Nice to hear from you. I’ve been wondering how things are going there without Ruth, and it’s good to learn that at least the new guy cares, you know.
As far as Theo’s favorite foods, he loves carrot cake and pretty much anything chicken. I’ll send you some recipes you can try.
It’s a good idea that you want to cook for him if he’s feeling low. That man can eat, and if he’s not eating, then you can definitely tell something’s wrong.
From the years I’ve known him, my only actual advice is to do small things to show you care and give him time and space otherwise.
Grief is weird. Everyone feels it differently and every loss is different, too.
I should be coming back to at least visit mid-July. I have another potential job lined up from the beginning of September, but that might change.
If there’s anything I can help with long distance, let me know.
J. Cook
There were recipes attached to the email, and I felt some relief knowing I had a plan now.
When I told River and Rey about my plan, they were both enthusiastically in. We’d all gotten okay at cooking and while Rey mostly did cleanup as we cooked or baked, he was a valuable asset to the kitchen team.
I drove to town to get the stuff we’d need, and we ended up making a massive batch of carrot cake cupcakes instead of actual carrot cake.
Rey had wanted to try doing the frosting, so I’d gotten some stuff for decorating, too, and in the end, he managed to get pretty good at it.
As he finished piping the last cooled cupcakes with a flourish, he beamed at us in a way he rarely did.
“I got you these you can put on top if you want,” I showed him the sprinkles that were shaped and colored like tiny, cheery carrots.
“Those are great, yeah, let me…” He glanced around. “I’ll clean up and then add those.”
“Sure. Once you’re done, we’ll start dinner prep,” River told him.
We mainly tried to stay out of Rey’s way while he hurricaned around the kitchen, making it spotless again.
River found a container for some cupcakes, and Rey carefully placed four in it, making sure the decorations stayed on, before handing it to me.
“Do you want to go deliver?” he asked, and I glanced at River, unsure if I should.
River reached for his cell that was charging out of the way in a back corner of the counter and checked the time.
“He’s going to be at the stable at this hour.”
I still wasn’t sure how I felt about what Theo had said to me. I recognized it wasn’t anything I’d done and that he likely didn’t really feel what he’d spat at me. It had been a reaction to his grief, or so I kept hoping as fucked up as that sounded, but I still felt hesitant to go anywhere close to him without a work-related reason.
Still, I found myself walking to his cabin with the cupcake box and grimaced when I saw Bucky resting on the little porch.
“Hey, kiddo. Where’s your Daddy?” I asked, and he gave me this mournful expression before glancing toward the doggy door. “Okay, bud.”
Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.
“Yeah?” Theo called out.
Instead of asking, I opened the door and peered in. He was sitting on the couch with a water bottle in his hand.
“Hey, we made carrot cupcakes. Too many of them, really, because Rey wanted to decorate. So…here’s…” I held out the box.
Theo frowned slightly, not making eye contact exactly, almost like he was trying to lookaroundmy eyes instead of into them.
“Oh…okay,” he finally said. “Thank you.”
