Chapter 14

“Hey, you said I should be creative with my disturbance and that was exactly what I did. Did you think I would do some little cheap tricks like banging the door or making the TV go on automatically? That shit scares me even as a ghost," Calvin retorted 

Mason snorted. “Pouvez-vous imaginer cela? Un fantome qui peut etre effraye (Can you just imagine that? A ghost that can be scared)."

Calvin brushed off Mason's comment, "I don't care what you say, Mason. I just want my favourite brother in the world to prepare a meal for me. Is that too much to ask?“ 

“Oh, now he is your favourite brother?“ Mason asked.

Calvin wiggled his eyebrows, “Yes, is someone jealous?“ 

Mason scoffed, "Jealous? You wish. Just don't come running to me when you need help."

"Why would I do that? I'm highly capable of taking care of myself - by myself." 

“Oh really? How about the time you flushed Drew's goldfish down the toilet?" 

"That was just a one-time mistake.“ 

“Okay. What about the other time you took his car for a spin without him knowing and you got a ticket for running a red light?“ 

“Gest cense etre un secret entre nous deux (That's supposed to be a secret between the both of us)." 

“Oui, cest le cas, J'essaie juste dexpliquer vos actes pas si puissants a votre frere prefere ici present (Yes, it is. I'm just trying to explain your not-so-mighty deeds to your favourite brother here)" 

"Point pris! Tu és officiellement jaloux (Point taken! You're officially jealous)“ Calvin popped. 

Mason snorted, "I'm not. But if you want, I can keep on telling the tale of your wonderful deeds. I'm sure your favourite brother here would love to know more.“ 

"I hate the fact that you know my deepest secret." 

Drew stood at the sidelines watching as his brothers bickered back and forth. He was confused about what they were talking about because he had no idea. 

“Would the both of you just cut it out?“ Drew shouted. 

Mason and Calvin stopped their bickering immediately and turned towards him.

"What's got your panties in a twist?“ Mason asked. 

"Seems someone is having his period,” Calvin muttered. 

"What in God's name are the both of you talking about? And no, Calvin I'm not having my period. Period is for girls and not boys. Get that into that damn head of yours,” Drew replied 

“Oops, my bad. By the way, why would you say you know nothing of what we are talking about? You almost brought the whole house down when you found out your goldfish was missing,“ Calvin said. 

“When did this happen? Because from the moment we became ghosts, I don't think I have ever owned a goldfish," Drew answered back, feeling confused about everything. 

"That's weird. How come me and Mason can remember that, but you can't?“ Calvin asked. 

"There's only one explanation for that,“ Drew replied. 

“And what would that be?“ Calvin asked. 

"I'm also getting pieces of my memory back," Mason answered.  

~~~

It was on, in Amanda's kitchen. The battle between pans and pots was in sync, creating a perfect rhythm in the room. 

Chicken ribs, laps and breasts were on full display on the counter. White wine and heavy cream stood at the sides, waiting for the moment they would be called upon to support the upswing in flavour. 

Stripped bacon, onions, garlic, and carrots were going through the chopping process at the hands of the Master of the Kitchen. His knife was at a ninety-degree angle and moving at a speed that an amateur chef wouldn't be able to comprehend.

Balance, correct finger placement and concentration were at equilibrium. 

Calvin and Mason sat down on the kitchen stool and watched Drew as he took control of the kitchen. Though, the collision of their weight on the stool could not be seen due to their circumstance. 

Drew patted the chicken pieces dry and then salted and peppered both sides of each piece of meat. Then, he placed the chopped bacon in a pan and put it in a Dutch oven while allowing it to cook over medium heat. 

"This brings back old memories,' Calvin sighed. 

'Yes, it does. I can't remember when last we got to perceive something delicious in this apartment," Mason said. 

"That's because a terrible cook moved in,“ Drew replied as he brought out the bacon, which was already crispy, out of the oven. 

"That's true. Do you remember the lady who was occupying this apartment before Panda moved in?“ Calvin asked his brothers. 

“She was horrible,“ Mason facepalmed.

"It was a good thing you scared her off," Drew said to Calvin. “Her cat was a nasty creature, and she was always making soybean soup that gave off an offensive odour to the whole apartment," he shuddered as they all burst into laughter. 

Drew placed a pan on the fire and added a tablespoon of oil to it. He then proceeded to add the chicken to the pan, the skin-side down first, and cooked it for about four minutes before turning the other side to cook for another four minutes on medium heat. 

The trick to it was allowing each side to be nicely browned and crispy before removing the chicken from the pan. 

Calvin savoured the aroma coming from the food on the fire and salivated, “J'ai hate de descendre ces beautes celestes (I can't wait to down those heavenly beauties)“ 

Mason rolled his eyes, “Comme tu as vide tout le frigo (Just like you cleared the whole fridge)“  

“Comment avez-vous fait cela? (How did you even do that?)" Drew asked from where he was standing by the counter, pan with a tong. 

Calvin shrugged his shoulders, "I just sent some things back to where she got them from and disposed of the rest. By the way, some things in the fridge had already expired. So you could count it that I did her a favour in getting rid of them," he replied. 

"The expired goods are not hard to believe. If she was able to use expired milk in preparing pancakes then, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that a lot of things are expired in the fridge," Mason said. 

Calvin nodded his head “Yeah, she was lucky Drew intervened with the batter. If not, it would have just been another murder on her hands."