My Pretty Sweetheart (Arianna)

"Nothing." I cleared my throat before opening the door wide. I walked in, holding back my mischievous laughter as I swayed in front of him. I then teased, "Mr. Roberts' your apron seems quite special. Was it custom-made?"

Hendrix looked down at the pattern on his apron and said helplessly, "Indeed. It's a limited collection. The only one in the entire world. You can't imagine how much this cost me."

"Really?" I was confused. "What brand would have so much free time to make a custom apron for you?"

"Oh, she has a lot of free time." Hendrix turned to check the stew in the pot. He then answered casually, "The kids had arts and crafts class today. The teacher told them to make gifts for their parents. The othe children made things like pouches, purses, dolls, etc. Aurelia caught me off guard and made me an apron."

"Pfft..." I couldn't hold myself back anymore. Aurelia sure was very loving' alright. Wasn't she just urging Hendrix to cook her yummy food?

No one knew who taught her this, but it was very funny to see. I took a deep breath and held back my laughter. "It's very well made. It suits you well."

Hendrix turned around and smiled wickedly. "Then, do you want me to ask Aurelia to make another one for you?"

"Oh spare me!" I quickly raised my hands up into a cross. Then, I pretended to be coy with him. "You don't understand. This is the first apron she's ever made and she chose to give it to you as a gift. What do you think that means? It means that she loves your cooking."

I walked up to Hendrix and examined his apron as I said this. Then, I patted him on the shoulder as though I were his teacher and said earnestly, "This is a wonderful gift that Aurelia has given to you. Don't let her down. From now on, you'll be in charge of preparing all the meals in this house!"

squinted his eyes and stared at me for a few seconds. I was a few inches away from him. Then he wrapped his two

close to each other's faces, the atmosphere turned intimate in an instant. Hendrix moved ever closer to me and whispered, "So you're actually being considerate

my best to hide my face from him, but I wasn't going to be reasonable either. I responded, "Of course! I'm your dearest wife after all. Would I lie to you? Uh..."

to myself, "The food I make isn't as

"Oh yeah?"

he

felt overbearing and aggressive, like he was teaching me a lesson.

I quickly sobered up and pushed him away. I covered my mouth and said, "You're

closer. "What's

"You..."

"Humph!"

"I'm leaving!"

take advantage of him, I simply ran away,

kiss had scalded my face. As I walked away, I placed my hand on my face to cool myself down. I had barely taken two steps away when Aurelia blocked my

held a lantern in her hand and looked up at me curiously with her large blinking eyes. "Mommy, is the kitchen very hot? Why is