn’t want to go from being ‘Teddy’s overprotective brother’ to ‘Teddy’s weird overprotective brother’. If he could fill the silence, maybe he could find out what this was all about. Was Chris trying to lead into an excuse to have some weird conversation? Maybe he was going to tell Cary that he shouldn’t come by anymore. Or that they were moving and Teddy was going to lose his friends.
Cary could have come up with a dozen more possible ‘big conversations’ hiding behind Chris’ polite chatting but instead of dwelling on them, he asked, “What did you do differently to make it into butter?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2025 10:17 am
Chris laughed warmly at Cary’s question. And maybe a little embarrassedly. He made sure Cary had a spoon to try the whipped cream, and gave the cut up strawberries sprinkled with sugar another stir in their bowl.
“Well… I got distracted. Instead of holding the hand mixer, I thought I would save time by setting it on the stand it comes with. I thought I could multitask, but let the cream whip for too long and… well, we had some very good whipped butter for our toast for a week.”
So that Cary wouldn’t have to worry about messing with it, Chris offered to take the hand mixer from him. He would just pop off the attachments and scoop everything clinging to them into the bowl. With a clean spoon of course.
“I’m good with math, so I figured that putting ingredients together would be easy. But there’s a bit of an art to it as well. I don’t like mixing up the strawberries too early because the sugar will break them down into syrup faster, and they won’t be as crisp. So I tried doing everything at once, and that was a horrible mess. So, I really appreciate your help with this, Cary.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
