"Haha! Don't be a silly. I don't have time to stare at you." Unexpectedly, Claire felt a bit flustered when she looked at Leena and saw the sadness on her face. Had she been too mean with her brother's wife? She shrugged her shoulder after some seconds. Who cared if she made her sad? Leena's feelings were out of her concern. The only thing this woman did was to mess their family. Nobody should be blamed for her sadness but herself. If Leena hadn't married Kevin for money, she wouldn't have teased and mocked her.
It was only after Claire left the kitchen that Leena burst into tears. She was young and she couldn't help being emotional about what just happened. She was seriously misunderstood and wronged! Never had she felt anything worse than this before.
She sniffed miserably and blew her nose. Instead of preparing the simple western-style breakfast, she cooked some millet gruel and pancakes which she had only learnt how to cook from some TV food program. It was said that citizens from the capital city loved this kind of breakfast. She hoped that Kevin's parents and sister would like it.
It took her some while and some wasted materials just to make a decent piece of pancake. It wasn't a surprise since she was never used to making one on the first place. She looked around and saw the mess in the kitchen. A sudden fear attacked her with the thought that her mother-in-law might come home soon, find the messy kitchen, and then blame her for doing nasty housework.
"Leena, what're you doing here?" asked Kevin. He was wearing a sports suit and there were beads of sweat on his forehead. It was obvious that he just finished his morning exercise.
"Well, I am triying to cook some pancakes. It turns out to be a difficult job," answered Leena. She was startled when Kevin suddenly appeared in the kitchen. It even took her some seconds to recover from her shock. However, she was genuinely happy to see him after her confrontation with Claire. She smiled, looking like a mess herself, with smear of white flour on her face.
"Who told you to do this in the kitchen?" asked Kevin confusedly. He reached out to her and carefully tucked some of her stray hairs behind her ear. His face suddenly turned serious upon seeing Leena's red eyes.
"Nobody. I found that Maud went out shopping for Dad's birthday. Thus, I came here to prepare a decent breakfast. Isn't it normal and usual for a daughter-in-law to do this?" answered Leena. She didn't want to complain about what Claire did to her. A conflict between her husband and her sister-in-law would not do her any good. Plus, doing so would just make Claire despise her more and complicate things.
"Well if that is the case, then you should have just cooked something you're familiar with. I guess this is your first time to make pancakes. Am I right?" Kevin walked to the washing tank and washed his hands carefully. Moments more and he turned around, went back to where he left Leena and stood before her.
"I heard that you people from the capital city like eating pancakes in the morning." It was frustration that made Leena bow her head. She looked at the batter in the bowl helplessly.
"I'll help you make those pancakes. Go and wash your face," said Kevin. Kevin didn't bother to ask the woman about why her eyes were red. It was apparent that Leena wouldn't want to talk about it and he knew that asking her would only embarrass her more. However, he had this strong feeling that it might be his sister that caused Leena to cry. He had never seen Leena weep in the kitchen before.
"Are you sure that you know how to cook them?" asked Leena with curiosity. Leena stood aside and wondered whether Kevin was telling the truth. It never occurred to her that Kevin knew how to cook. 'Is it possible for Kevin to be a worse cook than me?' she thought. Leena hoped against hope that they wouldn't end up burning the kitchen.
"Stand there, and let me give you a cooking lesson. This can't baffle me," said Kevin, smiling. He really knew how to cook pancake. Pancake was one of the most common food in his family and his father just loved it. Kevin had been taught how to cook pancake when he was young. Now, he could cook it even blindfolded.
"I don't believe you. You're just bluffing. I won't help you out if you mess it up." Leena pouted. However, she was amazed at how Kevin swiftly finished all the steps that were needed to be done. Those cooking methods that seemed to be very difficult for her earlier suddenly looked easy and simple as Kevin did them.
"Haven't I told you that I'm really good at this? It's actually quite easy," Kevin boasted. He smiled at Leena cheerfully. Although he dared not to ask Leena more questions as to why her eyes were red, he had already made a mental note about talking to Claire. He was determined to ask his sister to stop embarrassing his wife anymore.
You're awesome but you were wrong. Cooking pancake isn't easy. I will never know how to make batter from scratch." Leena had to admit that she couldn't do better than Kevin in cooking or doing housework. However, she didn't intend to surrender nor allow Kevin to make fun of her.
Sweetie, you have witnessed what I can do in the kitchen. It's lucky that I came back home before you present your pancakes at the dining table. Your pancakes would have angered Dad. Don't worry, okay? My pancakes are what my Dad loves most for breakfast," assured Kevin. Speaking of which, Kevin sighed as he finally realized what was his sister's plan. Claire wanted to embarrass Leena by telling her to prepare a nasty breakfast for the family. They all knew that their Dad was very picky about his breakfast. He supposed that Leena didn't know about that.