My mother leans over as she says, "Well who do we have here? Are you a friend of Pyrex's?"

Gorge meets her eye before she says, "I suppose you could say that."

My mother covers her mouth as she says, "Ho, ho ho, so is this the Allure? The name would suit her well."

I cringe for a moment before Gorge grins with a straight, pearly set of white teeth as she says in her strong voice, "I'm glad you agree. It's good to meet you."

I move my hand over my throat before my mother elbows my side as she says, "You really found yourself a beauty while you were away fighting The Fog."

If only they knew. I grate my words like swallowing broken glass down my throat, "So what are you doing here dear?"

Gorge gives me a malicious grin before she says, "I figured it would be difficult for you to expose your love interest to your parents considering the circumstances, so I figured I would intervene before the issue became complicated."

The words ease my panic as my mother bombards Gorge with a series of questions. In my story, I watered down much of what happened, including glossing over the fact that Allure was a siren. This makes Gorge's sudden appearance fit in with my story seamlessly.

Still, keeping complex plans together will prove difficult. I can't imagine Gorge acting out her role well considering she's been surrounded by death and chaos for so many centuries. Her answers prove my assumptions incorrect however.

My mother asks, "So how did you to meet?"

Gorge taps the side of her chin as she says, "Whenever he saved one of our villages from a horde of The Fog's troops, he walked up to my family's house covered in wounds. We nursed him to health, and that was where we fell in love. It's a near fairy tale meeting of love, but what tales of love aren't?"

My mother blushes at the sound of the tale before my father walks beside me. He throws his right arm around my shoulder before he says, "You've really outdid yourself while you were gone. You escaped The Fog, you found a beautiful woman, and now you crawled back to your family with super powers and all that you found intact. It's incredible really."

I roll my eyes before  feign an honest smile as I say, "Well thank you for easing any complications. I'm sure you showing up will only make things less complex."

Gorge offers a charming grin as she props onto one hip while saying, "I can handle a few issues cropping up. I actually have a brain I can use."

I frown as I say, "You should probably try using it less if these are th plans you come up with."

My mother glares at me as she hisses, "What has you so wound up? Your girlfriend came to see your family. You told us that you were serious about dating her. What's the problems with introducing her to us?"

I bite the inside of my lip before I say, "It was the sheer spontaneity of her showing up that got under my skin."

Gorge squints her eyes as she says with her mischievous side spewing from the tone of her words, "Isn't that why you started dating me? Didn't you love the surprises?"

My frown deepens into a scowl as I squint my own eyes saying, "Some are worse than others. I'll leave it at that." I alternate my mood as I put on a shell of an act. I sigh with a deep breath before I grin towards her saying, "Regardless, it's good to see you. Would you like to try some of our famous baking? In fact, we need a judge for who's cooking is better, and you would be a the perfect candidate if you wouldn't mind."

Gorge leans against the edge of the counter with her red hair falling over her shoulder and onto the polished counter top before says her words with heavy skepticism, "I doubt you could cook very well."

I raise my eyebrows as a genuine grin grows on my face as I say, "Oh, you'd be surprised."

My mother rolls her eyes as she says while crossing her arms, "You haven't cooked in a decade. I saw your bread before you placed it in the oven. IT looked terrible."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I frown as I say, "I had to bake in way harsher circumstances than this, so I alternated the family formula to suit the times. I can't even remember what it was originally, but I made due with what I had at the time. I eventually was able to craft something a few steps above edible, and my mates always made sure to donate portions of their food for me to cook every single time rations came in."

Gorge raises an eyebrow before she rests her chin on her hand. She says loading her question with an inquisitive tone, "So you expect a recipe born from times of war to beat out the recipe of a master chef who served picky customers during times of peace?"

I tilt my hand back and forth as I say, "Not particularly, but I do anticipate something resembling a competition. It would also be fun to see how my own recipes measure up to moms."

A pfff escapes my father's lips before he says with a mincing admiration, "I gotta admit. Even though you know you're gonna get crushed, you still have the balls to talk big. It's a talent son."

I squint my eyes at him as I meet his eye saying, "Oh just you wait. You'll find the wartime special as delicious as any dessert. I poured literal blood and sweat into this one time...It failed miserably, but this is the refined craft. The coup de gra. The absolute pinnacle of my culinary talents forged in the fires of hell," I raise my arm at the last words before Gorge busts into laughter with my parents.

I point my arm at each of them while hunching like a goblin. I hiss, "You'll see. You'll ALL see."

The display ignites their laughter into a raging inferno before I walk to the back of the building bringing out the two incomparable dishes. My mother's pastries formed elegant spirals with intricate patters while my mounds of mushed together ingredients pale in contrast. They appear near inedible when laid beside such succulent treats, but I maintain my confidence as I say,

"The taste is what matters. Try each out and tell me what you think?"

Gorge snatches one of my mother spiral figures before she chomps into the food with a ravenous hunger. She mustn't have tasted human food in a long time, so seeing such a well crafted piece in front of her was like having a peppered steak in front of a starving dog.

She moans at the taste of the food before she lays her head into her hand. After a moment, my mother leans over saying with worry, "What's wrong?" She turns towards me before she says, "Is there something wrong with the ingredients this time?"

I shrug my shoulders as I say, " I doubt I would have caught it either way. I thought we had a rather fresh batch of herbs. It is summer after all. You probably just got them from the garden this morning."

She nods her head before Gorge inhales the food at such a mind numbing pace that hungry vultures would scatter from just seeing her tear into the carcass of bread. After she decimates three in rapid successions, she says, "I've eaten a lot of baked goods, and this is by far the best I've ever had."

She shoves another chunk into her mouth as she words with the food muffling the sound of her voice, "I mean, I haven't had this type of food in a LONG time, but wow. This is amazing."

My mother's chest lifts before she punches my shoulder as she says, "See that my boy? That is what we call a satisfied customer."

She turns towards Gorge before she says, "All I'm saying is, if you marry Pyrex, you can have as many treats as your heart desires for free."

She turns towards me as she says, "Alright hubby. When do you wanna get married?"

I lay my face into my hands before I let out a deep sigh. Gorge enjoys messing with me a little too much for comfort.