She pointed at her chest and tilted her head to the side. Was Callan asking if she had a dead sibling? She looked at him again and was about to talk when he expatiated to her level of comprehension.
"Can you cook?"
"Oh," Orla heaved a sigh. Different thoughts had muddied up her mind and she wondered how she was going to tell Callan the whole thing. "What do you think, Callan?" Smiling has become so easy these few days whenever they talk.
"I would say no if you asked me. Or wait," he poured some strawberry juice into the glass and passed it to her. "Is it a yes but you don't cook because I have never told you to do that? I mean, we always order our meals."
"Oh," she blushed. "Thank God we always order our meals because you would have eaten poison if you ever let me into that kitchen of yours." She wriggled her head and gently sipped from the juice.
"Our kitchen," he smiled. "You can't cook, can you?"
"It's obvious from what I just said." She dug into her food again. "I would never think of doing this in my dreams."
"Why?" He asked, sipping from his glass of juice.
He took a sip and pushed the cup aside. He had almost forgotten that strawberries aren't his things. He was allergic and he prayed that a sip wouldn't affect him that badly.
"There was no one to teach me how to cook, Callan." She drifted into thoughts about her rough childhood and how she was rejected by everyone after her mother died. It was hard for her to live by herself, but she smiled, relieved she was out of that place now. "The few times I learnt online, I wasn't allowed to practicalize it." Everyone thought I would poison their food if I was allowed to cook for them. The words never left her mouth but that was what it was.
Callan imagined how hard it must have been for her to grow up in an environment where she was loathed by every member of her family.
The guilt of not treating her well ate him up and he felt so sorry for the times he'd been harsh to her. She deserved all the happiness in the world and that was what he'd shower her with henceforth.
"Now you are here and the kitchen is yours. You can make use of it anyhow you want." He relaxed on the chair, patiently waiting for the strawberry to start affecting him. He shouldn't have taken a sip, but he wanted Orla to feel good.
Since he noticed that strawberries were her favourite flavour of drinks, he had jammed the house with everything that was related to it, but too bad, he was allergic.
"I don't know how it works anymore." She said truthfully, her eyes shimmering as she studied the sablefish in front of her. She cut from it and shoved it in her mouth. "Nice," she commended.
"I seem to do everything right." He bragged but she didn't argue it. It clearly was the truth. "So, how about you learn from the master chef?" He placed his hand on the table and winked at her. His wink was so seductive Orla almost choked on her next words.
"If you are willing to teach me, why not?"
"I am willing but it doesn't come for free. Everything comes with a price. So, are you willing to pay?" He dropped the fork in his hand and rested his palms on his jaw, his eyes on his wife. He wanted to explore her full face as she blushed at his words.
"Pay you, Callan?" She scoffed, chomping on the fish. "You have money, more than enough money. Why else would you want my money?" She blinked her puppyish eyes that he loved so much.
Callan laughed, Orla was the cutest whenever she made those puppyish eyes and he just couldn't get over her cuteness.
"Cash payments are not allowed though." He smirked, playfully biting his lips. She caught him flirting with her and was too shy to stare into his eyes.
"So, what do you want then?" She whispered.
"What do you think I want from you?" He continued with his food, and Orla briefly looked at him.
"I don't know what you want, Callan." She was getting tense and was almost out of words.
"Kind payments are allowed. Kisses and orgasms." He blurted out and this time, Orla choked on her food. "Are you good?" He handed her water.
She snatched the glass from him and downed the content at a go.
When Orla glared at him, he threw his head backwards and burst into laughter.
"Really? Kisses and orgasms?"
"Better payments than cash, don't you think?" He smirked, still laughing.
"Huh, I will think about it." She shifted uncomfortably on the chair, eyes on everything in the dining aside from Callan. After observing everything, out of the blue, she asked. "Why don't you have a maid here?"
"A maid?" He smiled, "I don't think I need one." He said thoughtfully.
"You didn't think you needed one before we got married?" Her plate was almost empty now.
Callan was impressed with how well she enjoyed the meal he prepared for her. Learning how to cook wasn't a bad idea, after all, he thought.
"I know I didn't need one," Callan responded dryly.
He had never considered having a maid and it sounded bizarre that Orla was talking about it.
"Why? You could do all the house chores by yourself?" She envisioned Callan washing the dishes, cleaning the rooms and embedding himself with other house chores. He didn't look like one who would be interested in all that.
"No."
"No?" She stared at him calmly and observably.
The light in his eyes was dim and his hands were barely handling the cutleries. He shifted in his chair, grasping the knife again but it fell off and he let go of it.
Orla was tempted to ask if he was fine, but he beat her to it when he looked at her and said. "Is that all we are going to talk about?"
"Er, what else can we talk about?" Callan had been entertaining and she didn't want to be the boring human, but no matter how hard she racked her brain nothing seemed to be coming forth.
"You. Your family, do you want to talk about them?" Callan perfectly understood that Orla might get uncomfortable with that question and he promised not to bug her if she didn't want to talk about it. But he wished she could. He wished she could voice out to him and tell him the origin of the hatred. If only she would.
"What about my family?" Orla snapped.
The topic was overly sensitive and less expected. Irritation coursed through her as she glared at Callan.
"Everything that I need to know about your family."