July 13, 1178
It had been a late night, but rising early enough to make everyone breakfast was a habit that died hard. Nanalie stifled a yawn as she headed down the steps, trying to keep herself awake by debating what she would cook. The kids were probably sick of porridge. They hadn't had bacon in quite some time, but she didn't think her father had butchered a pig recently enough. Perhaps she could do something with eggs? Or berries, perhaps? Plain old bread was nothing special, but if she whipped up a quick jam...
She didn't get a chance to finish that thought. "Umm... what are you doing here?"Chuckling, Garrett turned his head and greeted her with a smile. He had no upper lip to speak of, but he more than made up for it in chin. "Kiddo here seems to like playing with your sister, so I figured it was worth a shot stopping by. Lucky for us, both Thetis and your father were up--and lucky for me that you are too, now."
Nanalie figured she'd be better off not acknowledging that last bit. "Where is my father?"
"He went to collect some eggs." The man sprung to his feet and stepped around the couch, still grinning all the while. How he kept that up without exhausting the face muscles, she couldn't guess. "He's been out there for a while, though."No doubt weighing eggs against each other and holding them right up to his eye and changing his mind time and time again. Nanalie rolled her eyes. "He takes egg selection a little too seriously."
Garrett laughed--again. What was that, exactly? He laughed more in five minutes than Nanalie laughed in entire days. Must've had some sort of strange snickering disease. "All the better for the lot of us, I'd say. By the way, thanks for helping out with my cousin's baby last night."
Eh?
Right. Garrett was Sparron's cousin. Of course, Garrett would have still thought Camaline was the mother... "Worked out well, with both your cousin's wife and Lady Arletta laboring in the same castle. Kind of a long night, though.""You do look tired." He glanced her over quickly, but at least he had the tact not to comment on her summer nightgown. To think--of all the days not to dress before coming down! "Good news, though--when your father brings me those eggs, I'm making you breakfast."
Umm... "You cook?"
"Oh, yes. Rather well, actually." Hardly a thing most men--much less, knights--seemed to boast about. Then again, Garrett wasn't really 'most men'. "I spent half my childhood in the kitchens, scrounging around for spare cakes. God, I was fat."Wiry thing like him? Nanalie snorted.
"No, really. Ask any of my cousins; you should have seen me before Uncle Octavius whipped me into shape. My horse had to ride me."
Of all the images with which to plague an exhausted mind. "I can't imagine that was comfortable."He chuckled. Now that she thought about it, his voice wouldn't have sounded right without the constant interjections of folly. "Anyway. Not the point. Point is, I picked up a few tricks from my parents' chefs, and I'm about to make you and your family a damn good breakfast."
"Really."
"Cross my heart." Yeesh. She couldn't if she tried. "Your father's not the only man around with a sense for eggs."
Hmm. Odd wording, but in all of human history, he could hardly have been the first to make that claim. "I'll believe it when I taste it."NEXT CHAPTER:
6 comments:
Lots of reader-made hair here! Garrett's hair by Pen, Nanalie's by Ann, both vast improvements on the original Peggy textures/colors. Both are available for download at the Keep. Thanks, you two--and all you other CC creators out there :)
I am in such a good mood. At 4:50 pm, I'll be done with classes, then I just have two reasonably-spaced exams, and then... home for the summer! :D
Not there seem to be any jobs for me there. Damn, employers don't even reply to tell you you're going to have to look elsewhere anymore, or at least none of the ones I've applied to. At this point, my business expenses for the summer might have to include a pair of big leather boots.
Oh well. Classes are almost over :D
He's laughing because he likes you, Nanalie.
Cute post! And a welcome break from all the drama, drama, drama. Here's hoping that Nanalie will sense what's in the wind and get some happiness for herself. :-)
Some guys laugh a lot because they're nervous, and are trying to smooth out a situation - I agree with Morgaine, he deffs likes Nanalie :3
Oh gosh, tell me about it! I have to get a second job asap! And I have to earn at least $5400 by this time next year (while juggling course and work and babysitting) cause I want to do volunteering once I turn eighteen, it's going to kill me to hold back from spending the money :'(
Congrats on your impending summer, Van!!! I hope your semester is ending on a high note. And there's still time to find a job. Just keep sniffing around and pestering.
And oh, I like Garrett! He may be going about this Nanalie courtship the wrong way though. Nanalie would seem to want a man who needs her expertise. But then again, who knows? Maybe she'll find Garrett refreshing and let go of the reigns a bit. Also, Nanalie has no sense of humor. On paper, Garrett is totally setting himself up for rejection, but I like the idea of him breaking her down by the sheer force of her not knowing that what she truly needs in a partner are levity and generosity. Even here he seems to be worming his way into her affections just a little bit. Squee!!!
Morgaine: Certainly seems that way ;)
Heheh... I figured we all needed a break from the baby caper drama (which will be back in the next two posts... but after that, we'll be done on that front for a while. Not that August won't be a crazy month in its own right). ;)
EkhoGirl: Yeah, there do seem to be plenty of guys like that out there, especially the ones of the smitten variety :P
Good luck with the job search! I'm sure you'll find ways to save your money. Is the volunteering a trip of some sort? Like, overseas volunteering? That should be a great experience :)
Pen: I still have one class later this afternoon, but so far so good--the sun's shining, I have a frappucino, the wake-up alarms on my phone are now disabled :)
My aunt and my dad are both pimping my resume around, so hopefully one of them can find something semi-relevant to my degree. If not, I can look into waitressing or childcare or something, I suppose; my bad knee is getting worse and it's better when I'm sitting or moving around as opposed to standing, so I can't just go back to the deli or work fast food or anything like that.
Garrett is pretty much Nanalie's complete opposite, but who knows? Sometimes people like that can't work things out, but sometimes they compliment each other quite nicely :)
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