“Did we fall asleep again?” Soren asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“We all did,” Arlo chuckled, looking flushed.
“My tummy is empty, but I don’t want to move ‘cause I don’t wanna wake Taggart. He needs to sleep more.” He wasn’t sure what time Taggart had gotten up, but he figured it was very early. Taggart’s brain was an amazing thing that exhaustedSoren, he wasn’t quite sure how Taggart managed all the time when his thoughts spiraled so fast it made Soren dizzy.
“Yes, he does,” Arlo murmured quietly. “Want Daddy to order something?”
“I-I really want the cheesy omelets I’d planned to make.” Soren kept his voice soft. “Could you make them?”
“I doubt they’ll be as good as yours, but I’ll try.”
Soren felt the doubt and offered eagerly, “I can talk you through it.”
Chuckling, Arlo stroked his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “That would be perfect. You just keep doing what you’ve been doing and keep Taggart here. It’s the best thing for him right now, and you are doing a wonderful job making sure he stays put.”
He could feel his mate’s pride and pleasure at being told that, and grinned as Soren hugged Taggart’s arm around him and touched the button to start another movie.
Arlington kissed them each on the cheek, then headed for the kitchen.
Soren thought for a second about where everything was that Arlington needed.On the top shelf, you’ll see a green and white box of garlic and herb cheese, right next to the eggs, butter, and heavy cream and a little container of chives. You need all of those and the yellow onion in the hanging basket by the sink.
I see them.Arlo was concentrating so hard, Soren giggled. I’ll let you know when I’m ready for the next instruction.
Okay, Daddy.
While he waited, Soren hugged Taggart’s arm and watched the movie trailers, his mind drifting a little. Over a year ago, he had an idea for a puppet show he’d always wanted to put on. He and Taggart could do it, he knew they could. Soren had found the thrift store in town, it would be the perfect place to find outfits and materials to make the puppets and dress them, and he wascertain that Arlington could make them a little wooden theater big enough for them to sit behind. How good would that be to create little shows just for Arlington? They could make him laugh, especially after he’d come in from a long shift.
Okay, everything is on the counter.
Grinning at how accomplished Daddy felt, Soren focused on the steps, so he could make it as easy as possible to make the omelets.
The pan you’ll need is already on top of the stove. I put it there last night. The cutting board is on the counter, you’ll need that too. And one knife from the bottom row on the block. There are three bowls beside the cutting board, one is deeper than the rest, that’s for the eggs, you don’t need that yet. The shallow ones are where you are going to put the onions and the chives after you dice them.
Dice, that means small and thin, correct?
He grinned at the screen, not paying it any attention.Yup, Daddy, that’s perfect.
Alright, I’m going to dice, you enjoy your movie for a bit.
Yes, Daddy.
Soren returned his attention to the screen, happy that he’d not missed any of the movie, seeing it had just started. The Sword in the Stone was one of his favorites, even if it wasn’t one of the modern Disney movies. He loved classic cartoons just as much, and sometimes even more than the newest ones. As he watched, his thoughts shifted back to the puppet show idea. One thing he was uncertain about was the size of the wooden theater they’d need. What if Taggart didn’t want it cluttering up the place? Maybe he wouldn’t want to play pretend with puppets. What if he saw it as a distraction, rather than something they could do together, the way Soren hoped it would be?
He sighed, quickly looking at his sleeping mate, hating how his thoughts did a one-eighty on him like this, and left him frozenand uncertain. Rather than risk one of his mates picking up on his shift in mood, he shoved the whole idea from his head and focused on the movie while he waited for his Daddy to finish what he was doing.
He didn’t have to wait long.Dicing completed, ready for the next step.
Now you are going to melt a tablespoon of butter in the pan, and spread the onions in an even layer on top of it. Don’t do anything to them for about four minutes.
On it.
Arlington sounded so serious that Soren smothered his giggles.
Step by step, they made five omelets, and Arlington assembled the fruit salad Soren had prepped the ingredients for the night before. By the time Arlington said it was time to eat, Taggart was blinking sleepy eyes at him, muttering questions about what time it was.
“Eating time,” Soren said, rolling so he could squishy hug him. “Come on. Daddy made us something yummy.”
Chapter Eleven
