Chapter 15 | Cooking and In-Laws(?)

Waking up early morning on Thursday, November 28, I did my morning routine and cooked breakfast. Taking out my phone, I wished Pamela a happy thanksgiving before closing my phone to begin breakfast.

On a side note, since the dinner was ending at 5 or 6, I was planning on dropping by Pamela and making her a little something, since I knew she was doing some sort of mentorship program and away from her family.

It wasn't much but I wanted to do something for one of the few people I was close to in this world.

So after making a quick omelet and toasts, I ate breakfast and started cooking a 'small' Thanksgiving diner of my own. First starting with the things that could be eaten cold, I made mashed potato, pumpkin pie, and a light salad, after making them and setting the pie in the oven I waited for them to cool and placed them in the fridge. 

Turning to the hot food I made the turkey stuffing first and quickly stuffed and seasoned the turkey, before slapping it into the oven for 3-4 hours. Since, it would take a while to finish I decided to make corn and gravy as well.

While waiting for the corn and gravy to finish, I wanted to check on a little experiment I was doing. So, reaching my hand out I took a piece of toast from my [Storage], it's heat bathing my hand. I smiled as the piece of toast was put in at least a week ago and it still remained hot now.

This was actually a discovery I had made from talking to aroura and trying the [Storage] out. From Aroura, although any system generated item can be placed in and retrieve from the [Storage] it dose not mean only system items can be stored into [Storage]. Going off this I tried storing many different items into the [Storage] but currently, I only discovered one type of item that could be stored within the storage, food.

After that, I was left wondering, how does the system [Storage] work? Is it just a pocket dimension or something else? Are the items just stored somewhere else or are they preserved in some way?

From this experiment my current thought was that when placed into the [Storage] items would be frozen in time, due to toast retaining it's heat.

Knowing that, I stored the gravy and corn inside the [Storage].With only the turkey left, I allowed it to cook while I changed for the dinner at Barbera's house.

Since it was a commissioner's dinner, I thought I should at least dress semi-formal. Taking out a pair of blue jeans, a small white button up shirt, a black overcoat and a snug teal scarf matching my eyes. I also did my hair to be a little more tamed, overall I looked good.

Waiting for the Turkey to finish, I quickly stored it in my [Storage] and checked the time. It was about 8:10, since I had enough time I decided to make a housewarming gift for the Gordon family.

Quickly preparing the ingredients I started making a cake. Deciding to make a pumpkin cake, I started making vanilla icing. Quickly, layering the pumpkin cake layers with vanilla icing in-between each layer.

After layering I put frosting on the sides and smoothened it out. Then I poured some caramel along the sides and allowed it to drip down the sides slightly. Sprinkling some grounded nuts on one corner I made a flower shape along the other side out of frosting.

Finishing the cake off by writing on the center, I finished the cake and packed it. Checking the time again, it was 9:20, so I decided to leave early and headed to the Gordon household.

Walking there I appreciated the dropping temperature and the orange and red trees accumulating on the ground, beneath the trees. Taking in a deep breath I enjoyed the cold November air, somehow resonating with the 'cold' nature of my Reiryoku and causing a calming sensation. I wonder if this will feel like in winter?

Finally arriving at the residence of the police commissioner I nock on the door, waiting for a minute or two, Mrs. Gordon opens the door. 

''Oh! Hello, Albert I knew you where coming, but I was a bit surprised to see you.'' She says with a slightly surprised face and then smiles.

''Well I promised to help with the cooking, didn't I?'' I replied returning a smile of my own.

''Where are my manners, come in!'' She says as she opens the door and welcomes me in. Taking a step inside I notice the clean and homey feeling of the house.

''Barbera, your friends here!'' Mrs. Gordon says as she closes the door behind me. Right after a slightly messy Barbera comes running from the kitchen.

''Your here! Come on lets go to the kitchen, we're making the Turkey!'' Barbera says as she excitedly pulls my hand and drags me to the kitchen.

''Haah... little Barbera's all grown up...'' a faint motherly voice comes from behind me but I ignore it.

Walking into the slightly messy kitchen I looked around an noticed an assortment of ingredients and some already finished dishes. Walking in Mrs. Gordon began to give instructions, but I first handed her the cake I'd made.

''What's this?'' Mrs. Gordon asked looking at the box while slowly opening the top.

''A cake.'' I replied curtly. However as Mrs. Gordon looked at the cake her eyes momentarily widened.

''Where did you find something like this?'' She asked with a surprised look on her face as the cake both looked and definitely tasted amazing.

''I made it.'' I replied again curtly.

''You made this!?'' She asked in disbelief as the level of cooking skill needed to make something at that aesthetic level usually came from a professional chief.

''Yes.''

''How?'' She exclaimed seeming to not believe someone my age could be a better cook then herself.

''I cook.''

''Still... something like this...'' She said, somewhat hesitantly, still seeming to not be able to accept that I made it. I didn't care what she thought but just decided to end the subject using my trump card.

''I'm an orphan.'' I said and she quickly shut up.

''Ah! Um... sorry.'' She said guiltily, seeming to feel bad about bringing it up.

''Don't worry about it.'' I dismissively said.

''Alright, since your even better a chief than I thought can you make the pie with Barbera, while I season the turkey?'' She asked changing the subject.

''Yay, pie!'' Barbera exclaimed and I nodded.

Going over to start preparing a pumpkin pie, I had Barbera help put together the pie. While doing so I made small talk to keep her child-like attention span on topic.

''You say your an 'orphan' a lot don't you?'' She said in passing while helping me put on frosting to the top of the cake, hearing her however my eyes widened at her catching that.

''What do you mean?'' I asked with an intrigued gaze.

''You say that whenever you get annoyed talking, right? You did it yesterday, when talking to mom too.'' She said while focusing on the frosting and I smiled.

'As expected of a genius, not only does she pick up on those social ques but also picked up on my response and emotional state.' I thought.

''I don't know what your talking about.'' I say as I reach out and pat her hair.

''Hey stop, your getting whips cream in my hear!'' She exclaims while pushing my hand away.

''Sure, sure.'' I say as we finish off the pie and put it onto a ledge to let it cool off.

''By the way, where's your dad?'' I suddenly asked as I had not seen the commissioner at all since I got here.

''He's a little busy today because of a sudden case, but he said he'd be here before the dinner starts.'' She said still focused on the pie.

I myself felt a little bad for having asked, but it seemed Barbera didn't mind, even if he was working on Thanksgiving so I didn't linger on it.

''Anyone else coming, Barbs?'' I asked and Barbera turned towards my direction, thinking for a little bit before responding.

''We have a few other family friends coming, but other than that only a few close family friends. So not much, maybe... 10~15 people.'' Barbera answered after deliberating it for a second.

Nodding we continued making dinner until 12 where we took a break from cooking and cleaned the kitchen. After that, Mrs. Gordon let us both clean up, luckily for me I wore an apron and was relatively clean, excluding my hands from making the food.

Barbera, on the other hand, was a mess. She had dough and other stains all over her cloths from all the cooking, somehow it even got in her hair. Taking Barbera upstairs to quickly shower and change, Mrs. Gordon went up with her to help her out. Leaving

Mrs. Gordon left me downstairs in the living room with a drink and cookies, until she finished helping Barbera clean up. Opening my phone, I checked if Pamela was there.

>[Hey] I texted, greeting her.

>[Hi.]

>[Any plans today] I asked.

>[No, what about you?]

>[I'm at someone else's house. Just finished helping them cook the dinner] I wrote, referencing to all the food I'd just made. But instantly after sending, Pamela had sent me sent me a text back.

>[Who's house?]

>[A friend from school.] I answered.

>[Is she a girl?] She asked.

>[yah, why?] I typed back as she seemed quit interested in Barbera. Did she know her? No that's not possible, yet. Though, they both are in the birds of prey in some comics... Wait is she jealous...?

>[No reason.] she replied after much longer than her first messages.

>[Ok, so are you just gonna stay home all day?] I asked, deciding to drop the subject as I wanted to surprise her with the dinner. After all her [Relationship] still says [Guilty crush] and [denial] so even if she likes me she's not a pedophile and probably wouldn't get jealous...probably.

>[Yup, pretty much.] She answered and I cemented my plans after the party.

Since Barbera and Mrs. Gordon hadn't come down yet I decided to continue chatting with Pamela until, I heard a loud noise from the front door.

Turning to the front door, my concentration intensified as I quickly went through possible scenarios, starting with the worst case one.

Could someone be targeting the commissioner's family on Thanksgiving? The possibility is their but it's unlikely, even crime bosses and gang members have families...

Then a guest? I thought quickly checking the time but dismissed the idea as it was 12:45, too early for guest to arrive.

On that topic, it's probably not commissioner Gordon, as Barbera said he'd come home near dinner time, around 3:30. 

Then maybe a burglar? It could make sense, many people leave their homes to visit family or relatives, or to attend Thanksgiving parties.

Preparing in case I allowed my Reiryoku to seep out slightly, prepared to attack at any moment.

Walking in from the entrance a mans voice echoed.

''Honey, I got off work early!'' He said as he entered. So it was the commissioner, I quickly sealed my Reiryoku away and turned my attention to the phone quickly typing that something came up and I'd talk later to Pamela before closing the phone.

''is it me or is it cold in here...?'' The commissioner mumbled as he was taking off his shoes.

Entering the living room the commissioner noticed me and made a confused face while staring at me, an eyebrow raised.

''Hello.'' I greeted him with a nod and he dumbly greeted back.

''Hi.'' He said and a silence filled the room before he broke it.

''Who are you?'' he asked with a blank look.

''I'm Albert.'' I replied curtly and his lips twitched.

''No that's not what I mean...'' He mumbled before slapping his face lightly.

''Have I been drinking to much coffee?'' He mumbled, questioning if he was imagining this weird combination. Turning his head to face the stairs leading upstairs he asked his wife.

''Honey, why is their a boy in our living room?'' He asked, slightly raising his voice so his wife could hear and Mrs. Gordon's voice echoed back.

''That's Albert.''

''...'' Commissioner Gordon's lip twitched once more at the familiar reply.

''Give me a second, I'll be down in a minute.'' Mrs. Gordon's voice once more sounded and the commissioner seemed ok with waiting for an explanation.

Sitting down on the single sofa to the side he gave me a once over and I shrugged my shoulders.

''Want some?'' I asked holding the plate of cookies over to the commissioner.

He stare dumbly at the plate of cookies in my hand and back at me before shaking his head.

''I'm fine, thankyou...'' He said before seeming to give up and just except one.

Walking downstairs, Mrs. Gordon was met with the odd site of the boy she'd met not to long ago blankly munching on cookies with her husband. Somehow finding this site oddly hilarious she tried to contain her laughter, but failed letting out a snicker.

Hearing her both me and the commissioner simultaneously turned towards her with the same questioning look. This however made her unable to hold back and laugh her ass off.

Earning a questioning look from us, Mrs. Gordon  whipped a tear from her eyes and began to explain.

''Sorry, sorry. Well anyways this is Albert, one of the kids Barbera asked to come to the Thanksgiving dinner. Albert, this is my husband, Jim. You can just call him Mr. Gordon, since you call me Mrs. Gordon.'' She explained and introduced us to each other, but Commissioner Gordon had a slightly strained smile.

''I thought she was inviting a girl?'' He asked and Mrs. Gordon explained.

''That was Stacy, she already had plans to visit family with her parents.'' She stated.

''huh...'' Commissioner Gordon sighed and decided to make small talk as we all waited for Barbera to come down.

''So, Albert... did you come with your parent-'' Commissioner Gordon tried to ask but was promptly elbowed by Mrs. Gordon. Reeling from the pain he looked confusedly at his wife but soon understood why from my answer.

''I'm an orphan.'' I stated and Commissioner Gordon's face dropped instantly, feeling guilty he had brought it up, even by accident. Maybe he felt it at a person level, since one of the reasons he works as a commissioner is to stop kids from being orphaned. It was something I could respect.

''Sorry...'' He said with a genuinely sorry face. Seeing his expression a thought came to my mind.

'Does it run in the family' I wondered, as I compared the different sorrys I'd received from the Gordon family. a gentle smile formed on my face and I reassure them.

''Think nothing of it. I'm fine.'' I said and Commissioner Gordon nodded, although slightly hesitantly.

''So... the party doesn't start till threee...'' He began to say but elongated the three as he looked at his wife for confirmation, she shook her head.

''two...?'' He corrected, albite in a questioning tone as he looked over to his wife. She nodded.

''Two. The party doesn't start till two.'' He fixed and turned to me.

Repressing a smile from this married couples antics I explained.

''I came early to help with cooking, it's the least I can do for inviting me.'' I answered and his brows arched up, followed by a nod. It seemed he had accepted me...

''Your a good kid.'' He stated with a thumbs up, his wife following suit.

''I know right. I wonder where Barbera found such a good one.'' Mrs. Gordon said in a way only adults could understand and Gordon did.

''Isn't she a little young?'' He asked with a protective fathers tone as he looked at his wife.

''I know, but they can still be friends for now. But from what Barbera said he's a top student even after skipping two grades and quite mature.'' She explained with an exited tone.

''But stil- wait, you skipped two grades?'' He turned towards me mid-sentence and asked.

I nodded without expanding and he asked.

''So what grade are you and how old are you?'' He questioned with a curious look, Mrs. Gordon also intently listened in.

''I'm 8 years old, but I'm in grade 5.'' I answered.

''Two years older than Barbera...'' The commissioner mumbled, his wife smiling smugly at him.

''And your a top student?'' He asked once again and I simply nodded in affirmation to his question.

''See he's a keeper.'' Mrs. Gordon said to her husband.

''Well he's smart, I'll give him that.'' Commissioner Gordon nodded in agreement and Mrs. Gordon also agreed.

''But still!'' Commissioner Gordon adamantly denied.

''Come on, like Barbera would find anyone half as good in Gotham, especially Gotham.'' Mrs. Gordon chided in annoyance.

''That's true... fine, if they ever do decide on it, after at least turning 18, they have my blessing.'' The commissioner said turning to his wife, not thinking much as they thought an 8 year old, even if he was a genius would understand.

''I completely agree.'' Mrs. Gordon nods in agreement.

Only one problem. I fucking understand everything they're saying and man is it awkward. She's like 6! Albite I'm 8... but still shouldn't she have a say in this!... and be old enough to understand what your talking about.

While screaming on the inside, I continued making small talk with Mr and Mrs Gordon, waiting for Barbera to come downstairs, but...

...along the way, somehow I had gotten their blessing.

Less than 3 months until Appellaxian invasion.