TIFFANY’S POV
She had gotten back from school and as usual, Shawn was not back from work. She freshened up and went downstairs to have oat for lunch after which she returned to her room to read.
She had read for a few hours before going downstairs to get water. She got close to the kitchen and heard noises indicating that Shawn was back and making the dinner.
She stood at the kitchen door and watched him for sometime before saying, “Making dinner already?”
He was startled as he turned back to look at her.
“You startled me.” He said, when he turned and realized it was her.
“That was the idea.” She said, entering the kitchen fully.
“Well, you pulled it off so well. I can’t believe I got startled easily.” Shawn said, and returned to what he was doing.
“You are obviously not as tough as you pretend to be. When did you get home? I didn’t hear you arrive.” she said, as she took a bottle of water from the fridge.
“Not too long ago. You probably were asleep then.” Shawn replied
“Nah. I was reading.” She said, shaking her head.
“Do you always read?” He asked.
“Most times. To keep being an A student, I have to.” She replied.
And all of a sudden, he screamed and held his hand. When rushed to him, she realized he had cut his finger.
She had rushed upstairs to his room to get the first aid box and treated his injury.
She felt satisfied when he told her “Thank you so much.”
“I will return this from where I took it from.” She said after arranging the content of the first aid box in their rightful places.
“Okay. Thank you so much.” He said again.
She nodded before walking out of the kitchen. She returned a few minutes later and found him back to preparing the food.
“How about I help you with the tedious part of the preparation?” Tiffany offered.
“I would appreciate that.” Shawn replied.
“Okay. I don’t know what dish this is. You will have to direct me on what to do.” Tiffany said, taking out an apron from the drawer.
“Sure. But before we start, you have to know what we are making. This dish is called poutine, a local delicacy that is prepared with fries topped with cheese curds and hot gravy.” Shawn explained.
Tiffany listened attentively, and by the time they were done, she had gotten a grasp of how to make the dish.
“I will make it the next time we will be having it.” Tiffany said, as they sat in the dinning, eating.
“That would be nice.” Shawn said.
Remembering the advice Mrs Gold gave her, Tiffany decided to ask him about his day at work. “How was your day at work? I hope it was not stressful?” She asked.
Shawn stared at her in surprise then replied with a low, “My day was okay, and no, it was not stressful.”
“Okay.” Tiffany said, and continued eating.
“So, there is this new Karaoke bar in town and I was wondering if you would love to go there with me this weekend. Saturday, precisely.” Shawn suddenly said, after minutes of silence.
Tiffany was taken aback by his words. Did he just voluntarily ask her out on a date? She was about to reply when she remembered she had a date with her friends in a karaoke bar that same Saturday.
“Ummm.. I don’t know, but..” She was still talking when Shawn cut her short. “You don’t have to accept, I was just asking. I would just go with Bryan.” Shawn said.
“No, no, it’s fine. I would love to go. I honestly would love to go with you.” Tiffany said, before she could stop herself.
“Okay, then. Thank you.” Shawn said.
They spent the remaining minutes in the dinning in silence. They only spoke to each other when they were about to retire to bed.
“Thank you for today. For treating my wound and helping out with dinner.” Shawn said, as they stood in front of his room door.
“You are welcome. Good night.” Tiffany said and walked to her room.
SHAWN’S POV
He laid awake as he thought about how she tensed to his wound like a mother would do to her child. And she went ahead to offer her help with the cooking.
He doesn’t know how, but his stereotype about her was gradually changing and it was for good.
He stared at his bandaged finger and hoped it would let him perform his duties the next day at work.
He was still in thoughts when he drifted off to sleep. As he walked downstairs the next morning, prepared for work, he was greeted by the aroma of freshly made pancakes. He followed the aroma to the dinning where Tiffany was setting the table.
“Good morning. Breakfast is served. I figured you won’t be able to make breakfast since your finger is hurt, so I decided to fix something for us.” She said, as she looked up and saw him walking towards the dinning.
“That was thoughtful of you. What are we having?” Shawn asked and took his seat.
“Pancakes and Kale banana smoothie.” Tiffany said.
“Yummmy.” Shawn said dramatically.
He ate the meal with relish, no doubt, Tiffany Dion was a good cook.
“Thank you for the meal. Have a nice day at school. I will be leaving for work now.” Shawn said, and stood up after eating.
“And you, too.” Tiffany replied. She was about clearing the table.
He bid her goodbye and Walked out. He got to work and was about to start for the day when Rachel sauntered in.
“Oh, my God! What happened to you, Shawn?” She asked as her eyes caught sight of the bandage on his finger.
Oh, shit! He had forgotten to hide it from her. “It’s nothing serious, Rachel.”
“You can’t tell me that. Let me take a look.” She said and took hand.
“What were you doing to have sustained an injury like this?” Shae asked frantically.
Knowing Rachel and her thirst for explanation, Shawn decided to explain. “I was making dinner last night, and a knife mistakenly cut me.”
“You were making dinner? What then is the work of your so-called fiance?” She asked.
“Leave Tiffany out of this.” Shawn warned.
“Why should I? Since that brat came into your life it has been one trouble or the other. Tell me why she didn’t do the cooking?” Rachel ranted.
“Wow! Coming from someone who doesn’t even know how to boil hot water. For your information, she cooks so well and it was my decision to cook last night.” Shawn said.
“Why won’t you support her despite the fact that she is not and can never be good for you.” Rachel said.
“I’m Rachel, I will have to ask you to leave if you keep badmouthing her.” Shawn said in a serious tone.
“Wait…are you already in love with her?” Rachel asked.
“What if I am?” Shawn asked. “She is my fiance anyway and soon to be my wife.” He added.
“Oh! I see. That’s because you don’t know her true self.” Rachel said.
“And what do you mean by that?” Shawn asked, confused.
“Never mind.” Rachel said and walked out.
Shawn stared after her in surprise. Not able to arrive at a possible reason for her outburst, he returned to his work.