Page 23 of Raw

“So?”

I sat down on the other side of the table and reached for one of the smaller fish.

“First, we’ll have to remove the scales,” I said.

“Do we have to do that with every fish?” he asked, his eyebrow raised in a challenging way.

“No. You can eat the scales on the smaller fish. They’re edible,” I pointed out.

He nodded, then waited for me to continue.

“Then we cut right here behind its head and slide the knife along its bones to the tail.”

I looked up at him to see if he was agreeing with what I was saying.

“So you’re going to filet the fish?” he asked.

“I guess.”

“Papa likes them whole. We’ll just take out the guts of three or four of them.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“What’s next?” he asked, smiling at me proudly.

“Uh, for this kind of fish there’s nothing left to do other than throw away everything besides the filets.”

I wasn’t unsure about it, but the way he was looking at me made me insecure about my fish cleaning skills.

“Did I say something wrong?” I asked, frowning at him.

“Nope, everything you said was right. But then, as long as the fish is clean and there’s enough meat in the end, there’s not an actual right way of doing it.”

He reached for one of the bigger fish and started to remove the scales with his knife while I did everything I had said before, using my own knife skillfully.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked.

I looked up at him with a smile. “Nothing, why?”

“Don’t even try to hide it, Ves. I can tell there’s something you’re thinking about. Never seen a crease that deep between your brows,” he told me with a chuckle.

Up until that point, I didn’t realize something was bothering me. “I don’t know. I think I’m adjusting to being here. I’m still so excited,” I said.

“I know that, but there’s something else on your mind. It’s been there ever since we were by the river.”

I hated how well he could read me, although sometimes he was wrong.

This was one of those times.

“It’s nothing, really. I’m happy,” I assured him.

“If you say so. Just know that I don’t believe a word you’re saying right now,” he muttered.

My frown deepened, and I looked back up at him to see his obvious mood change.

“I told you I’m happy and that there’s nothing you need to worry about, Fen.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

---