Baggage Claim

Cooking with Heart

Chapter Nine: Cooking with Heart

 

An awkward silence resonated in the car as Layla drove home, her mind flashing answers in anticipation of AJ's questions, but they never came.

She parked his Mercedes in the wide driveway and waited a moment for him to say something, but he just opened the door and proceeded to remove the grocery bags from the trunk. He grabbed a few and made his way to the door, stopping to open Layla's car door before trudging up the snowy walkway.

Layla shook her head in confusion and went to open the front door, making her way inside before AJ.

"Do you want to teach me how to carry grocery bags inside?" She asked sarcastically as he made his way inside with bags.

"No, I don't feel you are ready to carry this much weight yet, if you could just start the oven that would be nice." AJ said cheerfully, disappearing into the kitchen momentarily and then reappearing seconds later without the bags.

"Okay." Layla's mind riddled with explanations for AJ's nonchalant attitude as she made her way over to the kitchen, wondering as she set the oven if perhaps he had believed her that she was okay.

She began emptying grocery bags as AJ reappeared with the remainder. He took up a spot next to her and began organizing the ingredients on the countertop.

"I am going to need a skillet, do you have one?"

Layla scanned the kitchen, embarrassed that the only place she could confirm was the location of the coffee mugs. Casually she ran her fingers along the top cabinets, pushing the doors slightly open with her fingers as she peeked inside. "Umm..."

She turned back and found AJ smirking back at her, his face riddled with amusement. "You have no idea where the pans are, do you?"

Layla scoffed in response, unwillingly to allow AJ a laugh at her expense. "Hana does not want me further injuring myself with menial jobs, something I would think you would appreciate."

"Do you even know what a skillet looks like?" AJ asked as he searched the bottom cabinets.

"Now you are just being insulting." Layla snapped as AJ held up a large iron pan in triumph.

"I wasn’t trying to be, but I have something that may make you feel better." He responded cheerily, producing a bottle of red wine from one of the grocery bags.

Layla made her way over to a bar stool and plopped down. "So you think the answer to my attitude is to get me liquored up?"

"Wow!" AJ exclaimed, pulling out two large wine glasses from a cabinet and placing one gently in front of a scowling Layla. "You really need this, you are starting to read a totally different book than I am writing." He smiled as he filled the glass with the burgundy liquid and then pushed it directly in front of her.

Layla hesitated, her hand twitching as it laid on the hard wood countertop. She watched as AJ served himself half the amount and proceeded to scavenge in the bottom cabinets again.

"Do you think your aunt has mixing bowls?" He asked, only a small cowlick of blond hair visible as he searched the cabinets beneath where Layla sat.

"I think we have established that I know nothing." She responded, mindlessly swiveling the wine inside the goblet.

AJ's eyes popped over the edge of the countertop, mischievously eyeing Layla as her mistake slowly dawned on her.

"You said it..."

"I did not mean..." Layla hollered, attempting to cut AJ off.

 "I didn't." The blue in AJ's eyes swam with laughter.