Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. The keys were typed into the keypad from memory, their fingers swiping over the keys quickly.
Ding, ding, ding.
The elevator doors opened, letting the person on the other side enter. "Jace?" The voice rang out in the empty living room. "Hello, Jace? Are you here?"
Shoes began tapping on the floor as the unknown person began walking around the penthouse looking for the tenant. The living room was empty, as was the kitchen and laundry room, so they went to check his bedroom. "Jace? Are you in here?"
No answer. They walked around, knocking on the bathroom door and received no answer. Walking around to his bed, something caught their eye. They found their feet moving them to the direction of Jace's bedside table. On top of it was a photo of him holding a little boy with brown curls and green eyes on his shoulders. But what really pulled his attention, was shockingly, not the little boy that looked so natural with Jace. But the young woman standing next to them, and arm outstretched because she was taking the photo. Her hair was a brilliant red, eyes the same shade of green as the boy, and freckles that decorated her milky skin. Her lips turned up in a smile like the boys in the photo. How did he know her?
The unexpected guest set the photo back down and turned to leave the bedroom, but not before looking around the walls. Not many photos were on the walls, but all of them that were, either had that girl and boy in them, or the family of dark hair and blue eyes. None that had his biological parents in them.
Turning to the door, they left the bedroom and the penthouse without a trace. But the question still remained. Where did Jace meet this girl and her child? And what was did she mean to him?
"Jace, if you keep cutting potatoes like that, you'll cut finger off," Clary giggled as she watched her lion of a boyfriend attempt to cut the vegetable. And she proved herself to him nearly right when the potato slipped from his grip as he was bringing the knife down, luckily moving his hand just in time.
"Damn," Jace said as he dropped the knife and shook his hands out. "How is this so easy for you?" He turned to look at Clary genuinely curious. "You're so good at all of this, but how long did it take you?"
Clary smiled at him and shook her head as he picked the knife back up and went to try again. "Believe it or not, but I was quite terrible at it when I was younger. It took me years to get better at it, and I'm still not the best. I can cook and bake that's for sure, but it took me a lot of practice. For the first six months of Jonny's life he was on straight breastmilk, so I had plenty of food to practice with there, but when he started eating more solid food, the pressure became real. I watched my mom and helped her where I could when I was younger, so peeling potatoes and carrots were best for me. When it came to cut them, I got better with time, but my mom had to show me a lot." She looked down as the oven mitts in her hands contracted as she tightened her hands. Talking about her family always caused a sharp pain to pierce her heart; like breathing in a gust of cold air, it was like an ice pick to the lungs and heart. But it was also something that brought her relief; remembering them because as long as they were remembered, they were never truly gone. That pain was welcome because with it came so many memories, good and bad. So, she looked back up at Jace and her smiled softened as she threw her oven mitts on the countertop and walked over to him.
Coming up behind him she wrapped her arms around his torso slid her hands slowly over his arms and wrapped her hands around his. Cradling his left hand in hers was a bit complicated for her since that was the hand holding the knife and she was right-handed, but she could do it. Her right hand came down on his, but not to hold it yet, instead, she shifted the potato in his grip and moved his fingers to the best places and positions to avoid them being severed. "When you hold it this way, it helps guide the knife. It stops it from going too far over because you're thumb stops it and keeps it a straight cut. And using the back of the thumb also prevents you from cutting yourself," her voice was tight and restrained. She had never done this before, and her and Jace were incredibly close right now, it almost made her body vibrate. Her whole body felt warm and her nerves felt like they were on fire. Clearing her throat, she began talking again as she moved their hands to begin the slicing.
"Anyway, as you know, I didn't to always watch my mom, since she left. When I lived with Luke, I had to grow up more because he was sick, and he couldn't do nearly as much as he would have liked. Cooking and cleaning happened to be where I was needed most. And when he left and I went into foster care, I would try and help the same way, but not all of the foster parents were happy about that. Normally I just cleaned for them because they didn't like me making meals. Especially because they didn't really have a lot of food in the house, they liked it that way. They didn't want to spend all of their money on feeding us, so they bought the bare minimum, and it was always frozen food that required just a microwave. But when they worked night shifts and such, I would do light work at the grocery store for a few hours to pay for some food, and then I would go back to the house and make dinner. Some of the places I lived had stores that would do that, other times, I wasn't able to. But when I was pregnant and I finally got moved back here, I was always cooking. I kid you not.
"Every day, I made meal after meal after meal. And when I say meal, I mean it; it started off easy and as I went on, I made things that were very difficult. I started with the spaghetti dinner, but I chose to make my own noodles and sauce and garlic bread because I knew how to make it out of the boxes and jars. Then I stepped it up; I would make ones like roasted turkey with sides of mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. And then I went difficult: Salmon Nori Tacos. I couldn't even eat salmon, but I wanted to make it. So, I did, and it didn't come out like I wanted it to, but it was edible and somewhat presentable. And instead of wasting it, I took it to the homeless shelter because I knew that someone would eat it and would like it. I would take in hordes of food every day. Because I wanted to make sure I could make anything. I promised myself that I would make sure my baby ate healthy and that I could give him what he wanted. I never want him to go hungry. It was just something that I had to do. So, in all, it took me a long time to get this good at it," she smiled as she guided Jace's hands, cutting the potatoes into thin slices. Their hands had been moving in sync the entire time Clary had been telling him the story, and as she finished the story, she was letting Jace have the control as she held his hands. "And eventually, it just became a second nature to me."
"Incredible," Jace spoke softly admiring what they had done and what she was saying. The slices were not perfect, but they were very thin. "Question though, why do we have to slice them if they're just going to get mashed? Couldn't we just put them in boiling water?"
"We could, but it would take forever to cook. When you cut them thin like this the water has less to move through and it cooks them faster." Clary took her hands off of his and just wrapped them around his torso and laid her head against his back.
"I suppose that makes sense. Just like math or science. So that's all cooking is huh, chemistry?" Jace continued to slice the remaining potatoes, albeit more slowly since Clary removed her own hands, but still trying, nonetheless.
"That is very true actually. It's a good way to look at it. All of the measurements and ingredients could be seen as such, and you are creating a final product. With the mashed potatoes you are slicing the potatoes, and then you can measure out the water, get them to a boiling point to change the molecules in them to change their density. From there you'll measure out the other ingredients or spices, and they will all go together to make the final product. As long as you follow the directions and pay attention to it, you can't really go wrong."
"Oh, I beg to differ," Jace chuckled. "You'll understand what I mean when you meet Isabelle. She cannot cook to save her life; it doesn't matter how much she follows a recipe. Never eat anything that woman makes. You will probably get poisoned."
Clary laughed against his back and inhaled his scent through her nostrils, loving his scent of pepper and a cologne with a smell that she couldn't pinpoint. 'I'll remember that," she said softly biting her lip as he finished the last potato. "So, when will I meet her? Because she means a lot to you, and I would love to get to know her."
Jace dropped the knife and turned around in her arms to look at her and wrap his own arms around her. "I want you to meet her, but the last time we tried, traffic ruined the night. And trust me, she really wants to get to know you too. She hounds me about it every day."
Clary smiled, "I'm not going to lie. Part of the reason I want to meet her is because Jonny's birthday is in a couple of weeks, and I would like him to have you there, and the people you care about that will care about him too. From what you've said about her, she already sounds like she wants to claim him as a part of her family. I know that Magnus will be there, and I'm sure he wants Alec to go too, and I want him there, but I don't want to leave her out either. I want Jonny to know them better before his birthday comes if they want to go to the party." She blushed and looked away from his face, "And I really want them to like us."
Jace reached down and pinched her chin between his index finger and thumb, making her meet his eyes. "They already adore you, and I'm sure they would love to go to the party. I already bought Jonny a few presents; I know Alec and Magnus have too because Magnus mentioned the party to Alec, and they went nuts over it. And even though Isabelle doesn't know when his birthday is yet, I know she has bought some stuff for him already. And like I said, she is begging to meet you. So, here's an idea. Sometime this week; you pick the day; I will take you and Jonny out to Central Park for a picnic and we can invite them to meet with us. Totally neutral ground so no one feels trapped, and it's an open area for all of us to talk and get know each other and for Jonny to play around. Sound good?"
Clary smiled at him and nodded. "How about, not tomorrow, but the day after?"
"Sounds perfect to me," he leaned down and kissed her softly. When he pulled away, he was smiling. "So, what can I help with next?"
Clary laughed at him, "Well we still have to make the vegetables, but those will be pretty easy. We have broccoli that has to be cut up still since it came out of the green house. Then it just needs to be cooked, since the chicken is already in the oven."
"I think I can help with that," Jace smiled as he picked the knife back up in his left hand and getting a safe distance from Clary. "I'm becoming quite the culinary mastermind," He pretended to slice something midair making Clary laugh.
"Okay Fruit Ninja just take a pause. I can grab the vegetables so you can do that," She smiled as she went to the fridge and removed the freshly washed and dried broccoli stalks. "Do you want me to show you how to cut these?"
Jace smirked, "As long as you hold me like you did with the potatoes."
Clary laughed at him once again but still went toward him and wrapped her arms around him again to hold on to him.
"You know, I have to say thank you for actually taking the time to teach me. Even if it is just slicing and chopping food." Jace stopped the knife movements so he could look over his shoulder at Clary, since she had let go of his hands and had her arms wrapped around his torso again. "No one has ever tried to help me learn. The Lightwoods obviously care," his voice softened when he spoke of them as he began moving the knife again. "Maryse always expressed her concerns about my not knowing how to make anything not from a box. But she was always busy with work or something else, so she never taught me anything. But I also never asked her, because I always thought I would be just fine since food can be premade and frozen then heated back up. Pretty much everything is; and there is take out too. I can go to any restaurant and eat whatever I want. But I actually kind of like this. I like feeling useful and independent. I know that with what you are showing me, I can use every day, and it makes me feel pretty good to be honest. I don't know why, but it does."
Clary smiled and hugged Jace tighter, burying her face in his back and smiling before she spoke her thoughts. "Probably because it is a tool that you are learning to be independent. It is one less thing that you have to rely on someone else for. And it also means that the better you get at it, the more confident you get. And with that means more freedom with it. You can make anything you want, whether it be for yourself or someone else. Your parents never taught you how to be self-sufficient and healthy, they want you to depend on someone else. To spend money on something that you never knew that you could do on your own. I bet you, that neither your mother nor father could make their own meals anymore. Maybe once upon a time they could, but they have forgotten it all and now depend on someone else to do it for them. Same for cleaning."
Jace chuckled, "I swear, you're a psychic. I don't know how you know so much about them, because that really isn't something they broadcast outside of their home. Now when they have guests, that is a totally different story. They make sure that everyone knows they have a maid and a chef and a butler and so on. They try to make themselves look wealthier than they actually are, and they enjoy making people feel like they are less than them." Shaking his head in disappointment, he sighed. "I am actually ashamed to be related to them."
Giving him a little squeeze, Clary sighed in relief. "I like hearing that you don't agree with how they are given that fact that they are your biological parents. You wouldn't believe how many people I have met that try to justify their parent's actions and put up with their behavior and abuse. I'm relieved that you don't. I know without you having to say it too because of the little things you do. Like learning how to cook just to give one example. And not I'm not a psychic." She giggled at the remark. "But I have known a lot of people like that, unfortunately, I do business with a lot of them. Most people who have the wealth, abuse it and you would be amazed at the fact that they can wipe their own ass without requiring assistance."
Jace dropped the knife and burst into a fit of laughter without even thinking about it. Normally he was reserved and didn't show much emotion without thinking about it and processing it first. "You are the biggest gust of fresh air ever!" He choked on his laughter as he turned in her arms to hug her to his chest again. "By the angel, Isabelle is going to fall at your feet!"