Page 33 of Even Ground

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Two SpongeBob SquarePants episodes later, I head back into the kitchen with my assistant chef.

The mince is defrosted enough, and I turn to Melly. “We need to give our hands a good wash.”

Melly smiles up at me. “Mummy lets me help sometimes. I always have to scrub my hands.”

“So you already know how to do it. Good girl.”

I leave her by the sink while I retrieve a dining room chair for her to stand on.

“Get up there.” I pat the seat.

She clambers up onto the chair, and I turn on the tap then squirt some liquid soap on her hands. I’m not really sure who does the better job as she takes extra care to clean under her finger nails. She’s been taught well.

I scrape the chair along the floor with her still on top of it, careful to hold her steady. I know I probably shouldn’t have, but she shrieks with laughter and holds onto my shoulders as I move her.

“Here we go.” I dump the mince into the bowl.

It only takes a few minutes to find some other ingredients to throw in, and because I know she likes it, I top it all off by grating some cheese into the mix.

“Go on then. Mix it up.”

She leans against me as she digs her hands into the mixing bowl. “I like doing this.”

“Maybe you’ll be a cook like your mum one day.”

She shakes her head. “Mummy says I’ll be an actor like Daddy.”

I bite my inner cheek to stop from laughing. “Either way, you’ll be wonderful at what you do.”

After it’s mixed, I put a large plate next to her. “Now you have to roll them, like this.” I take out a chunk of the mix and roll it into a ball. “Can you do that for me while I cook the spaghetti and make the sauce?”

She gets busy, and I find a saucepan and prepare some water to boil.

“Finished,” she calls out.

I turn around.

The meatballs are a range of sizes from small to large, but Melly’s so pleased with herself that I don’t have the heart to make any changes to them.

“Thank you so much for your help. Would you like to help me make the sauce while these cook?”

Melly sighs. “I think I’ve done enough work today.”

“Fair enough. Why don’t you go and wash your hands?”

She jumps down off the chair.

“This looks interesting,” Reece says as he enters the kitchen.

“Pania and me are cooking misketti and meatballs,” Melly announces.

“Is that right?”

I meet his amused gaze. “That’s right. I just have to cook the meatballs and make the sauce, but the misketti’s cooked.”

“I’ve never had that before. I’ve eaten spaghetti, but I assume this is an Amelia meal.”

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