May picked stray flakes of snow that had refused to melt out of his hair and Peter swatted at her hands, feeling as though he was 5 years old again, having just come in from a snow-man making escapade.
âAlright, alright, Aunt May!â He said through a smile as he lightly gripped her wrists, harboring her from picking at his hair any further. He tugged her arms around his torso and then wrapped his arms around her shoulders and cradled her head beneath his chin. âI missed you too, but you donât see me plucking out your hair pins when I come in the door, do you?â He grasped her shoulders and pushed her back gently so he could see her eyes and smiled as he continued, âOr is this how we show affection now? If it is, weâre going back on the road of evolution⌠picking things out of peopleâs hair?â
âOh, Peter!â She scolded him and swatted him playfully on the chest. âYour hair is just getting a little long,â she said as she turned away and walked into the kitchen, âYou know I donât see you as much as I used to.â She slipped on a pair of oven mitts and opened the stove door.
âOh, Gwen! Itâs a new recipe Iâm trying out, chicken marsalla. One of my patients gave the recipe to me and said it was just to die for!â She sat it on top of the stove and put her hands on her hips and beamed as she looked at. âIt does smell good, doesnât it?â
Peter smiled to himself as he skirted around his aunt and wife and opened the cupboard door that housed the glasses and took three down. He poured himself and Gwen water and for May he poured up a glass of milk. She always took milk with her dinner.
He sat the glasses down and returned to the kitchen and helped them bring in the fixings. May was the last and she brought the chicken that she was obviously proud of. She sat and then held out her hands to Gwen and Peter, both of which were on either side of her. The took her hands, knowing the ritual well. Peter reached out his open across the table where he joined it with Gwenâs.
âPeter-â She began to ask him to say grace, but he cut her off.
âYou say it, today.â He dipped his toward her.
She pursed her lips at first but then decided to concede, âOh, alright.â
She closed her eyes and bowed her head.
âDear, heavenly Father. Thank you for the food that was given, to nourish our bodies. Bless it so that we may be strong to help the weary and defend the weak. Dear Lord, please bless and protect my children,â she squeezed both Gwen and Peterâs hands she was holding. âKeep them from danger,â she popped an accusing eye open to look at Peter, he was being soundly reverent. She closed it and continued. âGuide them and help them grow in their union, and may they be as blessed and happy as Ben and I were in ours. Amenâ
âAmen,â they echoed. May released there hands and she patted Gwenâs hand before reaching for a dish to scoop the contents onto her plate.
âBen would have loved this,â she said as she divided the chicken out between the three of them. Peter looked up to the wall he was facing to find a picture of his aunt and uncle on their wedding day, noting that May had recently put up a picture of his and Gwenâs wedding day beside it.
âYeahâŚâ Peter agreed as he turned his gaze back to the table and their feast.
They ate and talked and laughed, and afterward he and Gwen refused to let May do anything to clean up.
âHow many shifts did you take this week, woman?â Peter accused at her. âGo in there and put your feet up and put your stories on.â He shooed her away.
He began to wash and Gwen rinsed. With expert speed and precision, Peter put a perfectly round dab of soap suds on the top of her nose and grinned at her like a cheshire. Before she could retaliate he shooed her away into the sitting room, too.
âIâll make us some hot cocoa, Iâll be there in a few minutes.â Before she passed him he caught her wrist.
âHe would have, you knowâŚâ Some of the playful light dimmed in his eyes. âUncle Ben liked youâŚâ His thumb swiped gently across the back of her hand. âI wish he could have got to know you better.â Somehow he was surprised when he was caught up in her embrace.
âI know,â he said in response. He kissed her forehead and smiled sweetly at her. âGo on.â He turned around to the stove. âHot cocoa, cominâ up!â He clapped his hands and rubbed them together.
A few minutes later he brought in a tray with three mugs that were steaming and a bowl of marshmellows and mints in the middle of them all. He sat it on the coffee table and stood up. âIâll be right back. Gotta go to the little boyâs room.â May rolled her eyes at him and reached for a mug and began to assemble her confectionery beverage.
He took the stairs up two at a time and when he got to the top of the landing he noticed the door to his old bedroom was standing open. He peered in and found that May hadnât changed anything. Besides the things that he had taken with him, everything was still the way it was when he had left. She told him she was going to donate what she could to Goodwill, but everything was still here. Nostalgia rolled over him and he walked in, looking around. Posters littered the walls, and his old skateboard collection was still mounted on the wall by the bed. He put his hands behind his head and spun around, remembering when he had just began to realize the powers he had been bestowed by the venom of a fate-woven spider bite.
Suddenly a glint of light caught his eyes and he bent and scooped up the golden coin that was just under the ledge of the bed. It was one of the entry tokens to his fatherâs Roosevelt Lab. He had heard her approaching, but he hadnât moved. When she came into the room, he turned around, looking down at the token in his hands.
âThereâs something I need to tell youâŚâ
Dinner was delicious. âAunt May youâve out done yourself with this chicken,â Gwen smiled at the older woman. âWhy thank you sweetheart, Iâll have to pass the compliment back to the one who gave me the recipe.â May beamed at her nephew and Gwen.Â
At the mention of Peterâs uncle, Gwen slipped her hand under the table to give Peterâs hand a comforting squeeze. She followed his gaze and noticed their wedding photo next to May and Benâs as well, and she smiled softly, her thumb now rubbing the back of Peterâs hand. Benâs death was something that Gwen knew still somewhat haunted him, and she didnât know that heâd ever be over it, not that she blamed him. She still thought about her father every single day, and missed him more than she could have ever imagined.Â
The rest of dinner went without incident, May telling them some of her crazy stories about her patients, and catching them up on her day to day activities. The woman worked so hard, Gwen wished they had the means to help her out more, she did so much for them as it was. She more than deserved it, and it always seemed like she was running herself into the ground picking up so many shifts at the hospital. But then, she seemed happy, and the work she did made her happy too, so that was something.
Clean up went quickly, but she felt Peterâs tug at her wrist, and her gaze met with his sullen one. âHe was a good man Peter. I can tell that just from the way that he and your aunt raised you,â she smiled up at him, engulfing him in a warm hug. Pulling away, she placed a tender kiss on his cheek before getting shooed out of the kitchen.
The cocoa Peter made smelled amazing, and it brought a wide grin to Gwenâs face. He knew just how much she loved the sweet drink, and she could taste that heâd doubled the amount of chocolate in hers. Peterâs abrupt departure caused both women to chuckle and shake their heads. âI swear he canât sit still for anything! Itâs a miracle we get to spend dinner with him,â Gwen laughed.Â
âHeâs been that way since he was a boy, always running off to one thing or another. Usually up to his room to work on some secret project he wouldnât let Ben or I see,â May said with a fond smile on her face.Â
The two lapsed into a comfortable silence as they sipped on their cocoa. When it became clear that Peter was going to be a while, Gwen set her mug on the table and stood. âIâm going to check on him. Knowing Peter, heâs probably found one of his old inventions and we wonât see him again til the sun comes up.âÂ
Gwen recalled her and Peterâs conversation from earlier, and how he had seemed distant, and wondered if maybe that had something to do with his after-dinner disappearing act. Just as she had anticipated, she saw her husbandâs silhouette in the doorway of his old room as she reached the landing. She looked around the room, old memories of the beginning of their relationship flooding back to her leaving a faint smile on her lips.Â
He must have heard her though, because he turned around to face her just as she was going to approach him. She couldnât quite place the emotion in his eyes, guilt? Uncertainty? âWhat is it Peter?â She reached a hand out to grasp his arm lightly, giving him support. âIs this related to whatever was bothering you earlier? Donât think Iâve forgotten about that,â she jibed him, trying to get a smile out of him, but he seemed so serious and it worried her a little. âYou know you can tell me anything.âÂ