Chapter 117: Ten Minute Soup
"Lucien, the onions..." Evelyn said hurriedly while stirring the soup in the pot.
Sweat beaded at her forehead as she rushed to finish the meal, the wooden spoon scraping in tight circles against the bottom of the pot.
"Three minutes left mom..." Avery’s expression was as aloof as ever.
She stood by the doorway and coldly watched her mother’s rapid movements, stopwatch held loose in her hand.
"Come on mom!" Sophie’s eyes were filled with nervousness as she stared unblinkingly at her mom’s hands.
Jane stared at the group and rolled her eyes before muttering under her breath.
"Why am I even here? Who thought it was a good idea to have mom engage in time cooking session?"
Evelyn shot Jane a glare as she collected the onions from my hands and poured them into the soup.
Despite Jane muttering to herself, she clearly caught the words.
"Hurry up, honey." I urged, smiling.
"Two minutes..." Avery continued counting down.
I chuckled, watching the ongoing scene between them.
As one would have it, after I and Sophie were done trimming the flowers in the garden, we met the other three women arguing about something.
Upon learning about the situation, Evelyn claimed she could cook a soup in barely ten minutes.
Of course, the girls, knowing how slow their mom were with cooking, didnt believe her in the slightest.
The argument led to the current situation.
"One minute left."
"Done!"
Both Avery and Evelyn spoke at the same time.
Sophie tossed the spoon into the soup and raised her hands up in surrender, breathing heavily.
The girls exchanged glances and Sophie showed an excited expression on her face.
Avery calmly pressed on the stopwatch to pause the time, then she walked over to the pot.
Glancing inwards, she noticed the food was a mess.
However appearance couldnt completely decide how the food would taste.
Even Jane who had been grumbling before was staring in curiosity as her elder sister inspected her mother’s food, wondering if Evelyn had actually cooked the meal in barely ten minutes.
Avery leaned closer and sniffed lightly, inhaling the scent of the food.
It scented... acceptable.
She swallowed, hiding her irritation at looking at it.
Then she stretched her hand and poked the soup with a finger before bringing it to her mouth.
She tasted it and the air seemed to become still. Everyone held their breaths as they waited for her final judgement.
Avery finally raised her hand gently.
Even I couldnt help but watch in curiosity at what her reaction to the meal would be.
Why was she acting so painfully slow? Did she enjoy how much tension she was giving everyone?
I couldnt help but feel that Avery enjoyed every little bit of attention focused on her.
She glanced at us for a few seconds while slowly raising her finger, before finally showing a ’good’ sign.
"Ha... haha...." Evelyn chuckled, and it slowly turned into a relieved laugh.
"Next time dont doubt your mom, girls." She said softly as she thrust her fist in the air.
Seeing her excited expression I couldnt help but find myself chuckling as well.
Sophie, eager as always, rushed to the pot and quickly dipped her finger inside to taste it.
"Ow... ow..." she instantly winced in pain at how hot it was.
"What were you thinking? It was just brought down from the cooker." Jane rolled her eyes at her sister’s pained expression but also walked to the pot to taste how good her mother’s cooking was.
Sophie blew on her hand gently and after the soup had cooled off on her hand, she finally brought it to her mouth to taste it.
She dipped it into her mouth and her eyes instantly lit up.
It tasted so good.
"Wow..." She heard her sister’s surprised exclaim from the side.
"For something cooked in so little time, it sure does taste amazing." Jane sucked on her finger for a bit, cleaning off every trace of soup before dipping her finger into the soup once again and turning to me.
"Here, have a taste dad." Jane’s smile was charming and there seemed to be nothing wrong with her actions, however Avery’s eyes shifted slightly.
Sophie’s mouth slowly parted open.
She had been so engrossed in how good the soup tasted that she had forgotten to invite me for a taste.
Unfortunately her sister was faster than her.
Evelyn smiled, and I noticed the trace of joy and relief she held in her eyes as she saw her family interacting so happily.
It was all she ever wanted. Having a man in the household to take care of her beautiful girls.
Seeing them accept me so wholeheartedly filled her with pride and joy.
Meanwhile, I didnt reject my daughter’s offer and only after a second or two leaned forward to have a taste of her soup coated finger.
I glanced at my daughter with a smile on for the briefest instant before licking the soup off her finger.
The broth was still warm. Her fingertip rested against my tongue a moment longer than it needed to, slick and salted, before I drew back.
"It tastes amazing." I complimented after licking the soup off Jane’s fingers and savoring the taste for a few seconds.
Evelyn instantly felt her cheeks turn pink.
"Hey, dont finish the soup, let’s take it with some bread while watching a movie." She slapped Sophie’s hand seeing that the little girl was licking the soup off the pot for the third time in a row.
Sophie instantly showed a wronged expression on her face.
However when her mother wasnt looking she quickly stuck her finger into the pot, and scooped a little of the soup before running out of the kitchen with a playful expression on her face.
Evelyn sighed and massaged her forehead before shaking away the act.
She glanced in the direction of her two other daughters.
"Avery bring some bread, while jane you turn up the tv and put a movie for us." Evelyn gave a few orders to the two girls and they instantly obliged.
"So..." The moment the girls left, Evelyn instantly leaned closer to me until I could feel her warm breath against my face.
She smiled and asked, "what do you think of your wife? I’m such a good cook aren’t I?"
She pushed herself closer and closer that it seemed as though she was about to kiss me.
"Mmm." I nodded calmly.
Then, before Evelyn could react I turned her against the wall and held her waist there, placed against the wall before leaning in for a soft, warm kiss.
Her mouth opened under mine. The heat of the stove still clung to her skin. Her body melted and her eyes slowly closed.
"Mom!" A loud voice interrupted us before we could do anything more.
Evelyn instantly opened her eyes and noticed Jane standing at the door with her arms folded and her lips pouted.
"Cough... cough..." she cleared her throat then pulled me gently.
"Let’s go watch a movie with the girls." She informed me, and dragged me along into the sitting room.
Sophie sat with her legs raised, and her arm wrapped around her legs.
From how she sat, I could see a little bit of her fair butt cheeks and a glimpse of her panties due to the mini skirt she wore.
I stared at it for only a second before pretending like I hadn’t seen anything.
Avery sat more maturely, and had her arms placed neatly on her lap, with her legs crossed.
Her gaze was fixed intently on the television placed in front of us as she watched the ongoing show.
"I wanna sit with dad, mom, you’re gonna have to fine somewhere else to sit..." just as Evelyn was about sitting on the large cushion in the sitting room, Jane quickly held her up and pushed her away playfully.