Getting to know You (Oikawa Tooru )

44.

"Mom let me cook!"

"No no I've got it." She said with a laugh. "I haven't been able to cook for my family in a long time Miyumi." She said with a smile as she turned to me. "If you want to then you can help me, just like you did when you were little."

"Alright. What do you need me to do?" I asked as I pushed up the sleeves on my sweater and turned to the sink to wash and dry my hands.

"Grab the chicken and start cutting." She said as she grabbed the onions and celery and began dicing and mincing them.

I walked around her, trying my hair up as I went. When I was finished I opened the oven and pulled out the package of chicken that we cooked. I pulled it out and brought it over to an empty part of the counter.

I set it down and grabbed myself one of our wooden cutting boards and a meat knife. I took one piece at a time and began to cut.

The kitchen was quiet other than the knives working. My mother finally let out a huff and I stopped cutting and turned to see her shaking her head, her short black hair whipping back and forth. "It's too quiet in here! I'm turning on  some music." She said as she looked at me, her blue eyes watching me mischievously.

"Don't put on the album I think you're going to put on." I wanted.

She laughed as she reached out and turned on the radio. She clicked play on the cd that had never been removed from the player and I smiled widely.

Disney music flooded through the room and she cranked up the volume so it was nice and loud. Mom immediately began singing along and I laughed as I joined in, swaying my hips to the music as I cut the chicken.

My mother danced back into the kitchen as she continued to do her dicing and mincing. When the chicken was finished I put it broth we had already made for the chicken soup. Then she added the celery and onion.

I washed my hands and my mom moved the homemade noodles that she had made this morning for the soup. They had dried so now we could add them to the broth.

She put them in and we she stirred the pot a few times before putting the cover on the giant pot.

When I finished drying my hands my mom turned to me and began belting out the chorus of the song Hellfire from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I joined her, laughing as I did so. She danced over to me and began to spin me around.

I felt like a little kid again, when my parents were always home and I wasn't left alone. When I would always cook meals with my mother during the day when my dad worked. When my mom and I would spend so much time together that I would turn to her for everything from bullies to crushes.

When my father would come home and pick me up and spin me around, telling me that I was his favorite little girl. We would watch sports together and talk strategy and play board games together as a family. Then they would tuck me in at bedtime.

But that was elementary school.

Now things were turning back to that and I felt so much happier.

The next song came on, the song Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid. We began to sing, both of us making our voices try and sound like Sebastian's. Suddenly the door opened and my father belted out in song.

I began to laugh as he threw his arms around widely, his eyes closed as he got himself into singing terribly to the music. I lost control of my legs and I fell to the ground, my laughter continuing as my father would not bring his terrible singing to an end.

"Honey our daughter is dying over here!" My mother yelled over the music, laughing just as loudly.

I let out a squeak as I was lifted off the ground. "Dad put me down!" I yelled as I hit his back.

"No I'm too excited! My girls are both home with me for good!" He yelled as he spun around with me still sitting on his shoulder.

My mom turned down the music before turning it off. My father finally let me down. I smiled as I fixed my hair, looking up to my father. His green eyes sparkling brightly with glee. He ran a hand over his short blonde hair before reaching out and messing up the hair I just fixed. "Dad!"

"Hey that's a dads job." He said with a laugh.

"Dinner will be ready soon, why don't we put on a movie." Mom said as she came over to us and escorted us to the living room to sit.

It felt so good to be at home with them again.