Chapter 1119: A Peaceful, Easy Evening (part two)
"Next time, don't wait. My wife does, but that is because she likes to eat with me. I can't be sure when I can get out of there, so just eat if you're hungry!" Kevin said that while looking at Leena. He almost smiled, but he stopped himself.
"But we don't know if you will be late! So just call next time. Do you know how annoying it is to wait? There is so much yummy food here, that our tummies are growling while we wait. So stop torturing us and call!" Leena gave Claire a thankful look. This was precisely what she wanted to tell Kevin. But for some reason she wouldn't tell him this directly. So Claire stepped up to the plate and did Leena a favor.
"Okay, I will." Kevin noticed the silent exchange between the two, and apparently it was Leena who wanted to say something. 'Would you still hold back if Claire hadn't said something?' Kevin thought, 'I told you to come to me if you had a problem.' He never thought that he should give Leena a call if he was unable to get home on time. Was he too busy to call? Or did he just not care enough to ask how Leena felt? So did she just sit there, anxiously waiting for him to come home? And why didn't he even think of that?
"Go wash your hands. Dinner is up." Kevin's gaze brought an embarrassed smile to Leena's face. She lowered her head to avoid eye contact.
"Hmm! I can't eat if I don't shower first. I'm all hot and sweaty. Go ahead and dig in. Don't wait up. I'll be done soon." Kevin went upstairs as he talked. He was in such a hurry to get home that he had no time to take a shower in his dorm in the army base.
"Let's eat, Claire. He will be back soon." Leena had already taken her seat. Unlike women, men usually finished their showers quickly. Sometimes, just a couple of minutes were enough for them. Besides, men didn't take as much time to tidy up in front of a mirror before they left the bathroom.
"I really never knew you could cook this well. The food is just out of this world. I thought you were just an ordinary girl, but you've outdone yourself here. Everything smells nicely." Claire took the chopsticks in front of her, and picked up a slice of braised eggplant from the plate. Those delicious dishes were so alluring that she could not resist it any more. Since Kevin gave the okay, she just went ahead and started in. Kevin could hardly blame her if there was nothing left for him.
Hmm... I took classes. Generally speaking, my cooking is not bad." Leena looked at Claire in surprise. Instead of saying something mean, Claire praised her for the first time. She should mark this day on the calendar.
"That's why. You worked at it, even studied to get it right. No one is born with it." Though she was still arrogant, she seemed more positive and optimistic. It looked like she took Kevin's advice, and decided to be nice to Leena for once.
"It just takes determination. If you want to learn, you just need to do it." Leena just said that to herself. She loved Kevin, and was determined to love him. But she wasn't sure how long she could hold on if Kevin didn't love her back. Only a fool would keep doing something and not get anything out of it. So what would happen if she felt disappointment, or even frustration? What if she started to resent Kevin? These feelings might drive her away from the man she loved.
"I tried and quit. I could never figure it out." Claire had a different opinion. She said this before giving it any thought. To be frank, she seemed to be unable to learn anything that required patience. It might be because she didn't have any to begin with.
"It's okay Claire. You're lucky to be born in this great times, when women don't have to be good at cooking or cleaning. In the past, that was unthinkable. But now, more and more girls are never taught how to cook." A warm smile broke across Leena's face when she talked about cooking. Actually, she liked cooking only because she liked to see how Kevin ate up all her food with a pleasant expression. He liked it, so she liked to cook it for him. Watching Kevin finish everything she cooked, was one of her happiest moments. Whether it was hearing him loudly sucking the bones of chicken claws or slurping Shrimp Dumpling Soup, these sounds made her feel loved.
"Are you making fun of me?" asked Claire with a frown. Though Claire was slow in some respects, she wasn't bad at everything. But every one could see why Claire might have thought that Leena was teasing her. Her words apparently struck a nerve.
No, no. That's not what I meant. I'm just talking about girls in general," Leena anxiously explained. She really didn't want to ruin what they had going right now. She still remembered the bad times between her and Claire, and didn't want a repeat. She explained so quickly every one could tell she was nervous.
"I'm glad you weren't teasing me. I don't want to fight anymore, and I don't want Kevin mad at me. I promised him we would try and get along." Rather than completely fly off the handle, Claire calmed down again after Leena reassured her. She didn't talk about it again.
"Promised Kevin? What are you talking about? Is he making you be nice to me?" Leena felt confused. She thought it was strange that Claire was nice to her. But she didn't think about it twice, since most people were nice to her. Sometimes it took a bit for people to warm up to someone. Now, it seemed that Claire was treating her better because of some arrangement with Kevin. But what did she agree to? And what was Kevin's part in all this? Leena could not help but feel curious about it.
That is a secret between me and Kevin. You will have to ask him," said Claire with her lips curled. Then she dug in to the tasty food, and said nothing more about this secret. The meal was incredible, as excellent as anything cooked by Maud.
"What are you guys talking about? I could swear I heard my name. So what's up?" asked Kevin, walking downstairs. He was so quick when he showered. In the past ten minutes, he did things that would have taken Leena an hour. Wearing more casual clothing, he looked quite refreshed.