The Secret Island
Chapter 88: Cooking Session

After Martin stood still for a while and let Celine hug him, she let go of him and helped out with other jobs of this cooking task. Martin was quite dumbfounded when it came to the matter of cooking. He hadn't cooked good food for himself for years, so it was not surprising that it took him longer than expected to prepare the ingredients. He did look up the recipe on the internet and tried to go slow. But he completely lost his confidence when it came to performing a task that produced an outcome. He felt totally out of place and even felt weird holding the pot and pan, and utensils. Celine was always by his side and helped him. She was no great chef, and she admitted it, but Celine still enjoyed the process, definitely a lot more than he did. The pasta was something Martin thought was the easiest menu to make, but even so, he overcooked the pasta, boiling it too long that it became too soft. He just could not time it right. We had to redo the whole thing again. It was strange to him that he laughed at the failed trial along with Celine.

"Oh, look at that. We don't even have to chill if it is this soft." He put the fork down the now disintegrated piece.

"Yeah... do you think we could make a good sauce with this skill?"

"Haha. I don't know. If not, we can redo the whole thing all over again. I think with the groceries I bought, it could last 3-4 trials." She was standing right beside him and made this cooking session so much more fun than he could have imagined. It was as if he got to try everything all over again and didn't have to be too serious if he failed. Just redoing everything all over again. That was it.

We spent time in the kitchen for over an hour on a menu that he used to spend only 15 minutes preparing. The recipe was messed up and made up on the spot. He didn't remember if we used the measurement or just guesstimated the whole thing. We redid the sauce a couple of times. The first trial was too salty, and the second time was too sweet. The third time was just plain weird. But we both laughed at the outcomes of this meal.

"I think we have got it. Try this..." His beautiful chef was handing him a spoon of sauce in front of his face. Before we got to this stage of almost done, the once polished and spotless kitchen was a mess.

"Hmm..." He tasted it and tried to explain the taste of it in words to the woman waiting in anticipation next to him. He saw hope in her eyes and gave his answer.

"This time... it's delicious." Martin smiled.

"Yay!" Celine cheered as we finally finished the last step of this menu. It had been over an hour, and we were both starving. He looked at Celine, and she was really happy about this small success that we had accomplished. He wouldn't say she was overreacting; he really thought the sauce was pretty good.

Martin beamed at the person sitting next to him, excited about the meal. Celine didn't want to sit across from him. She insisted on sitting next to him, although there were eight chairs for the dinner table, yet she chose the one right next to him. She always wanted to be close to him.

"Why are you keep looking at me? Aren't you hungry, Martin?" She asked him. Martin shook his head. He was hungry alright, but not so much that he would sacrifice this wonderful time to appreciate it.

"I want to remember today, every minute of today...." He spent time carefully looking at her, really looking at her adorable face, flushed cheeks, and beautiful eyes. She tied up her hair loosely. She was wearing a casual white shirt and jeans. And he realized that he loved them like it, staying together, being each other's comfort. Celine was confused at his action, but soon she was observing him and smiled as well.

It was a time like this that he wanted to always remember.

"I want to remember today. It's the day I feel like I got a chance to begin my life again." He meant it as he had said it, the sincerest feeling he felt at this point in time. Celine didn't expect him to be so appreciative of this simple moment, but she put down her knife and fork and hugged him one more time.

"Then, from now on, we make every day this great. It's not much, just a simple day, but I really like that you appreciate it."

"That would be wonderful...." Martin smiled and hugged her back.

Someone like him, who had everything and had lost everything, started to understand that, in truth, he had never wanted anything more than just knowing that he was wholeheartedly accepted. Not the kind of acceptance by everyone but by the chosen few that he loved, someone he chose to trust. It was Celine that helped him define the meaning of his life so that he could smile again.

She loosened the embrace and now looked up at him and looked into his eyes. She appeared quite serious this time. Martin could guess that she had something important she wanted to say to him.

"Martin, I've been thinking of this all day, and I couldn't get it out of my head. I really don't know how you are taking it...."

"Yes?"

"There is something that I think about all day. I don't know if you would think I invade your private life a bit too much or what, but I want to make a proposal...."

"...." He was quiet. He didn't know what she was about to say. His heartbeat is faster for no reason.

She really looked at him and held his hands. Celine took a deep breath and gathered her courage before saying something that made him raise his brows. "Do you perhaps consider working with my company?"