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The little ferret ran past all of us and scurried up onto the couch next to Poppy, content to sit and eat its apple.
“Sabrina, meet Lionel.” I turned her to show him sitting on the couch. “He is a very funny and loved pet of Poppy’s, all the way from Australia.”
“I’ve been chasing him all over the house this morning thinking a rodent had gotten in.” Sabrina now smiled. “All this time he was playing games with me, not running away from me?”
“Yes, I’m afraid to say my Lionel boy is quite the game player, but he is absolutely the best pet ever.” Poppy stroked his fur while he ate. “He loves baby Vicky, too. I caught him with one of the game pacifiers in his mouth last night. I think he was jealous.”
“Everyone in the house knows of Lionel then?” Sabrina looked to each of us. “I guess it is good that he is not a bad rodent. Instead, he is a playful one, yes.”
“Yes, he must like you if he kept playing. Lionel, did you have fun with Sabrina?” Poppy asked him.
Lionel rolled over, showing all of us his belly, then rolled to the floor and ran over to Sabrina, running circles around her legs. She looked so happy. It was easy to fall in love with the little guy immediately.
“Well, Lionel, thank you for a fun morning. We shall play again later.” Sabrina reached down and petted him. “Is he always like this?”
“Yes, he has his own mind, for sure.” Poppy patted the couch next to her. “He’s been my best friend for years.”
“Can we play with Lionel later?” I asked. “We have an appointment right now.”
“Sorry, Lionel, but please come visit me.” Sabrina waved and followed me out of the room. “I’m confused, Cota. I thought Diane was teaching us to cook but we just left the kitchen.”
“She is, but not in the family kitchen. She’ll be waiting for us in the big kitchen.”
“There’s more than one?” She followed behind me. “I don’t understand. Why?”
“Why is because there are a lot of people who work here and a lot going on, all the food you see around the house, etc.” I stopped to look at her. “It’s a thing for Aunt Victoria. She wants the family to feel normal, like they have a kitchen to go to. But with all the staff running around here it would never feel cozy for the family.”
“She is a very special person to want that. My family didn’t even want me in their house.” She half shrugged. “Is your family like that?”
“My family, ha. They don’t even know where or what a kitchen is, much less go to it.” I turned her toward the swinging kitchen doors. “Now, it’s going to be busy in there, but we’ve got this. We’re going to learn how to cook for ourselves.”
“I’m ready, lead the way.”
The staff kitchen was exactly as I’d described to her, but Diane had a section ready for us. We spent the next two hours learning the ins and outs of making soup and pie, all while the rest of the staff prepared the feast the family would all be arriving in the dining room for in approximately twenty minutes.
“Will we be eating our soup or pie today?” She sniffed our pie fresh out of the oven. “I so badly want to taste it.”
“Then let’s taste it; there are no rules here.” I grabbed a knife from the drawer and sliced a thin piece. “You ready?”
She didn’t answer, merely closed her eyes and opened her mouth for a bite. It did funny things to my stomach. She was so adorable. I placed a bite to her lips and she took it with pleasure.
“Is that really the one we made?” She bounced up and down clapping. “It is delicious. Diane, you are a master. Thank you so much.”
“You’re very welcome. I like seeing this young man happy and trying to do something for himself.” Diane patted my shoulder. “He used to sneak in here after lunch and sit on the counter over there with a plate of fresh cookies.”
“Don’t tell my secret, Diane, and it wasn’t just me. Asher was with me. However, the others will pout for weeks if they find out I was your favorite.” I chuckled. “I am your favorite, right?”
“Boy, you know better than to think I would answer that loaded question. Go on and join the family to eat.” She shooed us away.
Lunch was eventful with little Vicky and baby Parker crying a good amount of the time and the twins arguing yet again, about who knows what. I looked over to Sawyer and Jade and rolled my eyes, nodding to the twins, which Murphy caught me doing and added her own expressions to the fun. It was in good fun until Aunt Victoria cleared her throat with raised eyebrows at us. There was something about her and that look. It was never more than the look but we always knew to knock off whatever we were doing. Asher and August heard it as well and immediately stopped.
“While I’ve got you all here, does everyone have their costume for the Halloween Monster Mash?” She looked around the table, clearly expecting answers.
“I don’t have mine yet, it’s on order,” August answered first. “I have a back-up, though, if it doesn’t get here.”
“Let’s not forget that we still have to decide on the game the family will play for the party.”
“What about musical chairs?” Asher said. “I played it at a party and it was really fun.”
