"Hey, you don't have anything to do, right? Come with me to the market,” Lea said suddenly inviting Jack to go to the market with her. It happened to be Sunday and Lea wanted to make a stargazy pie for her mom. Because her mom was coming tonight to visit her house and asked to make a stargazy pie.
"Why all of a sudden? You can go by yourself. You see I'm resting which is a very rare time for me,” Jack complained.
Lea sighed heavily. She gave Jack a sharp look. "Because your mother-in-law is coming stupid. If my mother hadn't come, I wouldn't need your help either. I need help preparing the ingredients for the stargazy pie. And please just this once Jack,” Lea pleaded.
When it comes to parents then inevitably, Jack usually gives in.
"Okay. There you go. I'll heat up the car." Jack got up from his sacred sofa reluctantly.
***
The Sunday market seemed to be much more crowded than usual. And it was certain that the masses of people gathered like a colony of ants.
Jack and Lea arrived at the bustling market. Shouting merchants offering their wares, the sound of children playing, and the tantalizing aroma of food mixed in the air.
“Okay, first we need sardines,” Lea said, looking at the shopping list in her hand.
“We could just buy instant pies at the supermarket,” Jack muttered half-heartedly. He who actually felt a bit reluctant to give up his resting time just hoped that Lea wouldn't be too fussy when shopping so that they could get back home quickly.
"Don't be stupid, Jack. Mom will find out if we cheat,” Lea replied quickly rejecting Jack's suggestion.
They walked to the fish stall. As soon as they arrived, Lea started picking out fresh-looking sardines. “This one is good,” she said, pointing to a fish that shone like a new gem.
“These all look the same, why pick and choose?” Jack grumbled that of course in his eyes the fish didn't look too different from each other. Although he could cook, Jack was not too picky about cooking ingredients, he could even use non-fresh fish to be his cooking ingredients.
Lea glared. "Fresh fish will make our pies taste better. You don't understand anything about cooking! I'm sorry to correct you for not caring enough to choose good quality ingredients."
Jack was not to be outdone. "Yeah, but it's just fish. It's not chicken or beef which are more complicated. What's the difference?!"
The argument started to heat up. A middle-aged fish merchant approached them, trying to break it up. "Hey, calm down. It's just fish, it's not the end of the world."
However, Lea and Jack weren't listening. They argued even louder about the choice of sardines. "You're always like this, Jack! Never serious about helping!"
Jack retorted, “And you always overcomplicate things! If you don't believe me, I can transform broken ingredients into five-star restaurant-grade cuisine."
“Yes, a five-star restaurant that's almost bankrupt or already bankrupt to be more precise.”
Their commotion attracted the attention of many people. A market security guard came and separated them. "Sorry, you can't fight here. If you want to fight, do it at home."
Red-faced with embarrassment, Lea and Jack finally paid for their fish and left the market. They went home in silence, but the awkward atmosphere between them remained.
***
Once at home, Lea looked at Jack with an angry gaze. “You should help prepare the other ingredients,” she said coldly.
Jack nodded. "Alright, I'll help. But I want to say, I only want what's best for my mother-in-law, not for you,” he said.
Lea was silent for a moment, then smiled wryly. "Me too. Let's start from the beginning."
They both got to work in the kitchen. Jack peeled the potatoes while Lea prepared the dough. The tension slowly melted away as they started laughing together over small mistakes. Jack spilled flour all over the floor, while Lea almost burned the dough because she forgot to set the oven temperature. For some reason, a romantic atmosphere suddenly developed between them.
“I remember the first time we tried to cook together,” Jack said, “we almost burned down the kitchen! It was because we had to force it together in front of our families.”
Lea laughed wryly. “Yeah, and then you decided that you were better at washing dishes than cooking.”
They both laughed recalling old memories. “But look at us now, making stargazy pies together,” Jack said, unconsciously starting to enjoy his time with Lea.
When the pie was almost finished, they decided to add a creative touch. Jack took a sardine and arranged it with its head sticking out of the pie, just like a stargazy pie should be.
“This looks strange but interesting, I can't believe that it's quite pleasing to the eye although I'm not sure about the taste,” Lea praised.
“I think your mom would like it,” Jack replied.
Finally, the stargazy pie was ready to go into the oven.They waited anxiously, hoping for the perfect result.When the stargazy pie was almost done, the lights suddenly went out."Oh, no!It's a power outage!” cried Lea in a panic, like someone panicking over a loan shark.Jack quickly grabbed a candle and lit it."Don't worry, we can wait.Hopefully our pies won't spoil."
They sat in the living room by candlelight, chatting as they waited for the power to return.After a few minutes that felt like hours, the power came back on.They rushed to the kitchen and opened the oven.
The pie was perfect.
“I can't believe we did it!” exclaimed Lea with excitement and disbelief.
Jack nodded proudly.“Your mom will be so happy.”
When night fell, Lea's mom came over. She smelled the tantalizing aroma of pies coming from the kitchen and immediately smiled. “Did you really make stargazy pies for me?” she asked with great emotion.
Lea nodded. “Yes, with Jack's help.”Of course, her mother's arrival made Lea have to show her more intimate side to Jack, in order to show harmony in front of her mother even though it was just a trick.Lea's mother tasted the pie and was immediately impressed. "This is delicious!Thank you, Jack. Thank you, Lea."
That night they ate together, enjoying the delicious stargazy pie.After dinner, Lea's mom whispered to Lea, “You know, Jack is a good guy.Even though you guys fight a lot, he's always there for you."
Lea smiled and nodded. "I know, Mom.And I'm so grateful to have him."
Jack, who overheard the conversation, smiled and put his arm around Lea. “Thank you for taking me to the market, even though we fought.”
Lea laughed.“I also thank you for helping me, even though we fought.”