Mastermind - W. Maximoff

Chapter Nine

Alex sat on the couch next to Mr. Hart and his wife, trying to stay invested in the conversation. It was dazing, confusing- she only worked the job because she needed the money.

"So I said, "if we orient the forms horizontally rather than vertically, we can use twice the paper, we can bill twice the cost."" Mr. Hart believed he was a genius. Alex wasn't quite sure if she agreed, even if everything he said was out of her field.

"You truly are a pioneer!" Her laugh was soft and sweet, much like any wife in the 50's laugh would be. Though, she was anything but a normal lady from this era. "But the larger purpose of the forms is..."

"Was to analyze our input and our output." Alex was glad to have Mr. Hart cut her off, as she didn't know the answer to what she was about to say. "You're awfully dense, aren't you, Mrs. Maximoff?"

A crash came from the kitchen, causing the group to stand to their feet. "Do you think Wanda needs help in the kitchen?" Mrs. Hart asked. She was too kind for her own good. "We haven't any tidbits or tartlets out here, nary a pig in a blanket."

Alex didn't understand half of what Mrs. Hart was trying to stay, but she didn't asked. "No, that's so kind of you, Mrs. Hart. But I'm sure she's absolutely fine in there."

Alex convinced Mrs. Hart to sit down and began light conversation with her. Mr. Hart seemed bored with the whole situation, but he seemed glad to not have his wife trying to run around and help Wanda.

Alex wanted nothing more than to help her out. The two of them were stressed to a breaking point, neither one a good cook or a good host. That much Mrs. Hart could tell when she heard a crash in the kitchen.

"Oh, oh!" She stood, making her way to the kitchen. "You two stay put, I sense a domestic emergency."

"Mrs. Hart, please don't! You can't!" Mrs. Hart opened the blinds to the kitchen, and without much of an idea what she was doing, Alex decided to start singing. "Yeah, take out the papers and the trash."

Wanda had pans, pots, and every other kitchen essential flying around her, but Alex was glad that she was temporarily keeping the attention away from her wife. She could only hope that Wanda would catch onto what she was trying to do.

"Or you won't get no spending cash. If you don't scrub the kitchen. You ain't gonna rock and roll no more. Yakety yak!" Alex didn't know the tune she was singing, but the word came to her like an old song. "Don't talk back."

Wanda closed the blinds with her magic and Alex let out a sigh. She led Mrs. Hart back to the couch, sitting her down beside her husband. "Well, why don't we have a nice sing-a-long, all together then, shall we?"

Alex grabbed her guitar from beside the couch, strumming a few beats. "This song is a classic called Wildest Dreams."

She began to sing what she knew of the song, playing the chords from memory. She didn't remember ever learning or practicing the song, but to her it felt like a daydream as she played it.

When the song finished, Mrs. Hart clapped her hands. "Oh, that's so wonderful, Alexandra! Do you know when this lovely song was released?"

Alex tried to think, but only one date came to mind. It didn't make sense, but she decided to use it as a joke. "Oh, I'd say 2014! But, I believe the artist decided to re-record the song in 2021!"

Mrs. Hart took the joke well, laughing along with her. Alex continued to play, Mr. Hart looking less than impressed the entire time.

"Diane!" Wanda shouted from the kitchen. Alex didn't have a clue who or what she was talking to herself about, but she decided to take it as a cue so that Mr and Mrs. Hart wouldn't investigate.

"Oh, I believe that is my wife summoning me!" Alex stood quickly, placing the guitar down beside the couch. "If you'll excuse me for just a-"

"She calls you Diane?" Mr. Hart's question came off rude, which, if Alex didn't already know him, would have figured was accidental.

"Yes... it's, well, it's my middle name, but she treats it more like a pet name." Alex's lie was anything but smooth, but she had gotten herself in a mess and she had to finish strong. "I'm just coming, dearest darling... Fred."

Alex didn't let the two of them question her any further, standing and entering the kitchen. She shut the door behind her quickly, scaring Wanda enough to throw what she was working on out the window.

Alex tried to catch it, but the window shut before she could get near. "How can I be of assistance?"

"Well, the chicken is no longer a chicken and the lobster just flew the coop so the steak is the last man standing." Wanda picked up the recipe card and read it. "It says here I can cut down the prep time with a meat tenderizer."

"Excellent plan!" It wasn't very excellent, but the time was short and things had to get moving quickly. "Where's the tenderizer?"

"I'm looking at her." Well, that made more sense. She hadn't even heard of a meat tenderizer, so it made sense that she was the tenderizer rather than the two of them owning one.

"Finish the meat, find the lobsters. I'll be right back." Wanda slipped off her apron and threw it to Alex, the white-haired girl catching it.

"Oh dear." Alex stood with her hands on her hips. Why had Wanda entrusted her with this? She had never learned to cook because... because she had never learned to cook!

Alex slammed the meat tenderizer down on the meat, causing a large hack to sound around the room. She did it a few more times, still quite unsure how to use it. She heard a knock on the door, so, gladly, she rushed out the room to get it.

"Oh, you didn't answer the back door for your upside-down cake." The woman handed Wanda a pineapple and Alex tilted her head to the side in confusion. Who was she? "Oh, hi, I-"

The woman was cut off as Wanda closed the door in her face, hiding the pineapple behind her back. "Who was that?"

"A salesman!"

"Telegram!" Alex realized she had spoken over Wanda, so she attempted to restate her words. "It was... a man selling telegrams."

"Wouldn't you know it. Good news is more expensive." Alex looked at Wanda and smiled, glad that she was backing her up in the lie.

Alex turned to Wanda, attempting to talk quietly. "I couldn't find the lobsters and did you want the meat tender or ask Vision to pulverize it for us?"

Wanda seemed to light up at the mention of their friend. Vision was an amazing person that was very special in their lives, and Wanda hoped they could see him soon enough now that they lived in the same town. "Oh dear."

Wanda took the apron from around Alex's neck and smiled at her before skipping off to the kitchen. Alex put her hands on her hips and observed Mr and Mrs. Hart. "Well, I think tonight's going swimmingly."