Chapter 23: Pork Stew and a Snowstorm
THE first snowfall came on the first day of December.
Olivia hadn’t seen any hedgehogs lately. They must’ve been hibernating somewhere safe. When she looked out the window, she only saw robins, plovers, and sparrows, the birds that didn’t migrate for winter. The summer birds had all gone off to warmer places long ago.
Warm, came a thought.
“Hm?” Olivia turned around to see Dale sitting right in front of the restaurant’s fireplace, his eyes closed. This was her first time having a cat as part of the family, and she was impressed when she learned cats were experts at finding the most comfortable of places.
Dale’s primary haunts weren’t limited to near the fireplaces or stove. If a beam of sun shone in one spot for a limited time, Dale was going to be there every day in that period of time, his eyes closed in enjoyment. It was like he could read the clock.
Rob, the big black dog, was filled with excitement ever since the snow started falling. He’d go outside and come back in several times before the sun even rose. When Olivia went to check on him, she saw him rushing at full speed across the snow. The normally mild-mannered Rob was gone. This Rob let his mouth hang open, his eyes squinting in a smile as he ran as fast as he could.
Olivia couldn’t help bursting into laughter when she caught snippets of his inner mind, all Woo-hooo! and Yahahaaa!
He would have his fill of running after about twelve minutes then come back in, snowflakes clinging to his black fur, mini snow clumps smooshed between his paw pads. He’d then chug down some water, sit for a while, then go right back out.
Rob cold, thought Dale every time Rob came back into the restaurant. He’d comment on how cold Rob was even without touching him.
Olivia simmered a pork stew while sipping a cup of tea. It took care to do it properly, so as not to break apart the cubed pork while still cooking it until it could crumble at the touch of a spoon.
She’d put in a bundle of bay leaves and dried celery leaves tied together with string, but it was probably about time to take that out.
Lara was hard at studying for the apothecary exam which was held in the new year. Olivia noticed lamplight from the outbuilding for a while into the night. Even so, Olivia suspected Lara was trying hard to be up early when she heard the back door open.
“Good morning, Olivia. Sorry I’m late,” said Lara.
“Good morning, Lara. Perfectly fine to sleep a bit more, if you like. You were up working late last night, weren’t you?”
“It’s all right. I want to help.”
“I appreciate it. Today is pork stew.”
Lara loved Olivia’s stew. She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her hands together in front of her chest out of sheer excitement and whispered, “I can’t wait!”
The sound of footsteps came from the stairs and Arthur appeared in the kitchen, too. “Mornin’. Oh, pork stew? Will we be able to have some for breakfast?” he said.
“Yep. You have to warm yourself with something hearty on cold mornings,” said Olivia.
Arthur washed his face with cool water from the bucket. He started to walk off with water dripping from his bangs, but Lara held out a cloth and said, “You’re dripping.” Olivia smiled. It was like he was the laid-back older brother, and she was the prim and proper little sister.
“Arthur, are you going to take lunch with you today? Or are you going to buy lunch in town?” asked Olivia.
“Uh, think I’ll have something light in town since I’ll be having the stew for breakfast. And then, if you don’t mind saving me another bowl of stew for later? I want to have it for dinner.”
“Sure. Not one bowl though. I’ll save about three, I think.”
“I’ll come home as early as I can today. Just hope we don’t get a lot of snow.”
“I don’t think it’ll stick too much, since it’s the first snow of the year. But I do worry, so please do come home early.”
“I will.”
Lara held back a smile as she made some tea. “You two get along so well,” she commented.
“You think so?” said Olivia.
“Yep. I want to have a marriage like yours someday.”
“Oh, is there someone you like?” inquired Olivia, expecting Lara to immediately say no, but was shocked when there was no reply at all. She turned around and saw Lara’s face was a little red. Olivia’s expression turned serious, and she moved over to Lara. “So, there is someone? Is it someone I know?”
“I don’t know. He’s a cobbler in town.”
“A cobbler? At Hutton Shoemakers? Or Gruber Cobblers?”
“Gruber. His name’s Colin. He’s an apprentice there.”
“Huh. How did you meet him?” asked Olivia, then Arthur tapped her on the shoulder. “Hm? What is it?” She turned around and Arthur was smiling awkwardly, which was when she realized how overbearing she was being. “Oh, Lara, I’m sorry. I was interrogating you about everything, wasn’t I?”
“No, it’s all right!” said Lara. “One time when I went shopping, I fell while I was carrying all my things. He ran over and helped me up.”
“He’s a nice boy, then?”
“He is! I was thinking I’d like you both to meet him someday. I kind of just started thinking of you two like my older brother and sister. I’m sorry, that’s weird of me, isn’t it?”
“It’s not at all! It makes me happy.”
“Olivia, should I go ahead and stir the stew? You don’t want it to burn, do you?” said Arthur.
“Wait! I’ll do it. The meat will crumble if you don’t do it gently.”
“R-Right…”
Olivia felt a small pang of loneliness as she stirred the large pot of stew. That’s right. Lara is nearly sixteen years old. It’s normal for a girl her age to find a boyfriend. I shouldn’t be feeling sad about this. I should be happy for her.
Arthur smiled gently at her back while she gave herself that talking to.