Chapter 10 #2
Her stomach twisting with nerves, Mia poured some semolina onto the countertop, as the chef had instructed, added a pinch of salt, and created a well in the middle for the eggs.
The first egg she cracked spilled onto the counter, along with numerous pieces of shell, and Mia wanted to sink into the ground beneath her.
She was so out of her element that it wasn’t even funny.
Both wine tasting and cooking were two things she was terrible at, and here she was with Evan’s family, without Evan.
She’d been worried about how to convince them that she was really dating Evan, but now she was more worried that they would think she was a complete idiot.
As she thought about the ridiculous situation that she’d found herself in, Mia began to giggle.
It was so unfunny that it was almost funny.
Maybe, instead of trying to fit in with these rich, judgmental people, she should try to have a little fun.
Maybe she could even show them how to have a good time.
“Look.” Mia lifted a dripping piece of eggshell, giggling. “This is going terribly!”
The Hirst family exchanged meaningful glances, and Mia could tell that they didn’t think her mistake was very funny. Oh, well. She’d show them.
Mia cracked another egg, managing to get it into the well this time. As she began to knead the flour and egg together, she shivered at the texture.
“This feels really weird,” she said. “Sarah, would you like to try?” Sarah seemed like the closest thing to an ally here.
“Oh, I can. Okay.” Sarah put her hands into the dough and laughed. “Okay, it is a bit weird. Like touching brains.”
“And she would know,” Ellen said.
“No, not really, I’m actually an orthopedic surgeon and don’t do a lot with brains,” Sarah said with a smile.
“Still, you’ve got a brain, so that counts, right?” Mia joked. Sarah laughed, even though it wasn’t very funny, and Luka joined in.
Soon, the chef came by again and gave more instructions.
As they formed the dough, chopped tomatoes, ground basil and pine nuts, and shredded cheese, Mia made jokes and let herself be silly.
Slowly, the Hirsts seemed to be warming up to her.
When she accidentally squeezed a tomato while cutting it and some juice splattered onto her apron, she rolled her eyes.
“Look, I’m improving the aprons with a beautiful modern-art pattern,” she joked, spreading her arms to showcase the splatter.
“Oh, it looks very impressionist,” Sarah said, grinning.
“Tell me, who’s your fashion designer?” Luka put in. Even Arthur was smiling, but Ellen still looked serious.
“Dear, here’s a towel to wipe that off. You wouldn’t want people to stare.”
“No, it’s fine,” Mia said. “We’re cooking. It’s supposed to be messy.”
“But you look ridiculous, dear,” Ellen continued. Mia bit her lip, worry creeping in again, but Arthur came to her rescue. He dipped his hand into the bag of flour and sprinkled it onto Ellen’s apron.
“Now you match!” he said, laughing. Mia was pretty sure it was the first time he’d done anything like that in his life.
Ellen looked around at her family, her eyes narrowing.
For a split second, Mia thought she was going to throw a fit, but then she took a pinch of shredded parmesan and threw it at Arthur.
Within minutes, each member of the family had a little food on their apron, and they were all laughing.
Mia’s spirits lifted as she dove back into the cooking process.
“Could we change the music?” she asked when the chef next came by.
“Yes. What do you have in mind?”
“How about ‘On This Starry Night’?” Mia suggested. It was one of her favorites, and she would always remember it as a song she and Evan had danced to, although he’d said he didn’t like it. He really had terrible taste in music, as well as being prone to disappearing.
A few minutes later, “On This Starry Night” came over the speakers.
Mia swayed her shoulders and tapped against the counter with her wooden spoon in time with the song.
Ellen raised her eyebrows, but Luka, who was operating the pasta machine, began twisting it to the beat, and Sarah shook her hips and hummed along.
Pretty soon, even Ellen was tapping her foot underneath the counter and bobbing her head.
Mia’s heart soared. She hadn’t expected to have this much fun with Evan’s family, but this was turning out great.
If only Evan were here, too. He could use the chance to lighten up and have a little spontaneous, silly fun.
And maybe he’d change his opinion of this song when he saw how much his family was enjoying it.
The next round of wine came around while the tomato sauce was simmering, and Luka raised his glass in a toast.
“To Mia, for showing us that you can be terrible at cooking and still enjoy it.”
“To Mia!” the rest of the family echoed.
“To all of you, for welcoming me so kindly!” Mia said, holding up her own glass.
It wasn’t entirely true that they’d been kind — Ellen still looked more than a little suspicious, and she’d brushed the flour off her apron — but it was close enough.
They all drained the small amount of wine in their glasses.
“So, what does everyone think?” Ellen asked, lifting her empty glass. She looked meaningfully at Mia. “Thoughts, dear?”
“You know, I think it really has a nice grape flavor,” Mia said with a wink. Everyone laughed, even Ellen, and they returned to their cooking jobs.
Maybe this wasn’t going to be such a disaster after all.