Chapter 108

In a large pot I put the cut beef meat, the bones, the chopped onion, something new I bought called ground black pepper, the bay leaves, and salt. Then, I covered the pot and brought it to one of the burners to cook the broth. 

The recipe said it was important to reduce the heat to low, after some time and to skim off and discard any foam. I had to stir occasionally, for 3 long hours, or until the meat was mostly tender. The bones did not have to be removed.

Once the beef meat was tender, then I had to remove the pieces from the soup. And, I had to make sure no excess fat remained on the surface of the soup; if there was, I had to ladle it with again. 

The meat had to be cut into small pieces, and added back to the broth. Though, I did not add it all. After that, I was ready to add the diced tomatoes, the chopped cabbage, the beans, the diced potatoes, the sliced carrots, some celery, and a bit of sugar. 

That mix had to simmer for about one hour longer, or until the vegetables and meat were tender. I could taste it and adjust the seasonings if necessary, but I thought the flavor was super for being the first time I prepared it.

While I waited for the soup to be done, I put myself to work on the next dish.

In a large pan out in another burner, I heated some olive oil. In it, I put the chopped spicy root called ginger and the minced garlic and cooked them until the whole kitchen became very fragrant. 

The meat I had put aside was added in the pan and cooked until it turned quite golden. It took a while for it to fry well since the heat was low. I, then, used some broth from the soup plus some chopped cilantro, sugar and pickled carrots to make a sauce and poured it on the meat.

I stirred until all the ingredients were combined.

When it was done, I took the pan off the burner and spooned the mix into lettuce leaves to make the wraps.

As dessert, I filled up the usual pancakes with the orange jam Felix prepared. Finally, for drinking, we would finally be able to taste the cider the teen made with the first pears they harvested from the trees. 

My youngest Husband would definitely be excited about it. That, and because it was his birthday. His seventeenth birthday! He was the first of the four to celebrate his birthday. 

I had arrived at the store, yet Mrs. Attile gave me the day off, telling-no, ordering me to rest. I was perplexed by her decision, but Ethan took advantage of it and told me to buy things for Felix's birthday. 

I felt my stomach drop, my heart painfully jumped in my chest, and my head got a bit dizzy from the news. Why did I not know that?! 

"Sorry, I also forgot about it. After what we did yesterday, I was just in a good mood and didn't want to think in other things." That had been Ethan's excuse. I could only swallow it because I had not asked about my Husbands' birthdays either.

That was how I rushed to the market with Ethan in tow and bought things to cook. With our patch still in its initial stage, we could not get vegetables yet, so we had to buy them from the market from time to time. 

Ethan had loaded the things on the cart and gave me a rough lesson on how to drive the cart before he rushed to his job. I had nodded along his explanation, yet I still had no confidence to do it alone. I walked back, leading Sunset.

Yes, the colt finally had a name! Since it was red like the sunset, I named him thus.

Because of the strenuous exercise I did with Ethan the day before, in which my knees suffered a bit, I had to make constant stops. I shared the pears I carried for my lunch with Sunset for his effort. It was no longer thin, but it was still small.

When I returned, Lucas and Felix worriedly asked me if I was alright, if I was ill, if something happened… I just pulled Felix down and heatedly kissed him.

"Happy birthday." I breathed over his lips. His face was the epitome of happy surprise and love. "I am going to cook something delicious for you to eat at lunch."

He tightly hugged me and dropped a sloppy kiss on my temple. "Best for dinner. We always have special meals at dinner." He said. I was not going to break that tradition, so I acquiesced with him. 

I spent the day following the brothers around the plot; seeing them check the already big tomato plants which had flowers. After some time, we would definitely have tomatoes!

Then, they made sure the cucumber was standing tall in its growth. With the saplings they bought, they already planted them, but had to be covered with straw concave lids to protect them from the harsh midday sun until they grew stronger.

So far, none had perished.

When midday grew closer, Felix rode on Sunset towards the fruit patch to water it and check if some of the fruits were ripe. Since the colt was growing, he needed some exercise; and Felix being the thinnest of the two, decided to do the trip.

Meanwhile, Lucas and I prepared a light lunch since I wanted to keep my appetite intact for dinner.

After lunch, Felix took a short nap while Lucas checked on the chickens and rabbits. I also wanted to take a nap, but I had to start with dinner preparations. To begin with, I had to double check the two recipes I thought from the top of my head when buying stuff.

Those were recipes shared by Corey and written by David. There were others, but I thought Felix would love those two. Once I absorbed and understood the rather simple process, I started preparing the ingredients.

When everything was done, the sun was starting to set. Ethan was going to return late, so I had no idea if we were going to celebrate with only us three. 

"Let's wait." Lucas decided. It seemed they did not mind pushing back their eating time to wait for Ethan. It made sense as one brother was already missing. To miss yet another one…

Surprisingly for us, Ethan actually arrived early; just when the sun had set.

"I asked my boss to leave early. He told me I was only going to be paid for the worked hours. I said I didn't mind." He patted Felix's head. "Happy birthday." Felix suspiciously brushed his eyes, and only nodded.

"Let us eat then!" I said, hurrying to the kitchen to serve the dishes. I made sure the soup never got cold. The wraps could be eating hot or cold, it did not matter. "Now, anyone wants to say a few words for our special person today?"

"Belle..." Felix softly whined, blushing out of embarrassment.

"You do not have two birthdays in a year, Felix. It is a must we celebrate such a blessed day. They day you were born." I rested my hand over his and smiled at him. "I will take the chance to congratulate you, to wish you the best for your life, and to encourage you to fulfill all your future goals. Whatever they may be."

"I also want to give special thanks to your late mother for giving birth to you; and to your amazing brothers to raise you with all the care and love of a sibling. They might have not been the best, probably they must have annoyed you from time to time. But I can see the result of their huge effort in this wonderful person I can proudly call my Husband."

I also got a bit emotional with my speech as my eyes watered at the end. I was grateful that my youngest Husband had the biggest heart of gold to take in an unknown person like me. 

Lucas might have saved me, but I knew it was Felix who put the nail on the matter and hammered to settle my future with them. His hospitality and open disposition convinced me that the place I ended in was not bad at all. 

"Thank you, Belle." He sincerely whispered.

"I don't think we can outdo that. Guess it's just safe to say that we're also proud of seeing you grow this big despite our lacking resources. We're your family, we will always love you. No matter what." Ethan added.

"Congratulations." Lucas nodded.

"Thank you, guys!" The teen beamed, he looked at the two with such bright eyes. But the moment was ruined by his loud stomach. "Uh… guess I'm hungry." We chuckled at his sheepish expression and started our meal.

The day ended in a merry tone. However, I had to solve one thing with the teen. 

Since I had the time, I was not going to waste the chance.

With a candle in hand, I illuminated the way to the plot and to the table under the birch trees.