Home Cookin'

Her first day Gio's place, Elle had thought the house felt like him. But now, it was her second day there and now that she was no longer weighed down by shock and exhaustion, Elle was having a proper look around.

The place still felt like Gio, but it was showing her a side of him that Elle was hoping she was wrong about. Not because it pointed to anything sinister about him, but because as Elle stood between the dining room and the kitchen proper, she realized something.

Gio was lonely.

At first glance she had not seen it, but the house, with its soft furnishing, warm wood, and general homely feel…was empty.

Everything was almost too picture perfect, like a show home, not a place where an actual person lived. It was like he'd had it built for a family, and when none had materialized he had kept on living there with the hope that one day he'd have people to share the home with. The thought alone broke Elle's heart, and then she walked into the kitchen and it shattered even more. 

The day before she had gone through the cupboards looking for a glass to use, she had not thought much of how bare everything was. But now she was really looking at stuff and her eyes stung. High-end cooking machinery was artfully arranged in the place, every single surface was gleaming, there was even a double oven. Every inch of the kitchen was like the majority of the house, spotless, clean. And it was not the type clean that meant a particular area of the house was well loved.

The kitchen, the heart of any home as far as Elle was concerned, had never been used. The only appliance that looked like it had seen some form of use was the coffee machine, a top of the line one that had so many buttons it made Elle's head ache.

Next to it was a bag, and when Elle opened it, there was takeout being kept warm in there. Opening the huge double door fridge, there was nothing in it but a single juice bottle. Her name written on a bright pink sticky tape stuck to it. Gio's blocky script easily recognizable on the piece of paper.

Closing the fridge, Elle headed over to the door that she guessed led to the pantry and opened it. This time Elle really did let a tear fall.

It was empty. Completely empty, and did not show signs of ever having held a morsel of food ever since it had been built. 

 Gio had taken the time, even with all that was going on to make sure that she had something to eat when she woke up. But the same man who took it upon himself to make sure that she was looked after, did not seem to think he deserved the same kind type of care.

A thought proven correct when Elle popped open the lid of the bin tucked into the corner. There was nothing but takeout in it, with only a few banana and apple peels here and there as the only sign that he had some fresh fruit once in a while.

All these years together and she had never realized. It took a whole hour curled up in the living room couch, eating the food left behind for her absentmindedly for Elle to come up with a plan.

She would not be staying long with Gio. But the least she could do was make sure that he was looked after in the short time she would be there.

"If you need anything, call this number, one of my people will come," Gio had told her the day before. Back then Elle had not been able to think of anything she might want, especially after her clothes and toiletries had arrived. But now she knew what she wanted.

It took a bit of rummaging around but eventually she found a piece of paper and a pen. Essential items in hand, Elle pulled out one of the stools around the kitchen island and got to work.

The shopping list took close to half an hour to write since there was absolutely nothing in Gio's kitchen. No salt, no spices, no fruits, no vegetables, no sugar, no cooking oil, no butter, no bread no flour, no yeast, no meat. 

It was a blank canvas.

That done, Elle finally called Gio's people. The stern faced woman who showed up, Angela, showing no reaction to being given what was no doubt an unusual request given her boss' eating habits.

Instead she took the list quietly and an hour later she was back, three others following behind her, all of them carrying bags of food.

"It is alright, I've got it from here," Elle told them when they tried to unpack. 

She passed the afternoon setting up the pantry and when that was done she started cooking. It was a simple dish, homemade bread with mince, and though Elle would have liked to be there when Gio first tasted her food, it soon became clear that the effects of the attack had yet to leave her completely.

She ended up leaving the food in the oven. A sticky tape with Gio's name on it stuck to the door.

She was asleep when Gio finally got home. So she did not see him pick up the sticky tape with shaky hands, nor did she see it when he smiled, big and bright at the first bite of home cooking he'd had in years.