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Félix hummed to himself as he stood in front of the kitchen counter, currently preparing everything he needed to make food. He was the one in charge of lunch today since Julieta had been the one to cook for five days in a row, and he thought his sister in law was well overdue for a break. With that, he had volunteered to make lunch and dinner today, as well as lunch the following day.
Not that he minded, far from it in fact. Félix loved cooking and found the act of it very relaxing and rewarding, which was something he bonded with Julieta over, since both of them liked to try new things and experiment in the kitchen from time to time. Pepa however, who could barely make an arepa without burning down the house wasn’t a fan of cooking at all and barely understood anything Félix was talking about when he explained the process of making certain foods, as well as how he sometimes changed up the recipe, and why. But while Pepa might not fully get what he was talking about, she always listened happily, telling Félix that she loved seeing him talk about something he was passionate about.
It was very adorable of her.
Pepa herself was on her way home from watering the crop fields. Félix could easily tell since the rain had stopped about ten minutes ago, with the sun now peaking out from the clouds as Pepa finally was done with her chore.
Félix knew she would be tired when she came back, and hoped he would be done with his first dish by the time so that she could taste test it for him. He knew she must be extremely hungry, and he didn’t want her to have to wait all the way until lunch.
He had decided to try something new today, which was working with mushrooms in a different way. He didn’t make mushrooms often, that was Julieta’s specialty, but he wanted to try something new and to see what thing he might come up with. And if it was one dish that Félix liked, it was champiñones al ajillo. There was just something special with such a simple dish that still managed to bring out such an intense amount of flavor. The taste of the mushrooms always got amplified by the tint of garlic, parsley and the other spices, and the texture always made his mouth water.
And since he had been in a brave mood today, he had decided that he wanted to change up the recipe a bit just to see what would happen. He had added a little more garlic and red pepper, as well as a tiny amount of mince that was added as he now stood in front of the stove, with all the content frying in the pan. He wondered what kind of taste the outside of the mushroom would have if they were fried together with the mince that would add a meaty tint to it when it released the liquid. He knew that the addition of mince would also bring out more flavors to the meat, and the dish would feel even fuller with the addition of it.
It smelled absolutely delicious.
Just as he finished frying the dish and putting everything out on a large plate, he could hear the front door being open from the other room. He guessed it was Pepa, so he temporarily left the kitchen and saw his wife already halfway up the stairs, completely drenched from head to toe, truly soaked from the rain. Félix knew how much Pepa absolutely waited to have wet clothes on her since the texture against her skin felt heavy, and the way her clothes clinged to her body felt all wrong. He didn’t have the same problem himself, but he knew it was something that bothered Pepa an extreme amount.
“Mi vida, how did it go?” he asks, and Pepa stops in her tracks as she hears his voice. Drops of water wet the stairs as they fall from her braid.
“Better than usual. I’ll be down in a bit, I just need to get these stupid clothes off of me. They feel weird.”
He nods.
“Okay! I’ll be in the kitchen, I’m making food and I need a taste tester.”
Pepa gave him an adorable, exciting nod in return before she continued her walk upstairs, and Félix went back into the kitchen and began to wash the pan in order to prepare to start making the next dish for lunch. Eventually Pepa comes down to the kitchen, wearing a new dry dress, and her hair is put up in a bun instead of her usual braid while it is still drying.
“What did you make?” she asks with a happy smile on her face, and Félix saw how she was shaking her fingers slightly as she pressed them against the soft fabric of her dress like she often did.
“I made some champiñones al ajillo but changed the recipe and added meat to it too! I think you’ll like it!”
He saw how Pepa’s expression immediately changed from one of curious excitement, to one of concerned disgust, and at first he didn’t understand why. There was confusion in her look, and a little bit of sadness as she began to fidget with her hands nervously as she took a deep breath. There’s an anxious cloud over her head.
“Pepi, is everything alright?”
She shakes her head.
“I’m sorry, I can’t eat that. I just can’t.”
It took him a few seconds for it to finally click, and when it did, he understood.
Of course!
How could that little detail have slipped his mind?
Just like Pepa had problems with some textures when it came to fabric on clothes or certain loud sounds, she also had problems with some types of food as well. Sometimes the texture was off, sometimes it was the taste, sometimes the smell, and sometimes it was all of the above. And it wasn’t simply because she was a “picky eater” or something, far from it in fact. Pepa could actually eat most foods and enjoyed them, even if she had her favorites she usually kept herself to. But the food she couldn't eat, it wasn’t simply because of a small dislike, it was a serious inability where she literally could not stomach anything if it had the wrong texture or taste, to the point where she could sometimes panic or be unable to talk for a while. It caused her nothing but pure distress.
And mushrooms were one of the foods Pepa absolutely could not eat without having a meltdown.
The texture, the smell and the taste was all wrong, and Pepa had told them about it. And he has never seen Pepa eat mushrooms ever for that particular reason. He had no idea how that had completely slipped his mind.
“Oh, right,” he says and then gives her an understanding look. “I forgot. Don’t worry about it, mi vida. I’ll make you something else, okay? You absolutely do not need to taste something that makes you feel bad.”
She lets out a grateful sigh as she nods.
“Thank you. I’m sorry I can’t eat it though. The food you make always looks so delicious and I’m so sad I can’t try all of it. But some foods are just… wrong. I can’t explain it.”
“You don’t need to feel sorry. If you can’t eat something, you can’t. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, that would be like forcing someone with an allergy to eat something anyway. I’ll happily make you something you can eat instead.”
Next second he’s embraced in a soft, warm hug and feels her kiss his cheek.
“Thank you. It means a lot.”
“I’m always here for you. Now, what do you want me to make for you?”