Garden Teaser: Ch 28: New Traditions

Here's a peek at what's coming up for ch. 28:

The grocery store was nearly empty on the day after Christmas, making it easy for them to gather what they needed. Jasper decided on the winter squash and white bean recipe, deciding to leave the ham hock for Esme to freeze and use later. They strolled through the store and grabbed their ingredients, plus a few things to restock the fridge and Jasper got the items necessary to make a dump cake, something he said was his father’s favorite dessert, with vanilla ice cream.

Jasper insisted on paying for the groceries, and Edward relented only because he knew it was important to Jasper to feel like he wasn’t taking advantage of his family’s hospitality, despite how often Edward had told him he was welcomed. They loaded up the groceries and headed back to the house.

The house was still quiet and empty when they returned. Edward expected his father and David to return ahead of everyone else, but since their golf game had likely been cancelled because of rain, Edward had no idea where they’d disappeared to for the day. Jasper unloaded the bags and sorted everything onto the counter while Edward stoked the fire back up and put on some music.

Edward and Jasper spent the next hour working together in the kitchen. Edward located his mother’s huge slow cooker under the counter and set it up for Jasper before getting started on the minestrone he was going to make. They worked fairly slowly, neither of them really accustomed to cooking, though Edward felt pretty assured they couldn’t really screw anything up. It took some time for Jasper to get the squash peeled and chopped, but once he figured out a method, it went smoothly. They teased and poked at each other as they moved around for the things they needed, and it was a different kind of relaxing for Edward. Though he was moving around, his mind was focused on something, and he found it an odd kind of meditation.