Make a House a Home

[Ruby]

Ruby pulls up to the corner of Laurel and Mills, parking alongside the curb in full expectation that the driveway will be full. Her Jetta hums softly to a stop, and she pops the trunk before exciting. The warm sunlight filters through the still trees, shade the only cool on a windless day.

She gathers up a bag of groceries in her arms, and then performs a hop-grab, and a hip bump to shut the trunk and door. The paper satchel she carries bulges and rustles with the components and ingredients for a vilely potent concoction, Mo-Maw's secret Chili.

Hoping to get the boys to help her carry the rest, Ruby sets off across the lawn towards the huge old house which overlooks the quiet suburban neighborhood.

[Joshua Morris]

When she's most of the way across the lawn, the door opens, framing Joshua. Likely he's been watching ever since the first slam of her door, if not earlier. He does that--checks the windows when he hears cars outside. He's not so bad that he has a stool he sits on while he watches the street; but he does find frequent excuses to be on his feet and near the windows whenever there's a sound outside.
"Ruby. Need help?"

[Ruby]

"Oh, hi Joshua!" Ruby calls out in a tired, but cheerful voice. "I've got one more bag in the car, you'd be a saint if you could bring it into the kitchen for me." She frees up one hand to free her keyring from its wrist stretchy with a wiggle, and hands it to Joshua. "If you wouldn't mind locking up too while I get started?" she asks, excited that she'll be sharing a proper dinner party with everyone.

[Joshua Morris]

Joshua accepts the keyring with a mumbled, "Sure," panic slowly building. Why does she have groceries? "While I get started?" Started on what? This could only mean one thing: a get-together. Face to face interactions. Dealing with other people. Trying to act like a real boy.
Constant combat training couldn't help him navigate the minefield that is The Dinner Party.
With a sigh, he leaves the landing and heads for the car, realizing that there's no getting out of this. All he could do was pray for the best.

[Ruby]

No proper Chili worth the effort to eat it starts with cheap meat. Mo-Maw would be ashamed if Ruby used plain old ground beef. No sir, she draws a huge section of quality chuck from the bag and sets it aside. Two of the three kind of beans are in the bag, along with most of the spices.

Finally assessing the space she has to work with, she sighs in exasperation. The kitchen looks like a mess, "Ugh, boys!" Ruby exclaims in halfhearted disgust. Tying her dark hair back into a loose bun with a stretchie, she throws on a cute little yellow apron on before she rummages through all of the cabinetry for cutlery and cookware. She'll have to clean too, but she's starting to get a little worn out and will need to conserve a little zest yet to make this work of art.

"I'll make the boys clean!" She giggles, and sets out to ensnare one of her unsuspecting cabal-mates.

[Joshua Morris]

Well, here's a dupe right now: Joshua comes back in, Ruby's keyring dangling off of one finger. "Here you go," he says, bobbing the digit and making the keys jangle. "So, uh. What are you making?" He's peering into the grocery bag the way a bomb disposal expert might scope out a suspicious package.
If not for the pistol tucked into the small of his back, it would be almost a Norman Rockwell painting. First Time Talking To Women-Folk.

[Ruby]

Beaming, Ruby shoves a pail and sponge into Joshua's arms the moment he's set down his cargo. "I am not going to believe how gorgeous this kitchen's gonna look when you're done helping me, Sugarcake!" Not about to let him back out now, she turns to emptying the second bag.

"Now I ain't one to cuss, but this is what my Mo-Maw calls it, and her momma before her. Only way to do right by it is to call it what it is, The Best Damn Chili in Texas!" An emphatic flourish accompanies her bold declaration, and then she gets started.

Ruby sets her full attention to the perfect execution of the spicy wonder. She really wants him to like it.

[Joshua Morris]

Joshua just peers at Ruby's back as she turns to the bag of groceries. Sugarcake? he mouths. He looks at the pail and sponge, then at Ruby's back again. What is she talking about? We're not even in Texas.
He's not averse to cleaning, so at least that's not a problem; but where to begin? With a bucket full of water he would normally tackle the floor or the walls; but the walls didn't really seem to need the attention and washing the floor during Ruby's culinary creations wasn't a very good idea. It didn't take magical Precognition to have images of her slipping on a wet patch while she was bopping around with her chili.
Casting his eyes about, he sees the stovetop, and the little counter next to it. With a shrug to himself, he gets started, wiping grease down from the range, cleaning some parmesan cheese sprinkles, sponging up a little collection of pepper and salt and dust. He does it quietly--not much of a one for conversation, this Moros.

[Ruby]

"So, Mr. Sentinel," Ruby begins after a few moments of quiet. "How's your new job coming?" The counters are already covered in bowls and plates and a cutting board, ingredients set out to be measured.

She begins to worry. The faded cards that contain her Mo-Maw's precious recipe are not entirely clear. Like any true master's recipe, the instructions are complexly labyrinthine and deliberately vague. Every instance where Ruby finds the words, "to taste," drive a spike full of doubt deeper into her mind.

[Joshua Morris]

Joshua continues to scrub the range for a bit. "It's fine," he manages. "It's... I." Scrub scrub scrub. "I don't think I'm very good at it," Joshua says, making this the first one-hundred percent honest thing he has said in quite some time. "I don't really.... know what I'm doing. I don't know what anybody else thinks."
They say that confession is good for the soul. Joshua doesn't feel like that's true in this case; it just feels like crap. Voicing the fears he's held for the last couple of months just makes him realize what shaky ground he is standing on now.
He lets a few moments pass, feeling awkward.
"So. You work at the museum, right? What is it you do, Ruby?"