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 Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 5:41 pm
What future brood? Asteria wasn't planning on having kids any time in the near future. Or ever. Yes. She could quite do without kids or marriage ever.
At least in her head right then that was a decent idea.
But it also seemed Asteria knew how to contribute to the 'Diabetic shock'. "Well, take some of the oatmeal and slice bananas into it, wrap it up into a crepe, put brown and powdered sugar on it, and see how that goes with your syrup."
...
Ugh, her stomach had totally just cringed in disgust at that.
"But, would you be a dear and go get some of those strawberries for me? I certainly don't know where they are. Well, bring me anything you think would serve well in a crepe. Mostly things I wouldn't have to bake, though. Most vegetables require baking."
Ah ha ha.
"Once I have that, I can put finishing touches on stuff and then we can call it done, hmm?"
She still had half a bowl of crepe-mix left, though. She'd just see how long it'd take to finish this all up.
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:04 pm
... Well, the only certain thing about the future was that it never went as planned, so Asteria didn't have to worry a bit! Or wait, did that mean that, yes, she did have to worry instead?
Either way, though, in Langston's mind it was a surefire, win-win inevitability that, sooner or later, there would be little pitter-pattering grandbaby feet running through the house. Oooh, he could already envision them now, handsome little deep-skinned, fold-eared yellow-brown upstarts with their mother's kindness and their father's chivalrous determination--
But enough with that thought! Moving on, then...
"Oh, of course, my dear!" Happy to be at the assist, he skipped (... yes, still doing that) over to the pantry, pulling the door open and rifling through this and that until he'd found the basket of yesterday's pickings, taking a moment to inhale the sweet, sugary smell (oooh sugar, delicious) before passing it over to her. "Moacyr grows the most spectacular things, I do say. My darling goddess has a green thumb when it comes to her fruit and flowers..."
God, his dreamy sigh was like something one would expect from a wistful teenage boy, not a man who'd been married for... oh, 25 years and then some.
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:29 pm
He really needed to sit down and talk to said 'mother' before he started imagining children out of her. Oh yes, when one was afraid of the very act that would produce children for various reasons such as the tales of older sisters and... Uuuuggggghhh. That thought would cause involuntary shudders.
Asteria checked over the basket when she was handed it, making a rather thoughtful face, before setting it by the sink.
"Can I trust you're able to wash them without causing any near disaster?"
Yes. warm water wasn't that Difficult right?
"Hmmmm.. she'll have to teach me. At home we didn't have a yard or anywhere mom could grow stuff.... or for me to take over when mom was gone. So I never really learned how to tend to such things."
There were several minutes were Asteria finished frying up the sweet-substitute for a tortilla-batter, turning off the stove following that, before going to poke about the ice box.
Oh ho ho.
She had a thought.
"Do you have any cottage cheese, perhaps? I do think I know something my dear little sister might enjoy."
Or that father dearest might enjoy for possible diabetes-inducing-sweetness. Maybe.
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:57 pm
"Washing? Oh, of course, of course!" Yet again the little (or not so little) 'helper' was quick to volunteer his agreement, scooting over to the sink to take over the task he'd just been assigned. "With pleasure, my dear! No need to worry!"
He'd be safe enough with that, right? Warm water really wasn't difficult, and there was no active cooking or fire involved that might potentially let him burn the house down, so...
"We've some cottage cheese in the ice box," he informed her oh-so-politely, gesturing over at it with a little flourish (which accidently sent the strawberry he'd held flying, but... oh well, just one lost!). "There's clotted cream, butter and a few jams there as well, if you'd like... We've got quite a spread of various odds and ends collected."
Well that was understatement-- but all the better for the little chef, right?
Almost ready, almost ready... Oh, how proud (or perhaps horrified) Moacyr would be when she woke up and found out that he'd cooked breakfast!
... Or helped cook, rather. But he'd done it without destroying anything, which was an accomplishment!
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 7:15 pm
"Thaaaaannnkkk you~"
Oh, sing-song tone. The Asteria was pleased. It took a moment of searching, and opening tubs, but she soon found the one she was looking for, setting it on the counter before she returned to the cabinet to produce another bag.
Lord.
Well-stocked house was well-stocked. Powdered sugar!
With the bag in one arm and the tub in the other, she went about securing another bowl and spoon.
Hmmm, some Cottage cheese, some powdered sugar. Some stirring. Seemed she was making a filling. Ooooh, this made her want peaches. Peaches and cottage cheese.
Mmmmmm.
Once she'd finished with that little task and returned the tub to where she'd stolen it away from, she went to loom over 'Dad's' shoulder to watch him with a light smile.
"Mmm, almost done?"
Such a good 'little' helper she had.
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 7:36 pm
Flying strawberry aside, the rest of the cleaning had been pleasantly uneventful and without issue, scrubbing each of the skins as meticulously as he could (without rubbing them off, that happened once or twice-- whoops). and setting them back in the basket on top of a nice fluffy dish towel. No good to have them all waterlogged to make the crepes soggy, after all!
"Almost!" he beamed, finishing up the last few stragglers and nodding, the satisfaction practically dripping from every pore. "Ah, there we are, finished in good time!"
Which left him with the opportunity to peek over and see what she'd been whipping up in the meantime. Oooh, cottage cheese was delicious, but adding powdered sugar made it even more so, in his book. Hell, ANYTHING plus sugar just made it better by Langston's logic.
He bobbed back to give the oatmeal a last stir (no need for the top to get dry-- it did that, right?), grinning more brightly than ever. Daddy-Daughter bonding was such a joy.
"Once we're all finished up here, I'll take care of serving Moacyr... but would you be so kind as to handle the others?"
Hmm, that would leave her with... Yossarian and Roselyn, right? Perhaps not in that order, however...
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 7:46 pm
Once the strawberries were relinquished into her care, she took a knife from the block then went about raiding the kitchen for.... Plates! What else?
"Mm, dish up some of that oatmeal?" she asked, taking the first of the plates she had grabbed up (hmmm, only four?), then, after pausing to again wash her hands, took one of the crepes off of her little stack, set it on said plate, then took some of the cottage-cheese filling she'd made, though not a lot of it, carefully smeared it down the middle of the crepe, took a strawberry, sliced it up, then arranged them on top of the crepe before folding it up.
Rinse lather repeat.
Now she just had some un-used crepes and four plates with several of the oddly-concocted breakfast foods (she'd even dusted them all with more of the sugar before putting the bag away).
One plate with 2, as that seemed like a reasonable amount for a little girl, two more with 4 on it, also reasonable, and then just for her diabetic-in-training father, six. With extra sugar (and she'd also fished out the jam. Just a hunch she'd had).
"Alright.... Is the oatmeal good as-is, or.."
Pause.
She washed off her 'distributing' spoon, before using it to scoop some of the remaining oatmeal off of the side of the pot to taste it.
Hmmm..
Hmmmmmmm.
"Needs a little more brown sugar." she commented.
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:11 pm
"Of course, my dear!" And again he set to fulfilling her request by trotting over to the cabinet and fishing for some... hmm, bowls were what one put oatmeal into, right? Yes, some nice, elegant earthenware would do just fine, so he pulled down five bowls, counting twice (measure twice, pour once, right? something like that had to apply here) and set them on the counter, going back to dish up...
He was a little less specific in his portioning, just trying to get an even amount in each bowl and make sure there was enough to give them all a nice, full, pleased stomach...
Except one little thing was still off, apparently.
"More brown sugar? Well then, certainly." Never one to pass up the opportunity for more sweetener, he took the bag and grabbed a spoon, sprinkling just a ginger amount over the top of each bowl... except for the last. That one was loaded with so much that the entire surface turned brown. God it looked like a mushy heap of diabetes. How in the world could he enjoy that stuff?
"Now then!" With the finishing touches accomplished, he cheerfully took up one crepe-dish of four in one hand, one of the 'normal' bowls in the other, with a spoon, fork and knife conveniently in hand. "I'm off to treat my darling wife, if there's not another task to be done!"
He'd pick up his plate in good time thereafter, but guests and wives came first.
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:46 pm
She made a face at that there were still four bowls left even after Langston had left. Goddammit. Her 'don't waste food' instinct was probably going to force her to do something with it later.
But not eat it.
It seemed that left Asteria with the other two patients. But, as one of them was still presumably asleep, she fished out another set of the cutlery (only after replacing all dishes she was no longer requiring any use from into the sink. She'd clean them later.
Unless Dad got to them first), not even bothering to double-check them for 'how clean' they were before she picked up another bowl of oatmeal (that wasn't a disease waiting to happen), and the less-boggled-down plate of crepes.
Though she had, honestly, put a little more sugar on the little pair of them.
Which left her to go and find the little guest room. Little sisters needed to be fed before sleeping loves. Especially if they'd been in hiding for a while.
That had required her to get around the obstacle of opening the door first, though. But that was something that was solved with an almost acrobatic training of keeping one arm straight and balancing the plate on it while she opened it.
Old-lifestyle skills, practical use, GO!
"Good morning... are you hungry?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 9:44 pm
And so Langston pranced off gayly to wake his goddess on the couch, charming her back to the conscious world with the sweet aroma of sugary oatmeal and a kiss on the cheek, proceeding to explain his daring kitchen exploits as a whisper in her ear and...
"Y-You did what?!"
Ahaha, the poor woman was so taken aback that she had to glance around herself and make certain that nothing had burned down or gotten horribly charred while she dozed. To her faint surprise (and immense RELIEF), however, everything seemed fine... and so she was free to enjoy breakfast with her darling husband without worry.
How pleasant.
If only things could have been that way on the other side of the house where Asteria had wound up, pushing open the door to reveal...
...
Darkness.
The shades were all drawn shut to close out every ounce of light they could, which had cast the once-charming little space into a veritable cave, the air thick and stagnant with woe. Everything seemed in place, almost untouched, except for the bed... which had been reaped of its covers in a manner eerily like what Aster had done a week before, huh.
... And was there a sniffling sound coming from the other side of the bed? Was that where the girl had gone and cocooned herself?
She sure hadn't piped up to answer Asteria's question, that was for certain.
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 10:02 pm
Sigh.
Asteria groped around in the dark for a side-table or some other surface to put the bowl, plate, and cutlery on, making sure all were secure before she started her little venture into the dark room.
...
and Comically tripping over the bed with a loud squeak of surprise.
Okay, the bed in this room wasn't placed like the one in the room she'd been staying in. Or maybe it was and she just wasn't as oriented with things as she would have liked.
Either way, she'd nearly tumbled over the bed. Ow, that had actually kinda hurt.
However, as mommy had practiced earlier, Asteria didn't try to make contact with the sniffling. Nor did she talk to it, instead she sprawled herself out on the bed and began to purr.
Not thunderpurr, though. She wasn't quite ready to unleash that monster yet.
Not until a certain someone wasn't sprawled out on a bed pathetically. Not to say she didn't still adore him in that state of being.
Prrprrprrprrprrprprr?
"Sweetheart.... are you alright?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 10:19 pm
And still no response from the other side of the bed, even when Aster made a (not so intentional) point of tripping over the bed, then sprawling across it, and then...
Oh, purring: the secret weapon of maternal figures worldwide. Surely, that just had to get some sort of reaction, so close to the little girl in her oversized cocoon of blankets that it was surely impossible to ignore... right? There was nothing at first, but then, after a few seconds, a slight stirring, and a brief pause in the sniffling before--
"Sweetheart.... are you alright?"
That question had been the trigger, causing a small (but thankfully squishy and soft) something to fly out of nowhere and smack the older woman right in her FACE.
Had Roselyn just thrown a stuffed animal at her?
But not just that, she'd started to BAWL. No wailing with the mute spell, but the breathing and little choked sounds told all, just curling over further in her little heap of misery that just seemed so damned heartbreaking. What was she so distraught about?
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 10:41 pm
And just another way the woman failed at life. She'd just gotten pwned by a kid with a teddy bear. Or whatever it was that had gotten her in the face.
But, like any good emotional being that she was herself, Asteria was able to recognize the choked sobbing for what it was. Had it not been her in that same position earlier, sobbing in a corner to try and keep it off the victim?
They were both little heaps of heartbreaking misery, weren't they?
She hesitated for a moment before she reached out and placed her hand flat on the 'back' of the heap, rubbing up and down in a sort of 'soothing' motion with the accompanying purring.
No talking her out of her bad mood this time, Asteria withdrawing her hand after a minute to push herself back up off the bed as quietly as possible (which was difficult when the mattress kept squeaking under her weight. UGH).
Backing off?
Hell yes.
She took a moment to make sure the dishes were arranged properly, before she went to the door.
"I left you some breakfast in here.... we all do hope you'll come out."
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 8:05 am
Well at least the little girl hadn't tried to throw a chair (or a towel basket, eek) like some people might have in the same situation, opting for a fuzzy thing that didn't really hurt, and... when that was done, the 'lashing out' was over. Spent. Wasted. Given up completely in favor of the bawling.
Although that didn't stop her from trying to 'ignore' the little back rubbing gesture, though it was still painfully obvious that she felt it, and that it was even working somewhat to quiet her down. Stubborn though she'd tried to be, she was still a child, and children so young and distraught just couldn't fight maternal comfort forever.
... Except that it had stopped already and-- no, the bed was creaking. Footsteps, there were footsteps heading out.
Aster was leaving...
That got all the panic out of her yet again.
The older woman would never make it to the door, because something had promptly stumbled to it's feet (nearly tripping on her own 'cocoon' in the flurry of motion) and practically thrown itself around her middle in a sobbing... latchhugclingofDEATH, crying even harder than ever, but with a difference.
"M'sorry, m'sorry, d-don't go away again!"
Oh hey, she spoke.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 9:31 am
Well technically she had made it to the door. She was currently using it so she wouldn't be completely floored by a wailing child who had just thrown themselves around her waist and was rambling...
....
apologies?
What was she apologizing for?
Asteria carefully placed one hand on the girl's shoulder and the other on top of her head, stroking Roselyn's hair and again beginning to purr. Maternal-instincts-to-calm-sobbing-child-go! Oh Langston would have been proud that she had maternal instincts already.
"I'm not leaving, sweetie.... I just thought you might want some alone time and I do have someone else who I need to take breakfast to." she explained.
By her logic the 'I'm leaving' had seemed like a reasonable response to Asteria.
"So do eat something, alright? Wasting away because of grief is something..." something I do... "that you're far too young to be subjecting your body to, alright?"
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