The Art of Loving

[31] Dinner and a Wedding Invitation

"And he does nae eat any meat at all?" Katherine asked her daughter for what was probably the tenth time.

"No, he does nae," Ellie replied slightly amused. "Definitely nae if he has the choice." She was working on making a vegetarian sauce for Brian while her mother roasted some more potatoes so that Brian would have enough to eat.

"None at all.. Wow. No wonder he's so thin.." Katherine shook her head a little before she looked at Ellie. "Is he really as thin as he looks?"

"Aye. But I think he just has really good genes because at least for the past month I know he has nae eaten extra little. We cook together and he seems to like my food a lot. I think he just does nae gain weight easily at all. But I think he looks great."

Katherine chuckled a little. "I was nae suggesting anything. Look at this, do ye think this will be fine?"

Ellie looked at the extra vegetables her mother had prepared and nodded. "That will do fine, aye. Thank you. Do you need help planning the food for the next days? I have quite a few recipes that I make in different variations for him. He's not so picky luckily."

"He does seem like a very nice young man. I think ye made a good choice with him, Eleanora. Of course I have nae known him for long, but so far he seems like a proper young man, very well behaved, polite and smart."

Somehow the way her mother said that made her smile. "He certainly seems like that, aye. And I did nae make it easy for him in the beginning so I know he definitely wants this tae work out."

"That's good. Does he know about .. Daniel?" Her mother hesitated for a moment before she said that name, knowing what it did to Ellie.

Ellie took a deep breath and nodded. "Aye... he deserved an explanation for my strange behaviour in the beginning and it probably helped him understand me quite a lot better. And he was so understanding and sweet about it, so I'm glad I told him."

"Ye know, he's back in town again. And Elaine is bringing him if she's coming on Saturday. I tried tae convince Marjorie tae somehow prevent that but she does nae see any harm in him apparently."

"Of course she does nae." Ellie's voice was dripping with bitter sarcasm. Why would her aunt ever listen to her mother? And her cousin was just as bad as Marjorie. "It's just that he's the biggest arsepiece to ever walk this planet but who cares about that."

"Eleanora, watch yer language," her mother told her off, but not quite as sternly as she normally would have. "Just ignore him. If Elaine wants tae spend her time with him and they do nae care about your warnings then that's her loss." Katherine gently rubbed Ellie's back. "Just forget about it. Especially because you have Brian now too."

"I know." Ellie smiled a little. "You might have tae accept Brian being a little extra affectionate if Daniel is coming here."

"If you just keep it clean enough for the public then that's okay, do nae worry. Now. Should we get the guys? I think we have everything ready."

Ellie sighed softly, nodding in agreement. "Yes, I think so too. I'll go get them, okay?"

Katherine nodded in agreement while she got the table ready. Ellie left the kitchen and went back into the garden, curious to see how the situation between Brian and her brother had turned out. Much to her relief it seemed to have gone well because those two and her father were all sitting at the table, talking about something seemingly interesting. With a smile on her face, Ellie cleared her throat. "Uhm, dinner is ready, so it would be great if you could come inside."

Brian immediately got up, but Henry just smirked at Ellie. "What if I don't?"

"That's your loss because the food is great," Ellie simply replied and held her hand out for Brian, who took it gladly. It was a pretty big relief to see that Henry hadn't pulled him onto his side yet because that wouldn't end well for Ellie. "Henry, if you want something to eat then it's within the next five minutes. You know the rule." She intertwined her fingers with Brian's before the two of them went inside.