Chapter 30

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NAOMI'S POV: 

He sliced the roasted chicken he cooked while I was at school, first breaking it down to its basic components; two breasts, thighs, drumsticks and wings. Within a matter of minutes, Mr. Davis had completely dismantled everything, pulling the meat from the bones and shredding it across the wooden cutting-board. 

"Onions and carrots?" He asked, wiping his hands on the towel draped over his shoulder. 

"Of course."

"Are you able to cut them?" 

It seemed like an unnecessary question, but Mr. Davis and I have never cooked together before so just because I was capable of handling a knife, didn't mean I knew how. 

"Yes, my mom used to let me cut all the vegetables for dinner." I slid one of the other cutting boards he laid out in front of me while he went to the drawer and handed me a knife. 

"Just be careful."

"I have it all under control." I smirked, feeling somewhat cocky. 

I began with the bulk carrots, slicing them about a quarter-inch, while he added some butter to a large, red Dutch oven pot sitting on the stove. 

"Is two enough?" I looked down at the small amount in front of me, I was used to doing this for four people. 

"Two is plenty, and I'd say one onion is enough and..." he narrowed his eyes, "two stalks of celery is good."

I nodded, returning my attention to cutting. Setting aside the carrots, I grabbed the stalks, folded them over each other and single sliced them down the middle. There was something so satisfying about cutting vegetables that I never understood. Taking something bulk and breaking it down to small components, even without analyzing them, to reform them into something whole again was very pleasing to me. 

Chomping down, I kept my hand steady as I tried to keep the pieces as even as possible. I was so focused that I hadn't even realized Mr. Davis already heated the butter and olive oil in the pot. 

Onions were my favorite, not only to eat, but to cut as well. I loved the intricate strategies of slicing them; cutting off the ends, slicing it in hand before peeling the skin off, and then turning it face-down to slice parallel, vertical and then horizontal lines across. It was such a genius strategy that allowed the slicer to make the onion fall apart in neatly, almost identical squares within a matter of seconds. 

"Alright, all finished." I said after I did the same to the second half.

Looking up, Mr. Davis was puzzled as he stared at me. 

"W-what?" I asked, setting the knife down.

He smiled, looking as if he were going to burst into laughter. "Nothing, nothing at all. You just seemed so into it."

"Oh I," I blushed in embarrassment. "I just really like cooking."

"That's good, I'm glad I found something else you like to do." His sentence seemed more for himself than for me. "So, would you like to cook the vegetables?"

"I can do that." I gathered everything on my cutting board and took it over to the stove, first tossing in the onions.

"Make sure to cook the onions until they're soft before adding the celery and carrots."

I nodded, stirring everything consistently with the wooden spoon he gave me. 

"While we're waiting for that," He took a seat at the bar stool. "how is school going?" 

"Good, nothing really new to report." I shrugged. 

"Are you liking your classes?" 

"Yeah, they're really interesting. Especially Journalism, Haylee is so funny..."

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