Finding Freya

He Asked Her By The Spice Rack

[A/N] First chapter! Yay! This chapter is dedicated to my friend er041001. So there you go Ella! Also, I promise this story will get better. It's kinda random at the start. Comments and votes make my day. Hope you all like this!

- Chloe

When Ellie told Dad that she was about to be married to Travis, her new boyfriend of one month, now fiancé. Dad went ballistic. No joke, and honestly I did think that it was a little early for Ellie to get engaged to Travis.

"Not Travis!" Dad jumped up from the couch. "Not him! I'd even prefer that bloke who stole my sporting trophies... What was his name?"

"His name was Kyle, Dad," said Ellie with a with sniff. Ellie and Kyle's relationship didn't end too well. Ellie's never had much good luck with boyfriends until now. "And he didn't steal your sporting trophies, you gave them to St Vinnies."

"I certainly did not!" Dad sscoffed as he switched off the television. "One of those trophies was for the 1991 State Tennis Premiership and I certainly would not have given it away."

"Whatever you say Barry," said Mum peering up from her cross-stitch.

Mum is always cross-stitching. The sun-room out by the veranda at the back of the house is full of cross-stitched fruit. Dad says that it makes him feel as if he lives in a fruit shop. Mum says it makes her feel peaceful. She can only cross-stitch fruit. Mum's tried other things like veggies, but they never work out.

"Dad," grumbled Ellie. "We're not talking about tennis! We're talking about Travis!"

"Oh blimey, him again. How did we get back to him?" Dad sank back into the couch and closed his eyes.

"He's asked me to marry him," Ellie piped up, blonde hair flowing with static. Ellie and both of my brothers had blonde hair like my Dad. While I had bright orange curls like Mum. Not strawberry blonde like Grandma says. I ask you, strawberry blonde? Or auburn or red like Aunty Ruby says. Bright glowing orange. "And I've said yes!"

Mum stood up. She put her arms around Ellie and gave her a big hug.

"That's nice Els. He's a lovely boy in his own way."

"Where were you?" I asked.

"At Coles," Ellie sighed happily. "He asked me by the spice rack."

Dad gave her a blank stare. He obviously wasn't impressed.

"He planned it really carefully. Travis told me he needed to buy some cinnamon for the spice rack he bought his Mum for Christmas. Once we got there, it was then he got down on his knees and said "Eleanor Marie Lockhart, will you spice up my life and be my wife?""

Dad jumped back up from the couch. "Why didn't you just leave him there? You could have put a quick-sale clearance sign on him."

"Very funny, Dad," said Ellie.

I looked over to my older brother Nate. He was on his phone. Probably texting his girlfriend Callie Fisher.

I have another brother as well, Lachie. He's out with his mates, Finn and Jackson. Lachie's seventeen. Nate's also seventeen. They're twins. Ellie's twenty six, ten years older than me. Being sixteen, I'm the youngest.

"So, you said... yes?" said Mum.

"Of course," said Ellie. "It was even announced on the PA."

"They even gave us a gift voucher too," Ellie said it as if she couldn't believe it.

"When are you planning to get married?" asked Mum.

"Sometime in spring next year," said Ellie. "Probably September. Maybe November."

"How come Travis didn't ask me for permission?" asked Dad.

Ellie twirled her gold necklace around her finger. "Oh Dad, nobody asks for permission anymore! That was only done in the Dark Ages when women were viewed as possessions."

"I asked your Grandpa Bob and also your Grandma Gertie for your mother's hand in marriage."

"See what I mean!" shrugged Ellie. "I am so happy! Travis said it was his most original thought he's ever had- his idea of how to propose. He is so adorable!" Ellie snatched the phone off the coffee table and ran upstairs to call her friends. We all sat in silence.

"That's his most original thought!" whispered Dad, looking up to the ceiling.

Mum licked her cotton and tried to rethread her needle.

"What sort of bloke is he? He didn't even turn up with her to give us the news," said Dad.

"Well love..." said Mum. "Ellie did tell me that Travis is a bit frightened of you."

"Frightened of me!" cried Dad. "Kara, what's there to be frightened of?"

"Whenever you see him, you grunt, Dad," I told him. "That's all you do."

"As far as I can tell that's the only language he speaks. He's hardly said a syllable since I've met him."

"He's shy," said Mum.

"Bloody odd, more like it!" said Dad.

Mum gave Dad a small smile. "Oh well, love, at least she isn't marrying Edward."

Edward was Ellie's last disastrous boyfriend. She met him the previous Christmas at the summer markets after he set his bookstall right next to Mum's craft stand.

He recited his own love poetry without stopping for the whole morning. When he finally paused for a drink, Ellie tossed him a five dollar note, mainly to keep him quiet - but it only encouraged him to pack up his books and spend the rest of the afternoon describing her silvery hair, pond-green eyes and her smooth creamy skin.

Their relationship was doomed already. Literally.

After two weeks of going to the city and visiting late-night, smoky, dingy poetry hangouts, listening to Eddie's rants against meat, toothpaste, lawn mowers, dairy products, sports, America and the scents of fresh grass, Ellie was pretty exhausted. She wrote him a note saying she didn't want to see him anymore.

That night, he appeared on the footpath outside our house. He stood on Dad's precious lawn and recited over twenty different acrostic poetry renditions on the words "Ellie" and "Eleanor".

"Ellie- Exotic, Lively, Lovely, Inamorata, Elegant. Eleanor- Enchanting, Lovable, Ecstatic, Amazing, Nifty, Outrageous, Ravishing, Extrodinary. Come back to this fool, my precious jewel."

Edward barely paused to draw breath. He was the type of person to ride the wave of their emotions till the very end. If it hadn't have been for Sharon, our neighbour, who chased Edward away down the other end of the street, Edward would still be on our front lawn. After that incident, we never saw Edward again which was a relief.