“Oh, it’s no trouble. I was no help at all with the repairs, so please, I’d like to at least do this much.”
Lily hesitated. “But...”
“Why don’t we each make two dishes, then?” Liz suggested with a gentle smile. “That way we can split the work. I feel bad, freeloading like this. Please, let me help.”
“O-Okay.”
“Thank you! Oh, but your apron is too small for me. Maybe I could borrow one of Zenos’s.” She casually took one of Zenos’s aprons from a shelf and wrapped it around herself. Standing at the kitchen counter, she casually hummed a tune as she deftly chopped vegetables, filleted fish, stir-fried meat, and even prepared a homemade sauce.
“W-Wow,” Lily murmured, her eyes wide with awe as she watched from beside Liz, holding a knife.
Grilled vegetables with cheese dressing, pie-crusted grilled wraps, creamy pasta loaded with shrimp, and one-horned-ox round steak. In no time at all, Liz had prepared four dishes, all beautifully plated.
“All done!” she exclaimed.
“Um, Liz?” Lily spoke up. “You said we’d each make two...”
“Oh! You’re right! I’m so sorry. I got carried away.” She stuck out her tongue in an oh-no-I’m-so-clumsy manner, then carried the plates to the dining room. “Well, it’s already done, so we may as well eat up. Zenos! Dinner’s ready!”
Zenos came out of the examination room and took in the sight of the dining table. “Whoa! What’s with the luxurious feast?”
“Aw, stop,” Liz said coyly. “I just used what we already had. Come, Lily, join us.”
Lily peeked out from the kitchen, looking apologetic. “Um, I haven’t finished making my first dish yet...”
“Ah, really? Oh, but it’d be such a waste to let it get cold. Maybe just eat for now?”
“O-Okay.” Lily took a seat at the dinner table and took a bite of her food. “It’s so good!”
“Really? I’m so glad,” Liz said, putting on a relieved expression before turning to Zenos. “By the way, Zenos, I still can’t remember anything from after the orphanage, but I’m starting to remember a lot of things from our time there.”
“Really? That’s heartening,” Zenos replied.
“We were always so hungry we used to sneak out to the mountains to pick berries, remember?”
“Yeah. That sure was...a time.”
“Remember the hidden cave with a spring? We used to go swimming there sometimes.”
“That spring was a lifesaver, since there was no bath in the orphanage.”
“Marcus almost drowned one time.”
“Oh yeah! He saw this unusual shellfish at the bottom of the spring and wanted to grab it to eat.”
“Yes! He got his leg caught in some seaweed, but still wouldn’t let the shellfish go.”
“And in the end it was just a plain old rock. Classic Marcus.”
“Absolutely.” Liz covered her mouth and giggled softly. “Velitra hated water and refused to go in.”
“Yeah, Velitra had an odd quirk or two, that’s for sure.”
Lily ate her meal in silence as the other two reminisced.
Eventually, as the night deepened and all the plates were empty, Lily picked up the dishes and headed to the kitchen, overhearing the rest of their conversation.
“That was delicious, Liz,” Zenos said. “Thanks.”
“It was nothing,” Liz replied. “If you’d like, I can cook every day.”
“Oh...” In the kitchen, Lily’s shoulders slumped. The dish she’d been making had grown completely cold, abandoned in a corner. Silently, she moved to tilt the plate over the trash can, but Zenos stopped her.
“Wait. Isn’t that the stew you always make?” he asked.
“Oh, um, yeah. I was in the middle of making it, but it’s already—”
“Don’t throw it away. That’d be a waste.”
“B-But it’s cold now.”
“So what if it is? Back at the orphanage, even stale bread was a feast.” Zenos took the plate from Lily and gave the stew a taste. “See? Delicious.”
“It’s not,” Lily protested. “Compared to what Liz made...”
“Liz’s cooking was surprisingly good, yeah. But your cooking tastes comforting. Maybe because I’m always eating it.”
“Zenos...”
