Page 20 of The Kitchen Contract

I push myself up and aim for the glow of the fire pit that Alex pointed out. I reach for his hand again, his steadiness comforting, even though at this point, I’m fairly certain he’s right about there not being an intruder. My scream from a minute ago would have either scared them away or drawn them out to murder us, I would think. Now I am simply focused on making it back to the house. I feel like a pioneer traveling through the wilderness, finally approaching warmth and safety. I’m sure I’ll look back at some point and cringe at the dramatic nature of my thoughts. Being overly dramatic is a cousin to overthinking, and I’m great at both. But for now, all I want is the comfort of the house, power outage or not.

Just as we step up onto the patio, the electricity returns, and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the light suddenly streaming from the French doors. I melt into a chair in front of the fire, wrapping my towel around my shoulders like a blanket.

“Merciful heavens,” I groan as I lean forward toward the warmth of the flames, resting my elbows on my knees. “That was a nightmare.”

I look up to see Alex shaking with silent laughter, his fist pressed over his mouth. I glare at him, and he holds his hands up in a placating gesture, doing his best to contain his mirth.

“I’m sorry, Nora, I really am. It’s just…that was wild.” His mouth stretches into another grin and despite myself, I feel the corners of my own mouth tipping up. Now that the adrenaline rush of the last few minutes is waning, I can kind of see how what just happened might seem comical to an outside observer. I’m not ready to laugh about it just yet—the panic is still a bit too fresh in my mind—but I can’t be mad at Alex for finding the situation humorous.

Alex sits in the chair across from me and pulls his foot up to examine his injured toe. Aside from the bruised appendage, he doesn’t appear any worse for wear. I’m impressed by how calm he was in the face of the unexpected—both the outage and my panic. I’m sure he was expecting neither of those things. And he was much more comforting and understanding than he had to be. I can still feel his hand in mine, warm and strong as he led me to safety.

My breathing is almost back to normal now, and the fire is chasing away the goosebumps quickly. All-in-all, it appears we escaped unscathed.

I slowly stand. “I think I’m going to go change into some dry clothes.”

Alex nods, but he looks concerned. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m okay.” I smile to reassure him. “But I’ll tell you one thing—no more night-swimming for me.”

15

ALEX

After Nora leaves, I finish cleaning up and take a quick shower to rinse off the chlorine. Tonight was certainly…interesting. I saw a whole new side of Nora, much different from the calm, confident, competent woman I’m used to. The Nora who was stranded in the dark was…okay, so she was a little bit of a scaredy-cat.

But I didn’t mind. Not really. I think there’s a part of me that was happy that she needed me—and not just for my kitchen. My chest expands at the memory of her reaching for my hand, even after I landed on top of her. She trusted me to keep her safe, and it felt good to be there for someone, especially for her.

It's been years since the last time I felt truly needed. It’s not that my family excludes me. If anything, they go out of their way to make sure I’m included. But I know deep down that even if I might be wanted, I’m not necessary. My siblings both have spouses, children, and best friends who need them and vice versa. I’m just the goofy little brother, the fun uncle who’s nice to have at gatherings because I bring the party. But how often am I listed as someone’s emergency contact? Never, as far as I know.

Not that I think I’m somehow indispensable to Nora now like she can’t function without me. She’s smart and independent, and I really believe that in a truly perilous situation, she would rise to the occasion. She did smack me pretty good when I startled her. But I’m glad she felt comfortable leaning on me in the dark.

I slide between the sheets and snag my phone from my nightstand to shoot her a text.

Make it home alright? No power outage (or intruders) at your place?

It’s only after I hit send that I realize it’s almost midnight. I must have taken longer than I thought to shower with all my navel-gazing. Who coined that phrase anyway? I’m just glad no one can hear my thoughts and wonder if I was literally looking at my belly button in the shower. Because that would be weird.

Got home just fine and stop talking about intruders! You’re going to give me nightmares.

I grin and roll my eyes at her dramatic response.

Sorry! I hope you have sweet dreams of ducklings and kittens romping in a field of wildflowers.

That’s a strange visual, but sounds surprisingly delightful. Goodnight, Alex.

Goodnight, doll.

I’m already looking forward to seeing her again, even if I’m also feeling a little nervous about how quickly she has worked her way into my thoughts. I get why people use the expression “falling” in love. A few years ago, shortly after I broke up with my ex-fiancée, I went sky-diving, hoping to feel something other than sadness, guilt, and anger. Getting to know Nora feels like jumping out of that plane – rocketing toward the unknown while having the time of your life. It’s terrifying and exhilarating at the exact same time.

The question is, what am I going to do about it? Am I ready to stop skirting the edges of flirtation and try to make a move? It would be my first attempt to move forward with another woman and I don’t know if I’m ready. What if I make a mess of things like I did last time? What if I haven’t learned from my mistakes? What if my deepest fears—about her or about me—turn out to be a reality?

16

NORA

When I sign in to my YouTube account on my lunch break to check and see how our videos are doing, I am not prepared for the number I see in the little notification bubble. My mouth falls open as I scroll through the list of new subscribers, likes, and comments, and it basically comes unhinged like a snake when I see the number of views on the mug brownie episode we uploaded last week.

The comments are overwhelmingly positive, with people thanking us for posting a simple, tasty recipe and reporting how their attempts turned out. A few people had questions, several along the lines of “What should I do if I’m missing half the ingredients?”. I tamp down my sarcasm to keep from responding, “Go to the grocery store” and politely offer some substitution suggestions instead.

---