Hunger Ch. 02

Knowing from previous relationships that a woman could take hours in the bathroom, I hurried off, set on buying food and then cooking something that would cheer her up.

* * * * *

The bath was wonderfully relaxing, warm water easing the pain in my back. I had poured some etheric oils that Rose had given me in the water, the smell of flowers filling my nose, making me relax even more. Relieved that water could once again give me the calming effect I needed I lay back, breathing and resting, unwanted thoughts thankfully banished, if only for a short moment.

I stayed in the tub until the water got cold, then washed my hair and body before stepping out and wrapping myself up in a large towel. I used a smaller towel to wipe the steam off a mirror; it was time to look at the damage.

The mirror showed me an image of a tired looking woman, wet hair glued to the sides of her face. The right side had its usual pale sheen, somewhat heated by my long bath. The left side was a swollen mess, red splotches spread across it, with the first signs of a large, blueish bruise underneath it all. I could tell that my face would be quite colorful in the days that followed, topped off by a black eye that was now only showing as a slight green bruise.

I shut my eyes against it all and took a deep breath; perhaps it was true that what didn't kill you would only make you stronger.

I put a bathrobe and warm slippers on and walked out into the apartment, using the towel to dry my hair, suddenly stopped by a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Realizing that I had forgotten all about Ben, I followed the smell and found him there, standing in the kitchen, stirring something that was bubbling happily on the stove. He was making food, for me?

I couldn't stop the "whaaat"-sound that slipped through my lips and he turned around, saw me standing there and waved me over.

"I thought you might want to eat," he said with a smile "so I made some pasta. I couldn't tell by what you had at hand if you were a vegetarian or not, so I made two types of spaghetti and sauce. Did you know that you don't have any proper food at home, by the way?"

I shook my head at his fast, eager words. The smile on his face and the way he was talking almost too fast made me think of a puppy, jumping up and down, trying to get my attention. I didn't want to disappoint him with a sharp "I don't eat pasta"-let down, so I smiled a crooked smile, trying to keep the painful side of my face immobile.

"I'm not a vegetarian," I told him "and the food smells wonderful. Thank you!"

His smile grew wider and he pulled out a chair for me to sit on. I fingered nervously at my robe, thinking that I should probably go and change, but shrugged that thought off and sat down. When he started putting what seemed like extreme amounts of food on a plate for me, I realized I was absolutely starving.

"This is Spaghetti Carbonara," he said with a proud voice "and that's Spaghetti all'Arrabbiata, both from my grandmother's not so secret recipes."

He placed the full plate in front of me and then put even more food on a plate for himself before sitting down on the other side of the table, still smiling that adorably happy smile. I saw him dig into the food with obvious pleasure, using a fork and a spoon to separate the pasta and make tidy but large mouthfuls.

I looked at him and his technique a couple of seconds longer before using my own fork to try my first taste of Ben-made food. Carbonara was what he had called the deliciously creamy and salty pile of spaghetti on the right side of my plate and Arrabbiata was the spicy tomato twin on the left. Several small bites later I still couldn't decide which one I liked the best, they were both amazing.

I managed to eat almost all of the food, but had to leave some of it, just too full to finish it all off. Realizing that I hadn't looked up from the food or talked to Ben while I had been eating I felt myself blush and turned my head his way. He had finished his food and was sitting there looking at me with a thoughtful smile on his face.

"Thank you, that tasted wonderful," I said with a smile of my own.

"I'm really glad you liked it" he answered and then stood up to clear the table.

I stayed where I was, good food filling my stomach and the fact that someone else was taking care of me filling my heart with happiness. It was surprising how easy it was to go from self-sufficient to relying on someone else, but I guess this could be classed as very special circumstances.

Any continued thoughts about the strange situation I found myself in were interrupted by a sharp signal from my doorbell. I started walking towards the door, but was stopped by Ben's insistent "I'll get it".

Ben opened the door and I could hear mumbled conversation and then as they walked further into the apartment, a strangely familiar voice.

"Hello, I'm Jerry Sanderson, Ben's..."

Heavy silence filled the hallway as Jerry stared at me, his mouth open wide, taking in everything from my suspicious outfit to my bruised face. Looking at Jerry standing beside Ben, it was obvious they were brothers.

"Ben's brother," I finished the sentence "of course."

My head was suddenly spinning wildly and I took one step backwards before the world turned black around me. One hilarious thought followed me into oblivion - "Ben & Jerry, of course".