Fan Fiction |
by TheTruthLies
“Hey, you’re up,” Ah Sze said when she came out of the kitchen and spotted Man Gwan in the hallway looking a little confused. “I’m sorry, did the noise wake you?”
“Yeah, but it’s okay. It’s getting late anyways, not good to sleep too much.”
“Would you like some breakfast? There’s rice porridge with chicken.”
She did feel a little hungry. “Sure.”
“Take a seat, I’ll heat it up for you.” She went back into the kitchen.
Man Gwan looked around, but there was no sign of Alan anywhere. She then remembered the question she had in her head when she woke up. “Why was I sleeping in your room?”
Ah Sze brought out the porridge, “Oh, you were sleepwalking.”
“I was? Funny, I haven’t slept walk in a long time. It’s probably because I’m in a new environment.” Ah Sze set the bowl in front of Man Gwan. “So where did you guys sleep?”
Ah Sze took a seat next to her, “Alan slept in your room and I slept with you.”
“Sorry for the inconvenience, but it’ll usually go away after I get used to my surroundings.”
“No need to apologize, it wasn’t like you knew what you were doing.”
Man Gwan scooped a spoonful of porridge and blew on it to cool it down. After it cooled enough she put it in her mouth. “This is good. Wow, you’re a good cook,” she complimented.
Ah Sze chuckled, “Actually, I didn’t make it.”
“Who did? Alan?”
“No, it's store bought.”
“I take it you can’t cook?”
She felt slightly embarrassed. “Well, I can make a few dishes, nothing spectacular.”
“I’ll teach you.”
“You cook?”
“Yeah, for the past year, I’ve been cooking my own meals. I’ve received quite a few compliments too. I don’t think you would be disappointed.”
“Since you’re offering, how can I refuse?”
“Great! After breakfast let’s go grocery shopping and I’ll teach you how to dazzle Alan.”
They laughed.
Man Gwan kept her word. They went grocery shopping at noon. Man Gwan even taught her cousin-in-law how to pick fresh ingredients. A good meal requires good ingredients. After shopping they stopped by a restaurant for lunch and Man Gwan insisted upon paying, but Ah Sze wanted to pay. To settle their dispute, they played rock, paper, scissors to see who would pay and Man Gwan won.
When they returned home, they quickly gathered all the ingredients and started to cook. Man Gwan gave the directions and Ah Sze executed them. When she didn’t get it to be quite right, Man Gwan stepped in to show her how. The kitchen became a battle zone. It was the messiest it has ever been. It was a good thing though. All the fancy appliances were finally being used at its full potential and not sitting there collecting dust.
At 5:30, Ah Sze heard the door open. “It must be him.” She went over to the door and Alan walked in.
“Honey, I’m home.” He gave her a kiss on the forehead and notice that she had flour all over. “What have you been doing?” She removed his coat for him and took his briefcase.
“It’s a surprise,” she said slyly and took his belongings into the room. Alan scratched his head. He went over to the coffee table to check the mail. They were all junk. Ah Sze came out and dragged Alan to the dining room.
“What’s going on?”
“Tada!” She removed the lids of three plates.
Alan was speechless. “You made all this?”
“With the help of Man Gwan. We spent all day for this meal.”
“Man Gwan could cook?” Ah Sze nodded. Alan sat down and tried the dishes. “Mmm…this is good. I must say, I’m pleasantly surprised. Thanks honey.”
“I’m not the one you should be thanking,” Ah Sze reminded him. Man Gwan came out of the kitchen and Alan nodded in acknowledgement. “Sit down, we can all eat together.” They took their seats and joined Alan. “When did you learn how to cook?” The question was clearly directed at Man Gwan.
“In the past year.” She smiled.
“So it’s a new skill. That’s a good start. At least you’re finally contributing something for a change.” Her smile faded and Ah Sze glared at him.
Man Gwan quickly finished her bowl of rice and asked to be excused. She went into her room and shut the door.
“Would you stop that?”
“What? I was complimenting her.”
“Next time, do it in a nicer way. She’s our guest and deserves to be treated like one.” Ah Sze collected all the empty plates and bowls and took them to the sink. Alan got up from the table and went towards the sink. He rolled up his sleeves. “What are you doing?”
“The dishes.”
“It’s okay, I don’t need help.”
“Think of it as my punishment for being so rude,” he smirked.
“Fine, we’ll do them together.” Ah Sze put some soap on the sponge and scrubbed away. Alan was responsible for rinsing and drying. While he was rinsing a plate, Alan accidentally got Ah Sze wet. “Hey!”
“Oops, my bad.” A crime like that doesn’t get way that easily. Ah Sze retaliated by splashing him. “That’s it, you’re asking for it.” Washing dishes turned into a game to see who can get the other person wetter. Pretty soon they were both soaking wet. The kitchen looked like it had just been in a flood. Ah Sze slipped, but Alan caught her in the nick of time. They both started cracking up. They hadn’t had this much fun in a long time.
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(c) March 30, 2006 TheTruthLies