Meeting Mrs Garret

by Raquel De Leon

  Natalie frowned. “So you want me to quit working on the car so you can put me to work in the kitchen? This kind of feels like a trap.”

  Maddie chuckled. “Well, look at it this way; if you learn how to cook something nice, it could work in your favor when you’re trying to romance some pretty little thing someday.”

  “I don’t need to rely on food for that kind of thing,” Natalie groused as she crossed her arms.

  “I don’t doubt that honey, but it doesn’t hurt,” Maddie said with a wink.

  Natalie groaned. “So what are you teaching me to make?”

  “What would you like to learn to make?”

  A sly look crossed Natalie’s face. She arched an eyebrow at Maddie. “I don’t know, what about something you like?”

  Maddie blinked.

  “Well, I would have the ingredients on hand,” she hedged, wondering if she should read anything into the question. She mentally snorted at the thought. If Natalie joked it certainly wasn’t meant to be flirting. “We’ll start with a nice pasta dish that Brittney and I both love.”

  “Alright.”

  Maddie patiently waited as Natalie packed up a few things and shut down her laptop, ambling slightly ahead as the lights were finally turned off. Even with the sun out, it was still cold. She should have remembered her coat, but she’d been in a hurry that morning.

  “All set.”

  The words made her turn and then pause. Natalie was looking at her in a peculiar way, as if distracted. “What is it you think about when you do that?”

  “Do what?” Natalie ducked her head down and tucked her hands into her pockets.

  “Randomly get lost in thought.”

  Natalie bit her lip and looked away. She shrugged. “Well, you said it. It’s random.”

  Maddie hummed, not satisfied with the response but not willing to push.

  *****

  Natalie’s mind raced as she walked next to Maddie. The path to the house had never seemed so long—she’d never been so aware of Maddie’s arm swinging softly between them. Despite her mind screaming at her not to, she pulled her hands from her pockets.

  Almost immediately, their arms accidentally brushed. Maddie didn’t react, still smiling as she spoke about a little girl she’d seen at work.

  The tightness in Natalie’s chest eased. Tingles rippled over her skin every time their limbs brushed, even with several layers of cotton between them both.

  Natalie was in serious trouble. But it was harmless, wasn’t it? She meant Maddie no harm and would do her best to keep her stupid (could she still call it a crush?) feelings to herself. It had been close in the garage, with Maddie’s soft, understanding eyes focused on her.

  Maddie had drawn closer, as if to comfort her.

  It had.

  It had also made Natalie’s lungs hurt with the effort it took not to say the wrong thing. Maybe a little of something wrong had come out anyway, but Maddie hadn’t seemed to mind.

  Natalie had indulged her wandering thoughts for too long. “You should try not to forget your coat in the morning.”

  “That’s the thing with forgetting,” Maddie murmured, “it happens when you don’t want it to.”

  “If I’m here next time it happens, I’m going to drop one off for you at work.”

  Maddie laughed as she opened the door. “If anyone ever says you lack a maternal instinct, they’re lying.”

  Natalie bit the inside of her cheek. It wouldn’t be appropriate to say she felt anything but motherly when it came to Maddie. “Well, I don’t want to come off as too maternal.”

  “Of course,” Maddie said, her eyes still glinting with mirth. “That’s what the cooking lessons are for.”

  “Hm,” Natalie said as she sucked on her lower lip, “couldn’t cooking be considered kind of maternal, too?”

  Maddie stopped and turned, both hands clasped behind her back. “Not if you do it right, honey.”

  The look on Maddie’s face, as well as her unintentional proximity, made Natalie’s mouth go dry. If Natalie strained, she could almost feel the warmth from Maddie’s body.

  She debated calling Adam up on the spot. It was a travesty that he was hardly ever around to enjoy Maddie’s cooking. She licked her lips. “You—”

  The sound of Brittney thudding down the stairs cut her off. She was grateful; she’d been about to say something she really, really shouldn’t.

  “Hey! Did you just get home, Mom?”

  Maddie stepped away from Natalie and offered Brittney a smile. “A little while ago. I figured you were busy so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  Natalie tuned out the rest of the conversation, trying not to look at Maddie so she could regain better control of herself.

  What she needed were more projects. The door to Maddie’s study had been hanging a little off. She should fix that later, keep herself occupied when she wasn’t working on Adam’s car.

  She only had to survive cooking lessons with Maddie first.

  Chapter Twelve

  Natalie ran a hand through her still-damp hair, not wanting to pull it up into a tail until it had dried more. Maddie had offered her a temporary reprieve to shower before the cooking lesson began. Naturally, Natalie had jumped at the chance to clean up.

  The thought of being close to Maddie for who-knows-how-long was both thrilling and terrifying. After a long day of working on Adam’s car, doing so without having showered had seemed impossible.

  Maddie always looked and smelled great, so the least Natalie could do was repay part of that favor. She self-consciously tugged at her dark v-neck. Maybe some deity would take mercy on her and Maddie wouldn’t have taken the opportunity to change into one of her evening dresses yet.

  “There you are.” Maddie was sitting at the kitchen table, bare legs crossed as she peered down at a book. The fact that she was wearing her black-rimmed reading glasses made Natalie falter as much as the unanswered prayer.

  Tonight’s dress was a vibrant red wrap that—unfortunately—hugged Maddie’s figure perfectly. If Natalie was honest with herself, the fit described nearly every dress she’d seen Maddie wear.

  “Yeah,” Natalie said for lack of anything else to say. She slid her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

  Maddie chuckled and pushed up from her chair. “Don’t be nervous. I even brought out the recipe book to make it easier to follow. You’ll be fine.”

  If cooking was what I was nervous about, sure. Natalie cleared her throat. “Call it performance anxiety. I’m not used to disappointing the women in my life.”

  Maddie’s eyebrows rose. “Someone’s feeling their oats today.”

  Torn between kicking herself and laughing, Natalie shrugged. “I say stupid crap when I’m nervous.”

  “Hm.” Maddie bit her lower lip and adjusted her reading glasses. “Let’s just get it over with, then.”

  Glad her hands were in her pockets, Natalie pinched herself hard on the leg. She didn’t understand how Maddie could make her such a mess without even trying.

  “So what are we making, exactly?” Maybe if she focused on what they were supposed to be doing it wouldn’t be so bad.

  Visibly brightening, Maddie twisted to retrieve the cookbook. “Chicken carbonara. Not the healthiest of dishes, but definitely delicious.”

  Natalie nodded and made a point to focus on the open page when Maddie stopped alongside her. Maddie’s scent made it difficult, but Natalie managed. “Pancetta? Isn’t that just fancy bacon? And Cream? Doc, you’ve been holding out on me.”

  “I thought you’d like it,” Maddie said as she softly bumped Natalie’s hip with her own. “It tastes as good as it sounds.”

  It became very difficult not to think or say something suggestive, so Natalie carefully grabbed the book. “I’m super hungry. Let’s get shaking.”

  Maddie laughed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to make sure you ate lunch. Alright, let’s get these ingredients together.”

  The next several minutes were s
pent doing just that, with Natalie asking questions once or twice about the portions for some of the ingredients. Her stomach growled as they began cooking the pancetta and garlic.

  “You really didn’t eat lunch, did you?” Maddie chided.

  Not willing to answer directly, Natalie shrugged.

  “What am I going to do with you?”

  Natalie shrugged again, staring at the slowly-crisping pancetta and nudging it with a spatula. Maddie had sounded almost intimately affectionate. She cleared her throat. “Is this done yet?”

  “What do you think?” The question was accompanied by a warm hand, which settled on the middle of Natalie’s back.

  There was a long pause of Natalie’s mind internally screaming. “It could be a little crispier without burning, probably.”

  “Good call.”

  Another pause of silence ensued.

  “Brittney working on school stuff again?”

  Maddie’s hand pushed against Natalie’s back more firmly, then was gone. “No. Believe it or not, she fell asleep on the couch waiting for you to come back down. Originally, she wanted to help.”

  Natalie snorted. “Oh, man. If I wasn’t worried about how hard she’s pushing herself I would so tease her about that.”

  “That looks like it’s about ready,” Maddie said as she leaned slightly away to grab something. “And we should probably get the pasta started.”

  “Alright.” Natalie frowned as she moved the bacon and garlic to a bowl, then draining half of the grease as she’d read from the instructions.

  “I know I’ve said it before, but I appreciate you looking out for Brittney. It makes me feel better, knowing you’re putting your maternal instincts to good use.”

  Natalie clicked her tongue at the tease but didn’t comment on the rest. “So, salt in the pasta water?”

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Maddie said with a smile.

  Fascinated by the way Maddie’s hair was framing her jaw, Natalie doubted it.

  Maddie continued, “The salt is for flavor, not to help with the boiling.”

  “Makes sense.”

  Another several minutes passed as they got the pasta in its pot, prepared the sauce, and began cooking the chicken. Little was said beyond clarifications on the recipe instructions.

  Natalie was frowning down at the chicken, glad for Maddie’s presence. She’d tried cooking chicken, once or twice, and had overcooked it into hard lumps of unpleasantness. So focused on her task, she didn’t notice the piece of pancetta until it was right in front of her face.

  “To tide you over,” Maddie explained as she held the strip of bacon aloft. “It’s hard to cook when you’re already hungry, though one of the best things about it is tasting as you go along. To make sure it’s good, of course.”

  “Of course,” Natalie said as she licked her lips. Part of her wanted to lean forward and grip the offering with her teeth, and a smarter part of her was shrieking a warning. She reached up and took the pancetta with her left hand. “Thanks, Maddie.”

  Maddie’s eyes seemed to twinkle. “No problem.”

  Again distracted, Natalie absently ate the bacon. The flavor didn’t register until after she’d swallowed. She hummed.

  “Good?”

  Maddie still looked inordinately pleased. Natalie licked her lips again. “Yeah, pretty good.”

  Misreading Natalie (thankfully), Maddie checked the pasta. “Don’t worry, we’re almost done.”

  “Oh my god, it smells amazing in here.”

  Brittney’s unexpected voice made Natalie reflexively shift away from Maddie. She didn’t want Brittney getting the wrong idea. Or right idea.

  “You’re just in time, sweetie. Dinner’s almost ready.”

  “Awesome! I’m going to set the table since I didn’t get to help.”

  Finding her voice, Natalie spoke up. “Does this mean you’re going to help your mom with dishes after, too?”

  “I think we should eat in the dining room tonight,” Brittney said before disappearing again.

  Maddie leaned into Natalie and squeezed her shoulder. “Nice try.”

  Natalie bit the inside of her cheek, wishing she’d brought a tank top despite the cold weather. “It was worth a shot.”

  Ten minutes and four forkfuls of the chicken carbonara later, Natalie decided Maddie’s cooking lessons weren’t a completely bad idea, as torturous as they were.

  *****

  The following day had Maddie slowly working her way through the house, a heap of cleaning supplies in tow. Often, she paid someone to help with the cleaning. Since she had the day more or less off (she had needed to run to the clinic for an hour to finish some paperwork), she’d decided a cleaning day was called for.

  An hour in, the front door creaked open.

  Maddie poked her head out of the dining room.

  Natalie, in her usual red coat and jeans, was standing in the hallway looking thoughtful. Maddie tilted her head when she noticed the leather tool belt.

  “Did you need something, honey?”

  “Maddie,” Natalie said with a startled blink. “I saw your car but figured you were just working from home today.”

  Maddie smiled. “No. I’m off so I thought I’d get some cleaning done.” She let her eyes drop to Natalie’s tool belt. “And you? What are you up to?”

  Natalie followed Maddie’s gaze, one hand lightly gripping the belt. “I need to do something other than stare at rusted old parts for a while. I figure I could get to a few things around the house. But I didn’t know you’d be out and about today. I can just—”

  “That’s fine, honey,” Maddie interrupted when it seemed like Natalie was ready to retreat back to the garage. “You won’t be in my way.”

  “Alright.” Natalie fidgeted with the tool belt more. “I figured Adam wouldn’t mind me using this.”

  Maddie tried to disguise her surprise as she examined the belt again. She slowly shook her head. “No. I almost didn’t recognize it, it’s been so long since I’ve seen him wear it.” She sucked on her lower lip, understanding she’d have never known if Natalie hadn’t said something. The belt looked at home hanging from Natalie’s curvy hips. “At least someone is getting good use out of it.”

  For a moment, it looked like Natalie wanted to say something. She sighed and looked away. “I thought I might fix that slow leak in the downstairs bathroom sink first. That alright?”

  “By all means. I was just finishing up in the kitchen. If you need anything, I’ll probably hit the dining room next.”

  Natalie gave a smart salute and then turned toward the aforementioned bathroom.

  Maddie watched her go with a smile, feeling warm as she watched the tool belt sway with Natalie’s every step. She straightened when Natalie disappeared from sight, having subconsciously settled her weight against the doorway. The house wouldn't clean itself.

  Another hour and a half later saw Maddie in the living room, having finished dusting the scarcely-used dining room. She hummed to herself as she put some music on, wondering the last time she’d used the CD player in the entertainment center.

  With a laugh, she realized she couldn’t remember. She’d forgotten she even owned the compilation of classical music that was playing. Her music tastes were so eclectic it could have been just about anything.

  She closed her eyes as a very familiar tune came on. Though she had never loved ballet, she had liked it. It had led to her becoming interested in other forms of dance, much to her mother’s approval.

  As she returned to cleaning, she allowed herself to move and sway along. Some time later as she spun in place, she spotted a grinning Natalie leaning against the far wall.

  “So, this is cleaning, huh?” Natalie’s grin somehow widened. “And here I thought someone was watching Looney Tunes or something.”

  Maddie set her duster down and put her hands on her hips. She playfully narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you have better things to do than make fun of me?”

  Natali
e shrugged, still looking amused. “I stopped the leak, oiled a few hinges, and even fixed the door to your office. The music made me curious, so sue me.”

  “Since you’re a starving college student, I doubt I’d get much.” Maddie’s eyes flicked down to the tool belt again. A new song began to play. She bit her lip as an idea began to form. “But since I feel like you do owe me, I’m going to need you to take off that belt.”

  Looking nonplussed, Natalie’s hands settled protectively over the belt clasp. “Uh…”

  Maddie laughed. “You’re going to waltz with me, Natalie.”

  “Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” came Natalie’s firm reply.

  “Come on, Natalie, I’ve seen you dancing in the garage. I know you can do it,” Maddie coaxed. It had been so long since she’d waltzed. It had probably been years; Adam used to be the one dragging her from the office to get her to take a break.

  “I can dance to my music. This? I… I really don’t know how to waltz, Maddie.” Natalie looked apologetic rather than anxious.

  Maddie tilted her chin up. “I’ll teach you. Come on, you can add this to your repertoire of lady-wooing.”

  Natalie snorted. “As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t need any help with that. But,” Natalie released the clasp of the tool belt and carefully set it down on an end table, “just for you, Maddie, I’ll humor you.”

  Delighted, Maddie bounced in place as Natalie cautiously approached. “Don’t worry, honey. It’ll be fun.”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  As Maddie began positioning their hands, Natalie’s shoulders grew tense. “Relax.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Natalie repeated in a mumble.

  Maddie shook with silent laughter. “I know you’ve probably seen waltzes in movies and things before. It’s actually rather simple. We’ll start off slowly.” As she guided Natalie into the first steps and described the movements, her face hurt from smiling.

  Natalie, as expected, caught on quickly. It only took a single circuit of the room for her movements to become more confident and graceful. “Say,” Natalie said as they began their third circuit, “didn’t Bugs Bunny dance to this?”

  Maddie didn’t fight another round of chuckles. “You know what? I think he did.”