Caleb 80 - Gordon

Caleb 80 - Gordon.

"Well," said Jules, who had been standing un-noticed by our kitchen door, "Marcia called it."

"It was only a kiss," I told her. "I don't think it really counts."

"And you think that's where it will end?" she asked with a grin. "I'm guessing before the semester ends..."

"She's married," I argued softly. "I'm not going to interfere in that."

"You won't be," she said. "You might not have noticed, but I saw Chris watching through the bedroom window. He didn't look at all upset."

I glanced at the neighbor's house. There was nobody at any of the windows.

"Oh," I admitted. "No, I didn't see him."

"I guess you and they have something to talk about," she said.

"Maybe we do," I said thoughtfully.

I headed back into the house. Jules followed. I noticed the kitchen was empty with most of the girls being in the living room.

Jules sat down at the kitchen table and glanced at one of the other chairs meaningfully. I sat.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm good," I said. "I think. Why?"

"Are you?" She asked. "I know that you think you are okay, but are you really?"

I cocked my head to the side as she looked at me. "You think otherwise?" I asked softly, not arguing but interested in her opinion.

"You realize," she said, "that you've been about as interested in sex as I have since the shooting?"

I considered her for a few minutes, realizing that she was right. I'd not been in the slightest bit interested since that night. I'd been aware of things going on around me, the girls were perfectly happy to take care of themselves and each other, but I'd had no inclination to join in. Even now, I was thinking about it, I still had no interest.

I thought back to the kiss from Jane. Normally in the same situation I'd have been ready to go, even if I wasn't going to take advantage of that particular situation, but although I'd enjoyed the kiss in and of itself, it hadn't prompted any further desires on my part. I wondered about that.

"You think it's because of the shooting?" I asked.

"Isn't it?" she fired back. "Or have all five of us suddenly become completely unattractive to you, even when the twins and Melanie are actually going at it right next to you in bed?"

"Of course not," I said, wondering how that sight had not had me sat up and begging to join in. "I just don't..."

"It's okay," she said putting her hand over mine where it lay over the table. "Mom said that when Daddy came back from his last tour, it took him some time before he was interested again."

"You can't really compare..." I began but she shook her head.

"Yes," she said interrupting me, "you can. It may not have been on the same scale, but it was still an incredibly traumatic experience. I think you still need to talk this out with someone. I'm not sure if Dianna is the right person, she's too close. Maybe that woman you sent Danny to?"

"She's a grief counsellor," I said.

"She's a counsellor," Jules returned. "If she can't help, then maybe she can suggest someone."

"I don't know," I argued. "She has powers, and there's no way I'm dropping my shields for a power user I don't know."

"You don't have to," Jules replied. "Counselling isn't all about powers, is it?"

I chewed my lip. "I'll think about it," I said. Jules nodded, knowing that was probably the best she was going to get from me that night.

"Well," she said changing the subject, "are you still going along to your 'cooking lesson' tomorrow?"

I grinned at her. "Of course," I said.

"Good," Jules said, "because I think Ness would have exploded if you'd put it off."

I laughed. "She has been kind of looking forward to it," I said. "And to be honest so have I. I just hope he doesn't start shouting at Ness. I'm not sure I could stand by and watch him do that."

"Really?" Jules said. "You think Ness would stand back and take that kind of shit, even from him?"

I thought about that, about Ness, Little Miss Fierce who'd wanted to take on several armed men with a baseball bat.

"Probably not," I said with a laugh. Jules picked up my hand and kissed it.

"You know," she said. "If you don't want to go see a counsellor, you can always talk to us...to me. I may not have powers, or have qualifications in counselling, but I have something that none of them have."

"What's that?" I asked intrigued.

"I love you," she said simply gazing at me - her eyes liquid pools that I adored to gaze into. "No matter what you do, or say, or think, about what happened that night, I will always love you."

I pushed my chair back from the table, and Jules stood, came around the table, and climbed into my lap. It was her, and probably my favourite position for her. I always felt so much love from her even though she wasn't able to use any powers. It radiated from her like heat from the sun. I sometimes worried that I wasn't worthy of it, but I accepted it and basked in it all the same.

We sat like that for perhaps a half hour, not speaking. I wasn't really even thinking about anything in particular, just enjoying the closeness and her love. Eventually she turned her head up to me and gave me a gentle 'Jules' kiss.

"It's time you were in bed," she said. "You've got a big day tomorrow."

I laughed.

"Yes, Mom," I said and she poked me in the side, making me jump.

"Move," she said sliding off my lap and to her feet. "Don't make me get Ness."

"That's playing dirty," I said getting to my feet. "But I'm going."

I slipped past her, neatly dodging when she tried to swat my butt as I went by. I grinned at her, and danced out of the kitchen door, heading for the bedroom.

I slept well again, and for myself felt well. Jules' comments about my sudden drop in libido did prey a little on my mind, and I wondered about it. Talking to Pops, and then Jeevan and Meena, had dispelled a lot of the guilt I had felt at shooting Green, but obviously there was some lingering issues that even I wasn't a party to. Perhaps I would go speak to someone about it. I decided that if things hadn't changed by the time I went to the ranch, I'd speak to Pops again and, after that, if there was still a problem, I'd maybe go and see a counsellor.

Unusually Ness woke up with Sarah, Melanie and I.

"Is it time to get up?" she asked, excited like a kid at Christmas.

"Not yet," said Melanie, "unless you're coming out for a run with us?"

Ness screwed up her face. We could hear the rain against the window. It wasn't really windy but it wasn't exactly warm either.

"No thanks," she said. "I'll see you when you get back."

Sarah looked longingly at the bed. I could tell that she, too, would have liked to curl up and go back to sleep. Instead, she sighed and pulled on her running gear, ready to set to. As she bent over to tie the laces on her running shoes, I got an eyeful of her amazing ass, and something stirred in my shorts that I'd not felt for over a week.

"Stop ogling your sister's ass," said Melanie swatting me on my rear. "Unless, that is, you'd like to try a different type of exercise this morning?"

Sarah looked around, and blushed a little, but grinned.

"So," she said, "how does it score against the legendary Angela?"

"I'd have to see them side by side," I said, "to compare. It's so close I couldn't call it without them next to each other, to check."

Melanie snorted. "We'll arrange a line-up," she said, "but we all want to be in it."

"Like Naked Attraction?" said Sarah, "Just showing our butts so he can see who's is best?"

Shaking my head, I made my way out into the rain, the girls giggling and following as we set out on our run.

We covered nearly eight miles that morning, despite the weather. We arrived back at the house hot, but soaked to the skin, with our legs covered in mud and road grime that had splashed up as we'd run.

We all stripped naked in the utility room, not wanting to drip mess through the house, and we put our wet gear into the washer. Then we went and showered.

Ness made breakfast, even more excited about our day ahead. We'd been given an address roughly an hour's drive away where we were to go. We had to be there at eleven thirty. Apparently there was paperwork we had to do, releases and such, as there would be publicity shots being taken while we were there, and they wanted to be able to use the images.

I wasn't that interested, but it struck me that it wouldn't do Ness' career any harm to get her image out there alongside such a well-known celebrity chef.

We saw the rest of the household off to their respective days. I closed the front door and looked at Ness who was standing behing me.

"Should we take our knives?" she asked.

"I'm sure there will be proper knives there," I said. "Probably even better ones than we have."

"Yeah," she replied. "You're probably right." She pulled at her top. She'd dressed in her student chef's uniform, but she looked at me, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and then back at herself.

"Do you think I should wear this, or just ordinary clothes?" she asked.

"Ness," I said, "come and sit down."

"I..." she began, then came and sat down beside me. She fidgeted though.

After about an hour, it was time to leave, and we jumped into my truck and set out for the address we'd been given.

I'd been expecting that we'd be going to a restaurant somewhere, to use their kitchen, but the address that we were taken to was actually some kind of warehouse, which, once we got inside had been kitted out just like a kitchen. Presumably it was a stage set, ready for whatever latest kind of filming was being done. There was no sign of the celebrity chef just yet, but we were taken on a tour of the facility and then had a multitude of paperwork to complete in preparation for his arrival.

It was about thirty minutes later when the door into the room where we'd been left opened. Gordon Ramsay entered.

"Good morning," he said with a smile, holding out his hand towards me as I stood. "Gordon."

"Caleb," I said, and he shook my hand. He then looked at Ness.

Ness stared at him, eyes wide, for the moment a little star struck.

I felt a wash of affection from Gordon toward Ness, and caught a fleeting thought in his mind that she reminded him of his own daughter Holly.

"This is Ness," I said.

He approached her and did the air kissy thing that people seem to do. "Good to see you, darling," he said. "Are you a chef?" he followed up, noting her clothing.

"I... " she began and then found her voice. "I'm in culinary school, just coming up to the end of my first term."

"Nice," he said, then looked at me, "and you?"

"I'm just finishing college," I said, " and hoping to join the FBI. But I like to cook."

"He learned to cook for me," Ness blurted, and Gordon looked at her quizzically. That required the telling of the story of how, as someone that could barely boil water, I'd gone out and learned to cook so I could cook her a meal on her eighteenth birthday.

"Wow," he said. "Nice. What did you cook?"

"Moussaka," I said. "It's kind of become my go to."

"So," Gordon asked, "who was the lesson supposed to be for?"

"Ness bought it for me for my twenty first birthday," I said with a laugh, "but I think the motives weren't entirely altruistic."

Gordon laughed and Ness blushed, and the look she gave me promised retribution, which made him laugh even more.

"Normally," he said, "what we'd do is I'd run through a simple recipe, but I don't think that would really challenge you. Let's go in to the kitchen and let me see what you can do?"

"Sounds good," I said. Ness not quite so flushed, but still not her normal self, just nodded.

We made our way into the kitchen. We waited a few minutes while he got changed into his chef's whites, and then he came in and directed us each to a station.

"So," he said to me, "what are you going to cook?"

I considered for a moment, and then went for my go to.

"Moussaka." I said eventually.

"Nice," he said. "everything you need ingredients wise will be in here," he showed me the pantry.

Then he went to Ness. "Ness? What are you going to cook?"

Ness looked at him then grinned "Beef Wellington." She said, almost challenging.

He grinned back at her. "Nice," he said again. "Let's see what you can do."

We went into the pantry, gathered the ingredients required, and set to.

All the time we were working, Gordon watched.

"Good knife skills," he commented as I chopped onions.

I'd finished the prep for my dish, and it was in the oven cooking. I looked across the kitchen at Ness.

"You need any help?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I'm all good thanks." She'd just finished assembling her Wellington and it was ready to go into the oven. It would be ready probably before my Moussaka which needed a little more time.

Eventually both dishes were ready, and we plated them up. I, being me, ladled a generous amount onto the plate and took it up to the pass. Ness spent considerably more time plating her offering but soon enough the plates were sat side by side. Gordon evaluating them.

"Fuck me," he said looking at my plate. "How many people are you feeding?"

"I'd eat that," I said.

He looked at Ness. "Really?" he asked, and she nodded.

"He eats a lot," she said. Gordon looked me up and down, then back to my plate.

"It kind of looks like a dog's dinner," he said, but took a forkful and tasted it. He chewed for a moment, before swallowing and taking another forkful.

"That," he said, "is bloody delicious. You learned to cook that for Ness?"

I nodded.

"That's amazing," he said. "Is that your only dish, or can you cook other things?"

"I get by," I said. "But cooking is Ness' passion, not mine. It's a hobby but not something I'm going to make a living at."

He nodded his understanding. "Well it's a shame," he said. "You can cook big man, let's get that right."

Then he turned to Ness' plate. The Wellington sitting golden brown on the plate.

"What temperature were you going for?" he asked.

"Medium," she said without hesitation.

Gordon sliced the Wellington open, displaying a perfect medium cook on the beef.

"That's just about perfect," he said. Then he cut off a chunk and tasted it.

He made noises of appreciation as he took another bite, and then another. In less than five minutes he'd eaten the whole thing.

After he finished, he looked from Ness to me, and then shouted for his publicist. She came over.

"Am I being pranked here?" he asked. She looked at him, a confused expression on her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You told me that they were amateur cooks," he said.

"Ness is at culinary school," I said.

"And you've not had any formal training?" he asked me. I shook my head.

"I have a friend who's a chef," I said. "I picked up some tips from her."

He shook his head.

"Fucking hell," he said, but then took a deep breath.

"You guys legitimately bought a cooking lesson?" he asked. "This isn't some kind of wind up?"

We both shook our heads. "Not a wind up," I added. "Ness bought this for her for my birthday."

I grinned at her as she dug her elbow in my ribs.

"Okay then," he said. "Then let's go." He glanced at his watch. "How are you with fish...."

We spent the next six hours, working with him, cooking and tasting various dishes. About four hours in, his publicist came in to tell him our time was about over, but he sent her away. It was only after she came back twice more, telling him that he had to get ready for another appearance, that he finally wound up the day.

He turned to us.

"Okay," he said to me. "Let's get something right. You can cook, big man. I don't know how you learned to cook as well as you have in such a short time, but you could work in any kitchen with your skills.

"But you," he turned to Ness, "were born to cook. Your passion and flair for food are amazing. You have an open job offer in any of my restaurants, just give me a call and I'll make it happen. I think you're wasting your time at school, they have nothing to teach you. Get out there and work in a kitchen. You need experience of working in a commercial kitchen, but you already know everything that culinary school will teach you.

"If you ever need a reference, just give me a call." He presented her with a business card. "Don't lose that passion, and never stop learning."

His publicist finally pried him away from us, and we were led back out to my truck. Ness wore a huge grin which I doubted would leave her face for a good while.

It was still in place when we pulled into our driveway, just after seven.

The girls crowded around as we arrived home, peppering us with questions. We'd both taken many photographs on our phones while we'd been working and Ness gave everyone a blow-by-blow account of our afternoon.

Amanda looked smug when I told them that Gordon had told Ness that she was wasting her time at culinary school.

"What are you going to do?" asked Jules.

"I don't know," Ness responded. "I need to talk to Mom and Daddy. I'm thinking I should drop out and go find a job, but I don't want to be a dropout.

"Well," I said, "we're going up there next weekend, so you can have a sit down with them then.

"When are we travelling up?" Melanie asked.

Daddy's sending the jet Saturday morning. It will be waiting for us by ten.

"Then we'd best not have too late a night next Friday night," I said with a grin. "Are we still having a house-warming party?"

"Too right," put in Amanda with vehemence. "I've already invited Bob and Angela, Sue and George, Dana and Gracie, Jane and Chris, and a few more people from school."

"I'm going to make a load of finger food, and there are a couple of people from my school I've invited," put in Ness.

"Arnie said he's coming and asked if he can bring Danny, too," said Sarah.

"Grandmother said she might stop in," said Mary. "I don't think Maggie will though."

"We'd best go and get some drinks in," I said. "I'll go to the Discount Warehouse over the weekend and stock up."

"What are we doing this weekend?" asked Melanie.

"Arnie's working saturday," said Sarah a little sadly. "Unfortunately, most people take lessons on the weekend, so that's his busy time."

"Is he coming over tonight?" I asked. She nodded with a smile.

"He'll be here shortly,"

"I'd best get dinner on then," said Ness moving into the kitchen.

There was a knock on our back door. When Ness opened it, Jane asked if she might have a word with me.

All my girls smiled at me as I stood and walked through the door and into the yard.

"Hi," I said. She smiled at me.

"Hey," she said. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," I said indicating the seats. I noticed that someone had closed the back door behind me, giving Jane and me some privacy. She took a seat and I sat opposite her.

"Can I get you a drink?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"I've been talking to your fiancées," she said. I said nothing, waiting for her to get to her point.

"They tell me that you have an... open relationship?" It was a kind of question - I could tell from the upward inflexion of the last syllable - but I still didn't answer. I was torn between amusement and annoyance. Once more, my girls were doing things behind my back.

Jane waited for me to say something. I didn't. After a moment, she forged ahead.

"Chris and I," she said, "are not what you'd call a normal couple either. I think I told you I was brought up in the bible belt, and that my family were not overly impressed with my choice of partner."

"You told me you weren't married," I remembered, "and that he was an atheist. You intimated that that was why your family didn't approve."

"It's a little more complicated than that," she said. "You see... Chris and I, we are a little more adventurous than my family were prepared to accept."