Hunting the Fairy Tale

Chapter 12 - Deviant Dudes

Becca

"Thanks for the coffee, Bee," I say, leaving the kitchen table to put my cup in the dishwasher.

"No problem," Beth whispers absently. We'd been sitting at the table together, chatting about our day. Beth is browsing one of the cookbooks from the high stack she created. She's obsessed with cooking. Always has been.

Oh, I love being here with her. It's peaceful, cosy, safe, and carefree...

Well, almost. I need to get on my feet and start to contribute instead of being taken care of. Beth is constantly saying that she wants Willow and me to stay with them forever, but that is definitely not going to work. She's a married woman with a family of her own. They need their space.

"What if I made some green beans in tomato relish to offset the creaminess of the scalloped potatoes? That will be nice, don't you think, Becks?"

I swivel my eyes to look at the various pots on the stove and the covered dishes ready to form part of dinner. The kitchen smells like cooking heaven, which is hell since I'm rather hungry. I've snacked on a couple of Beth's homemade biscuits with my coffee just now. That did nothing to stop the fragrance of dinner from enticing me.

"Sounds awesome, but how about you don't cook enough food to feed the entire district of Fairweather, from Durian Bay all the way up to Thunder Ridge?"

Beth makes a face at me and rises from the table to start making her green beans and tomato relish.

"That is not a goal I'll ever be able to achieve, Becks. Have you met my son?"

I laugh. I have met him, and he certainly has an appetite that leaves the mind boggled as to how he's not built like Jabba the Hutt from the Star Wars movies Beth and I enjoyed so much when we were kids.

"Point taken. I'm going to get out of my work clothes now, then I'll come and give you a hand with the food."

"Thanks, but there's no need. Willow already helped me with the prep work. Just come feed me wine and keep me company," Beth smiles at me.

I stop at the kitchen door, cocking my head. The house is awfully quiet, except for the baby story on the TV in the living area being ignored by Frankie. He is using all kinds of self-produced sound effects while he's playing with his toys. Last night I'd come home to rock music and video game sounds and a living area that looked like a warzone with Hunter as ringmaster of the chaos. 

Aside from Frankie's toys and the story softly playing on the TV, the living area is rather well-preserved tonight. There'd also been no sign of Willow when I popped my head into the study and then her bedroom to say hello to her. The house is also rather blissfully free of Little-Piddle's hysterical voice.

"Where is everybody?"

"Dunno. I saw Hunter drag Willow and the dog out of the house a while ago," Beth shrugs.

Did Willow go somewhere with Hunter? Willingly?

I know she travels to school and back with him, but I've seen how ill-at-ease she is around him. It would be lovely if she'd let her guard down long enough to actually become friends with him.

"I think I'll rather make some creamed spinach..." I hear Beth talking to herself, as I leave the kitchen. I thought she was planning to counteract the creaminess, not add to it.

I'm just entering the foyer, my head filled with visions of a hot bath and a glass of wine when the front door bursts open, spilling Willow, Little-Piddle, and Hunter onto the white stone floor.

They stop when they see me and, to be honest, I'm not quite sure what I'm witnessing. Willow looks miserable and bedraggled. She's wearing one of her sweet knee-high dresses and a black t-shirt at least 3 sizes too big for her. She is dripping wet, clutching Little-Piddle to her chest with shaking hands. Hunter is not wearing a shirt. He is dressed in flip-flops, wet tracksuit pants, and a glorious golden tan. His skin is puckered with goosebumps. They are both sculpted in sea sand.