Mr. Dabney came back with a literal barrel of vegetables. "Perfect, the soup base is ready." Ariana said as she pulled out the ox tail meat. "Good, how long before we eat?" Mr. Dabney said as he looked towards his wife. "Not for another two hours." Ariana said as she looked inside the wooden barrel that Mr. Dabney had sent down near the fridge. "That long? Wouldn"t that be closer towards dinner time?" Mr. Dabney complained. "Ya I know. You"re lunch is in the counter over there." Ariana said as she pointed to where an empty plate sat while her other hand was busy collecting vegetables. "You"re joking there"s nothing there." Mr. Dabney growled. Ariana looked up and the scanned the room. "Talk to your wife." Ariana laughed as she spotted Mrs. Dabney secretly eating an egg, bacon and cheese sandwich in the living room. While Lobo sat beside her looking really uncomfortable. "Roselyn?" Mr. Dabney called out pitifully. "It was too good to not eat!" She shouted in her defense just right before she shoved the last bite into her mouth. Mr. Dabney looked at his wife with his jaw hanging. "You can"t eat just protein and grain. You need some vegetables too." Ariana said loudly as she placed the necessary vegetables in the sink.
"I know." Mrs. Dabney said pitifully then looked at her husband with giant doe eyes. "I"m sorry I ate your lunch." Mr. Dabney instantly blushed and averted his gaze. "As long as you"re happy." He muttered. "You can"t spoil her or she"ll get really unhealthy. It"s a crucial time, your wife needs to have well balanced meals so she can produce enough milk for Brie. The food she eats could affect the milk and then affect the baby. So no more giving in." Ariana said as she scrubbed some carrots. Mrs. Dabney gave her husband a guilt look and shrunk back into the couch.
Mr. Dabney shook his head before he stepped into the kitchen and helped Ariana prep the vegetables. After a few moments Mr. Dabney placed a vegetable platter on the coffee table. "She showed me how to make dip so if I can"t cook I can at least let you eat ready to eat raw vegetables." Mr. Dabney said as he blushed a deep red. Mrs. Dabney took a small broccoli floret and dipped it into a creamy white dip. "Oh! This is tzatziki! Thank you!" Mrs. Dabney said happily as she ate. Mr. Dabney walked away smiling like a fool while Lobo stared at his back in complete shock. This was not the teacher he was used to seeing.
The next little while as the soup cooked, Ariana showed some cooking tips to Mr. Dabney so Mrs. Dabney"s food wasn"t so bland. Lobo helped Mrs. Dabney by bringing the ba.s.sinet into the living room. He learned ways on how to take care of a child and Mrs. Dabney answered all his questions regarding babies. Time flew and it was finally time to eat the soup but everyone was full from snacking all afternoon.
"You sure you don"t want to stick around for a late dinner? We don"t mind." Mrs. Dabney said as she looked at Ariana and Lobo. "No we should head back." Ariana said as she took a travel container from Mr. Dabney. He had packed soup for her and Lobo to take back with them. "Alright but please come back to visit." Mrs. Dabney shouted as she waved. "Please visit, she might get lonely." Mr. Dabney whispered as he held the door open for the two. "Promise." Ariana said happily as she and Lobo walked out.
"I don"t really like corn." Lobo said as they walked further away from the Dabney"s bungalow. "Just try it. I promise it will taste delicious." Ariana said with a wink. "It"s still on the cob though." Lobo said as he stared at his soup. "Baby." Ariana scoffed. "It"s different! That"s all I"m saying." Lobo shouted. "Here let"s stop here and I will watch you try it. I want to see your face when you realize how good it is." Ariana said as she nudged Lobo towards a gra.s.sy patch. "Fine and when you find out how wrong you are, you"re going to take my corn and eat it." Lobo said with a pout.
"Sure, sure." Ariana said as she rolled her eyes. They both sat down and Ariana watched as Lobo popped the clear lid of his travel container. He slowly pulled out the cob of corn as he inter changed fingers constantly. "Hot, hot, hot." Lobo said as he blew air on to the cob. Ariana placed her elbows on her lap and cradled her face, watching Lobo with sparkling eyes. Lobo gulped as he met Ariana"s eyes then looked at the corn.
He closed his eyes and opened his mouth. He took the tiniest of bites but the kernel of corn burst into his mouth. He opened his eyes in complete shock, he took a bigger bite and instantly regretted it. "So hot!" He shouted as he fanned air with his hand into his mouth.
"And?" Ariana said as she leaned in. "So good." Lobo said as he chewed. "Right?! It"s the soup base the kernels absorbed the ox tail flavour." Ariana explained as she nodded her head. Lobo happily ate the cob of corn as Ariana watched silently. After he was done eating he started to lick his fingers. "Why would being my soldier bring you honour?" Ariana asked out of the blue causing Lobo to freeze. "Why do you think?" Lobo asked in return.
"Because of your familiar"s elemental type." Ariana answered with a sigh. "That and because of how I stopped talking to my family." Lobo admitted as he placed the bare cob back into the travel container. "Why would you stop talking to them." Ariana asked. "They didn"t accept my familiar, I was afraid of being rejected by them so I rejected them first." Lobo explained as he let his head fall back. He looked up at the sky and sighed again. "It did me know good though. I tossed aside my family and haven"t seen them for the last three years. I don"t even know if they miss me. They don"t write or visit. They"ve never asked where I go for the summer either. I basically have been cut off."