17

James realized that he really missed Jean the night after she traveled to Hawaii with his underboss. He was cleaning out his attic with the help of some housekeepers (Lord knew Avery wouldn’t do it) when one of them stumbled upon a box full of old memories. He told them to take a break and come back when he requested them. The first thing he saw when he opened the cardboard box was a souvenir Jean had got for him that time when she traveled to Brazil. It was a dancing doll dressed in colorful attire that bobbed its waist whenever he hit it; next were some old jerseys he knew Jean also had and a LOT of pictures. He sat cross-legged on the dusty hardwood floor and looked through the pictures one by one, noting every detail and remembering the days they were taken. There were pictures of him and friends, just his friends, he, Jean and friends and there were some of just him and Jean. The last picture was one he and Jean had taken on their second year anniversary. He could remember that he had taken her to a field on a picnic date and they had taken them on his phone but he had had his photographer friend edit it and print hard copies of it. As he studied the picture, he noticed that Jean's hair was shorter and her smile was extremely wide; her eyes were squinted but you could still see the happiness in them.
The last picture was one of only Jean. He had taken the picture the day he had proposed to her. She was wearing a sweatshirt she had stolen from him and her hair was up in a bun. Her eyes were wide with glee as she stared at the ring he had given her. He wondered what had become of the said ring now. Times had been perfect back then.
He swallowed as he quickly tucked the picture away, remembering that that happy glint that was once in her eyes was gone now and replaced by an empty pit after years of ruthless bargaining and wallowing in nothing but sorrow.
It was all my fault. I did that to her, he thought, I did that to Jean.
Five minutes later, he had safely tucked the box away and the housekeepers were back to work.

Jean woke up around 6 pm feeling refreshed. She had slept wonderfully well and she knew it. She and Jason had talked until late morning and he had made a batch of pancakes which Jean had basically devoured. She had slept for about seven hours now and she could feel every bit of the well-needed rest deep in her bones. As she got up from bed, her stomach growled when she straightened and she made a beeline for the kitchen not bothering to think about the fact that she already ate before sleeping. She absolutely loved cooking despite the fact that she never actually got to do it a lot and this kitchen lured her like a bee to honey.
She racked her brain for what to cook before finally settling on one of her favorite meals of all time. So simple, yet so sweet. She opened the huge fridge and she was amazed by the sight in front of her. Looking through all the cupboards, she clapped her hands in glee; every ingredient she could think of was here and so was every appliance and crockery she could possibly imagine. Getting to work on her meatloaf, she set the oven and started mixing the batter. Hers wasn’t the basic meatloaf but she added so many things, she couldn’t quite remember the recipe; she was just so sure it would taste good. Bringing out the biggest baking pan she could find, she carefully spread out the chunky batter evenly in the pan and popped it in the oven.
While it was in the oven, she peeled potatoes and left them to boil while cutting up vegetables and mixing a salad. She found some instant gravy in the cupboard and made that too. After mashing the potatoes, she settled back to savor the smell of the baking meatloaf.
“That smells heavenly!” Jean turned around to face a bedraggled Jason with a dopey grin on his face, “Just hope it tastes as good as it smells.”
“That is a sure thing and stop salivating.” Jean laughed, earning a roll of the eyes from Jason who went to switch on the TV that was perched on the glass wall in the living room, not before she noticed him check for actual drool on his chin.
The timer dinged and Jean bent to check her meatloaf. It looked just about good and she put it on the cooling rack to cool off a bit. Then, she got dessert started. She could bake a cake with blindfolds on and she left the batter mixing in the machine before paying attention to the meatloaf and cutting it into slices.
Wow, my multi-tasking really pays off in the kitchen, she thought, I should do this more often, to be honest. She brought out two plates and put four squares each, arranging them carefully to form one big square in the middle of the plate. The mashed potatoes went on top and then the salad. She carefully poured gravy over it all until she got her desired amount. She looked over at the cake batter which looked just right and poured it into a cake pan. She placed it in the already hot oven and set the timer on the oven.
By the time she carried the food to the dining area, Jason was already waiting with fork and knife in hand like a young boy. Giggling, she placed his plate in front of him and sat down next to him on the huge dining table that could probably seat twelve people without their elbows touching.
“This is so much better looking than the food at the cafeteria of my office. Thanks.” Jason said and he dug into his food without waiting for an answer.
“Oh. My. God. This is so good,” he groaned, “I mean, my taste buds are having a party right now.”
“Um, thanks?” Jean wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. Jason, on the other hand, seemed to be having the meal of his life as he devoured the entire plate while Jean was still halfway through with hers. She cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Don’t blame me. Its been a long time since I had a meal as good and complete as this.” He walked over to yet another fridge in the dining area and took out a carton of cranberry juice before serving them both.
“I can see that. But unlike some people,” Jean looked up at him, “I'm not an animal.”
Jason was about to reply with something nasty when the oven timer dinged and Jean took the opportunity to dash out of there and check her cake which seemed perfect to her. She put it in the fridge so it would cool faster before returning to the dining area. Jason frowned when he saw her empty hands.
“I smell something chocolatey and delicious but I see nothing with you and I'm terribly disappointed.”
She smirked at his childishness and shrugged.
“It's not ready yet. I'm not the cooker, neither am I the oven. So go sort your issues out with them.”
“Whatever.” Was Jason’s reply before going back to tapping away on his phone. Jean wanted to keep talking so she decided to interrogate him.
“You know it would have been really nice if you had actually stayed with me in the kitchen while I was sweating my butt off.” She eyed him accusingly and he actually looked sorry.
“Err, you kinda dominated the entire kitchen like it was your kingdom and any trespasser would get gunned down. And I'm not ready to die.” He said with a small smile.
Jean cracked up and asked, “Really?” he nodded in answer. “Why and how are you so freakishly observant?”
“It’s a talent.” Jean so much wanted to wipe off that smug grin on his face. he could be nice, hyper and really funny, but he was still a man. Men were born with egos the size of the Bermuda triangle and the last thing she wanted to do was feed it even more.
“Don’t worry, the cake will be cool in like five minutes.”
To her surprise, Jason’s eyes widened to the size of snowballs.
“You’re making a cake?” he touched his heart dramatically, “How on Earth did you find out that chocolate cake is my favorite?”
Jean blinked once, twice, before she finally swallowed his stupidity and asked, “What did you think I was making then?”
“I assumed you were making something like brownies, or cookies. Something like that really.”
“Firstly, I'm not really a huge fan of brownies and secondly, I only like biscuits if they are chocolate chip and I do NOT have the time to start cutting chips up right now.”
“But you'll make them for me someday.” He looked over at her un-assured expression and added, “Won't you?”
She rolled her eyes.
“Fine. Even if it's in the next ten years.” She didn’t wait for a reply before skipping off to the kitchen.
She didn’t get to leave before she heard him scream, “Does that mean we will still be friends in ten years' time?”
She shook her head but decided not to answer because she really didn’t know what to say. She decided to occupy her mind with the cake which was just right so she sliced it through the middle and put a thick layer of strawberry jam in it followed by another layer of cream. After shaking the can of whipped cream, she sprayed a handsome amount on and spread it out with a knife. A few sliced strawberries and some shaved chocolate later, the cake was good to go and she decided to let Jason slice it himself. Besides, she wanted to show him her masterpiece, not to forget that her mouth was also watering.
He seemed rather impatient waiting at the dining but his expression changed completely once he saw the cake coming towards him. He felt like the cake was the bride, Jean was the father of the bride and he was the groom, eagerly waiting for his bride to get to the altar so they could become man and wife.
Immediately the cake touched the glass table, Jason’s fork dug into the side, taking a large chunk of the fluffy, moist goodness.
“No, no, no. Don’t take it that way.” Jean complained, “Don’t you see any purpose for a knife?”
Jason savored the taste of the cake, chewed and swallowed before answering her.
“You’re way too uptight. I mean, how old are you? Twenty-eight? You behave like a sixty-year-old grandma. Live a little. Just biting into cake won't hurt your bank account, Jean.”
Jean rolled her eyes, “Whatever, I'm going to get the ice cream.” Jason nodded and she left to come back with only the tub of ice cream and two spoons.
“Now, you’re talking.” Jason was in glee. They dug into their dessert and halfway through it, Jason just had to exclaim.
“You cook way better than my grandma, that’s for sure. Heck, you cook better than my mum.”
Jean felt the blush creep up her neck, “You give me too much credit, Mr. Lawson.”
A few minutes later, Jason opened his mouth to speak again but Jean stopped him before he could speak.
“You just don’t shut up, do you?”
“Ouch! But no, shutting up is one of my major problems. But this is actually important.” He pouted like a child and Jean just smiled, nodding for him to continue.
“You know, I was just thinking,” he said between mouthfuls of cake and ice cream, “this is supposed to be a Hawaiian vacation and all but we haven’t gone anywhere. We have like a week here and we are here wasting precious fun time.”
“Jason, we’ve only been here a day.” Jean said, grimacing, “I doubt if our rest time is counted as ‘fun time’.”
“Are you tired?”
‘Not really…”
“Hung-over?”
“What? No.”
“Sick?”
“No.”
“Constipated?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jason.”
“If you’re absolutely fine and we just finished a twelve-inch cake on our own, I think what we are wasting can be counted as ‘fun time’.”
Jean looked down to see that, truly, the cake was finished and so was the ice cream. The only thing left behind was the aching in both their bellies.
“The worms in my belly are probably having a rave right now,” Jason complained. Jean didn’t feel any better but she wasn’t about to give him that satisfaction.
They dragged themselves to the living room and while Jean sprawled out on the plush carpet, Jason stretched himself between the couch and the ottoman. They looked through the glass wall they were facing and although it was already dark out, the lights were on on the beach and the moon illuminated it the more, making a beautiful scene.
Jason grabbed the remote once he was tired of the scenery and put it on a sports channel. Jean looked at him challengingly and the rest of the night was spent fighting over the remote.