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He directs Dean and Dylan to carry the crates we got from Bruce.
As he did before, he gives us an introduction to the supplies we’ll be using, but this time, he’s able to show us firsthand what to do.
Then, he goes over the upkeep we’ll have to do daily. It takes about two times longer than it needs to because Dwight keeps stopping to add in a bee joke or gets off track with bee-related facts. Eventually, he finishes his lecture and tells us he’ll be back in three weeks to see if any honey is ready to be collected.
“So, there’s nothing else to do?” I ask Dwight.
“Nope, you just wait for them to do their magic.”
“Well, all right then,” I say. I’m glad that it doesn’t seem that Mina will need to spend too much time around the bees.
Dwight leaves, and we all walk back toward the house. Grandpa Bob asks Dylan if he’s interested in helping him in the barn. Grandpa seems to have taken a liking to the Cornel boys, but he’s always been good about taking in strays.
“Hey! What about me?” Mina interjects.
“We have to shovel poop,” Grandpa warns.
“So? I can do that.”
I’m so proud of Mina’s toughness. But I, on the other hand, cannot stomach such a task. It’s already enough that she somehow managed to convince me to let Boris, the giant dog, stay in our house. He more than just stays, too—he curls up with her in bed every night. My only requirement is that she needs to clean her sheets every few days and thoroughly shower every morning. The thought of having a child that smells like dog is more than I can handle.
“While they’re doing that…” Dean says, interrupting my thoughts.
“Yeah?”
“How does dinner at my place sound tonight?”
Okay, I am right. That encounter was absolutely nothing to Dean. If I am going to continue to live next door and manage our family encounters, I need to do the same. It is now forgotten. It never happened, Mae. I’m telling myself things I know I cannot do but I’m going to try my best.
So, I answer: “You finally bought groceries?”
He laughs. “You make it sound like I’m some kind of degenerate who can’t go to a store and buy food.”
“Well, if the shoe fits…”
He gently pushes me away by the shoulder and I casually take a step back. Hope he doesn’t hear my groan.
“I’m just kidding. Do you want me to help?” My heart thunders in my chest as soon as I ask the question. It’s out of my mouth before I realize it. Our families have been having dinner together more often than separately as of late. I wonder if that’s normal for people who have only known each other for a couple of weeks.
“If you don’t mind,” Dean says. I’m not used to cooking on such an old stove.”
“According to Dylan, you don’t have much experience with modern stoves either.”
He playfully shoves me again, and my heart, racing in my chest, skips a beat.
I go to my house first to get out of the bee suit and take my hair down from the low bun I’d put it in. Shaking it out, I walk over to his place.
“So, what are we making?” I ask, when I enter the kitchen. It’s amazing what he’s done to the place in the last couple of days. It’s bright and, while still very masculine, has a warm, lived-in touch. The boys are still missing some essentials, but once they get fully moved in, it’ll really look like a home.
“Placinta cu Branza,” Dean says, answering my question.
I certainly wasn’t expecting that. “I’m sorry, what? Are you having a stroke?” I get closer to him and pretend like I’m analyzing the symmetry of his face. He laughs, but the joke’s on me. Dean Cornel looks even more handsome up close.
“It’s my great-grandmother’s recipe. She was originally from Romania. I think she told me that it loosely translates to cheese pie.”
“Oh. Well, I can definitely get on board with cheese pie. Cheese and pie are two of my favorite things!” Am I talking too loudly? I feel like I am. But Dean looks so relaxed in his kitchen, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows and his silver eyes glinting with mirth, that I can’t help but think up other reasons we might be making dinner together. Reasons that end with him and I in an embrace afterward.
“Just to warn you, it takes a while to make, but each step is pretty easy.”
