Complicated

Breakfast

I was awake before the sun was in the sky. According to my alarm clock it was 4:30 in the morning. Which was when I usually woke up. I hadn't fallen into bed until almost 1:30 so I tried to go back to sleep to no avail.

By 5, I threw the blankets off of me. I checked to be sure Damian was covered up-which he was- then started down the stairs.

My house was quiet despite six other people being there. I made my way to the kitchen as quietly as possible as to not wake Bobby. I went about my normal morning routine of starting coffee then going into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Then I started gathering ingredients for breakfast.

As I pulled eggs from the fridge, a voice startled me.

"Good morning," the voice was deep and hoarse.

I caught the egg carton, that I had nearly thrown, as I turned. Bobby was standing, more leaning, against the counter, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning," I said as calmly as I could. "I didn't mean to wake you."

He waved me off. "You didn't. I always wake up this early."

I nodded and sat the eggs on the counter. "Would you like some water while we wait for the coffee?"

He nodded.

I grabbed two glasses and filled them with ice and water.

"So what are you making?" He asked as he sipped his water.

I shrugged. "Breakfast: gluten free pancakes, gluten free apple muffins, berry salad, bacon, ham, and scrambled eggs."

He stared at me for a moment then blinked hard. "That's a lot."

I smiled, "I like to cook."

I moved around the kitchen, feeling his eyes on me as I collected the remainder of the ingredients, bowl, and pans that I needed. I stood at the island, in front of him, and started mixing the apple muffins batter.

"Is that the pancakes?" he asked.

I smiled up at him. "No, the apple muffins."

"What makes them apple?"

"Applesauce. I use chunky so that it also has little bits of apple running through the muffins."

"Oh," he said then the coffee pot beeped. He turned his head toward the sound.

"Get you a cup." I said and stirred in another batch of flour into my batter. "Oh the mugs, cream, and sugar is all on the tray beside the coffee pot."

He nodded then moved over to the coffee nook. "Do you drink yours with cream and sugar?" He asked.

"Depends. Sometimes, I add in some almond milk creamer. Oh that's in the fridge if you prefer that."

I heard the coffee stop pouring into the cup then he moved across the kitchen to the refrigerator. A moment later he sat a cup in front of me. It was even in my monogrammed mug that I always used.

I smiled up to him. "Thank you."

He sat at one of the stools pushed up to the island with his own steaming cup.

I took a sip once I finished mixing the muffin batter.

"Good?" he asked.

"Perfect." He had added in the perfect amount of creamer.

He smiled then took a sip of his coffee to hide it.

"So where did you learn to cook?" he asked as I scooped the muffin batter into the tins.