The Secret - Alexia Putellas

46.

Thank you Eliza!!!

Ever since her teenage years, Erin had been a talented chef.

That probably came with her parents death when she was just 14 years old. And since Austin, the elder brother, went to work and served as an assistant coach on the soccer pitch almost every day after his shift would end, Erin was in charge of the kitchen.

But one thing she never cooked before was paella. No one could've known that she would end up living in Spain and being married to a Spanish woman.

Who was hardly ever at home, by the way.

So there Erin was.

Still dressed in her sweatsuit she was rushing around in the kitchen, gathering various ingredients and flipping through different cookbooks on her iPad. She didn't even consider using the original paella recipe, which was listed as taking over an hour to prepare.

Because there was only an hour left before Austin would arrive.

And the house was a mess. Alexia wasn't yet home and Nala had scattered her toys all over the ground floor.

Excellent.

"Nala, how about you learn to put your toys back in the box yourself instead of just scattering them all over the place?", Erin asks, sounding stressed, but unable to ever get angry with the cute little ball of fluff.

She sets the ingredients down on the kitchen island, while Nala watches her from the couch with that cute puppy look on her face, and the little pink tongue dangling out of her mouth.

"You don't have to look like that, you know. It's easy. Just like... cooking", Erin gestures with the knife, and then starts chopping the garlic on the cutting board.

Nala, of course, didn't move an inch.

"So Nala, this is how it works... first of all, you have to get up", Erin begins, now chopping the garlic into very fine cubes, throwing the little dog a demanding look, before glancing at the small Barcelona ball on the carpet beside the couch.

Eyes wide, the dog stirs.

Nala gets up and hops off the couch. Erin is surprised when she even snatches the ball, but is soon disappointed when Nala jumps back onto the couch with the ball between her teeth, and makes herself comfortable on Alexia's blanket once again.

Hopeless case.

"You know, Nala... it's faster if I do everything by myself... oh damn", Erin suddenly panics and puts down the knife, before turning around to rummage through the kitchen cabinet.

Erin had indeed never cooked paella before. And Alexia didn't cook that often.

That's why they didn't have paella rice at home.
After this realization, it doesn't take Erin long before she did the first thing that crossed her mind. She quickly grabs her phone and rings the person she was sure would know what to do.

And it also took less than two seconds for this person to answer the call.

"Oh, my favorite daughter-in-law. How lovely to hear your voice, sweetheart. The match was great today, wasn't it? Alba and I just popped a bottle of champagne. Wanna come over to celebrate?", Eli greets her in a high-pitched, delighted voice, while Erin rummages through another kitchen cabinet.

"Hi Eli. Yeah, a glass of champagne, or maybe two, would be great right now. Unfortunately, I don't have time for that. I need your help", Erin replies in a much more distressed tone, shutting the cabinet door.

"Yeah sure, what's the matter, sweetie?", Eli asks, ready to help like she always is.

Critically, Erin gazes at the bag of regular rice in her hand, breathing in deeply.