Stay (I Missed You)

Five

Hera covered the second porkchop in flour and egg before placing it into the pan. Hebe had asked earlier if she could help make brunch, but she got scared of the hot oil that sputtered out of the pan. She decided to quit before doing anything and went outside to see the view. Ares was still fast asleep and Hephaestus was reading a book about neural networks. Hera left Zeus in bed with his light snoring and started making brunch because she was hungry herself. Rhea was still snoozing, but Hera prepared to help her get up after she was done cooking.

"Shit," she muttered. She was reading the 50-year-old cookbook that her mother had for decades. When she first got here, she realized that so much of her past life was relinquished. She had to figure out how to cook again. In high school, she could do practically anything from memory. She didn't need measurements to make the perfect food, but she was now struggling with understanding some of the basic directions. Her cooks in LA did everything for her. She had to make saskatoon berry pie at least 5 times over the past month to perfect it for yesterday. Hera flinched when a droplet of sizzling oil landed on her finger.

She swore again and somehow managed to flip the oversized piece of meat over in the pan. She jumped when she heard Zeus say behind her, "Since when was the last time you cooked a whole meal?"

"Probably years ago. I used to cook all the time when I was living with my mom." He walked over with his hands in his pockets and let out an embarrassing yelp when a drop of oil hopped out.

"This is dangerous, this whole kitchen is dangerous." He pulled out the fridge a jar of prairie cherry jam and spread it over a piece of bread. "I had fun last night."

"Mm-hmm." Embarrassed, Hera acknowledged his statement but pretended to not pay him her full attention. Finally finished with the first porkchop, she slid it awkwardly from the pan onto a plate.

"So where to today? What exciting adventure do you have planned for me?" Hera rolled her eyes.

"Let's see if my mother remembers you and the kids at lunch today. We can go to the lake later too." She gave him a 'what the fuck' look when he started wheezing and coughing. The cherry jam outlined his lips like bright red lipstick.

"Oh my god, why is this jam so sour?!" He gagged a bit more when he licked his lips.

"Prairie cherry is supposed to be sour," rolling her eyes again. He placed the bread on the counter and pulled out a jug of a vibrant magenta-colored juice. After taking one sip, he coughed again. "That's bilberry lemonade, by the way."

"Is there anything else that I can have in this house?"

Hera pulled the saskatoon berry pie, untouched, and placed a slice into the toaster oven to heat up. "Meanwhile, you can help by chopping some of these carrots and lettuce." She pointed to the cutting board. This time, it was Zeus's turn to roll his eyes.

"Yes, your highness." Hera placed in the fourth porkchop and snickered when she listened to the awkward thumping of the knife.

"Having any trouble there?"

"Ha, obviously not. I mean, they're just vegetables." She peeked over her shoulder to see that Zeus was struggling even holding the vegetables. Hebe came bouncing back in, having seen the backyard.

"This is the first time in my life that I've ever seen a meadow." She placed a bundle of picked wildflowers on the table and hopped next to Hera. "Are you almost done? I'm starving."

"Go help your father chop the vegetables. He's not doing so great."

"Hey! I'm trying. The carrots are tough." Not much progress had been done.