Never Any Better (Open)

[Matthew Sepher]

The timing had been made perfect. The chef wasn't around. Maybe it was too late for Craig to be there? It was nearly midnight. The man was probably sleeping at this point in time. He couldn't be in the kitchen twenty-four seven. So Matthew took the chance to occupy the empty kitchen and have a bit of fun on his own. The man had realized that he would have to learn how to have fun by himself because people wouldn't always be there. For months, no one had been there with him. He had spent so long sitting beside the death bed of his wife, he was sleeping through most of the day. It had been hard to have fun with someone who was in the process of dying. But at least he was happy while he had been sitting there beside her. But now he had lost even her, the love of his life.

Matthew searched for each light in the kitchen, soon having the entire area lit up to its brightest. There was a smile on his lips while he gazed around, trying to figure out what he should make. No, Matthew wasn't the greatest cook out there. In fact, he was pretty terrible and cooking and had spent the last few months living off macaroni and grilled cheese. Along with whatever fruits and vegetables had been living in his fridge. But Matthew knew how to bake a thing or two. Just the basics like chocolate chip cookies or a simple cake. This was Craig's kitchen. It would probably have the ingredients for anything Matthew wanted to attempt making. But as he was searching for the ingredients, he began softly singing a song to himself that he had been listening to only minutes before going on his journey to the kitchen.

'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares
Someone to love with my life in their hands
There's gotta be somebody for me like that'

It was quite the old song and Matthew knew many people had lost their love for that band, but he still found their music to be beautiful and no one's bad words were going to change his mind on it. Just like his mind could not be changed from the idea of making cookies. Matthew already had the sugar and flour on the counter. He searched through the fridge to pull out two eggs and the correct amount of butter that the recipe he nearly had memorized by now had said. The baking soda, chocolate chips and last few ingredients weren't hard to find, though it took a few minutes of rummaging through the cupboards to finally get his hands on them all.

The baking of cookies was all a way to keep Matthew's mind off of things. He didn't want to think anymore about it and he didn't want to cry again. The reason he came to Ridgestone was to be with his three children. One, Arthur, was a security guard. Drake had been a student, but he had recently been let out of the facility due to good behavior. The third child, Willhelm, had not been seen once since Matt's arrival and he didn't question it. Hopefully, Will had gone back to his home with his lover and job. But that left Matt with only one child to be with and Arthur was too busy with the security that had been piling up on him. Apparently, some of the other guards were slacking or taking time off, which left Arty to take over for them. So much for Matthew getting to spend any time with his son.

'Cause nobody wants to do it on their own
And everyone wants to know they're not alone
There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere
There's gotta be somebody for me out there'

Matthew wasn't keeping his voice quiet. It got louder with each ingredient he found. No one would hear anything and the only people who would see him might be whoever is or isn't paying attention to the security cameras. But the kitchen was the last place security would need to pay attention to. Students weren't even supposed to be in here, especially after curfew. But Matthew was fully aware that children could not be kept out of these places. Matthew knew first hand. He had been a student once too. A long time ago. But he was old now. Matt was almost thankful he was old. It meant he could die soon. A suicidal thought, but without his wife, he didn't have anyone. He was too old to start a new relationship, especially when everyone he came in contact with these days was at least twenty years younger than he was. Well, at least Matt should only have another ten or twenty years left of life if he's lucky. Unless something terrible happens and he dies sooner.

By hand, Matthew was mixing all the ingredients. Or by spoon, rather. He didn't want to go through the troubles and mess of locating the beaters, so he went the old fashioned way and mixed the dough up with the wooden spoon he had found in one of the many drawers. This kitchen was just far too big. He probably wouldn't have been able to find the beaters even if he'd tried. Matthew's singing had fallen into a hum, a smile gracing his lips as he seemed almost to dance along to the tune in his head. It was more a swaying and swinging of his hips, maybe with a bit of head movement. His hands were occupied with the mixture and his feet still remained planted on the floor.

When the dough was all formed, Matthew searched each cupboard until he found a cookie sheet, greasing it up before rolling the dough up into small balls to put on the sheet. He only went through about half the dough in the bowl before no more could be fit. So Matthew moved the cookies off of the counter and into the preheated oven, planning to go just by sight to know when they were done. He didn't trust the timer, but he trusted his own eyes. They were one of the few things that didn't seem to be going yet along with his old age.

The bowl with all the remaining dough was snatched up in the man's arms. The smile there on his lips only grew as he looked around for a place he could sit and wait. But Matthew didn't find anywhere that was close enough to the oven to keep watch. So the man just made the decision to stand. It would be hard to dance while sitting anyways. There still wasn't as much movement as there hand been before. Matthew's hands were still occupied by scooping dough from the bowl and licking it from his fingers. The noise he made at the taste could almost have been labeled a moan, but let's just call it a sigh. Sometimes, the man wasn't sure if he loved the finished cookies or the dough more. And everyone knew cookie dough was one of the best comfort foods. That and ice cream. Matthew would have to ask someone- not the chef- if there was ice cream in the kitchen somewhere. Or he could look himself. But he was too distracted by keeping his footing while he spun around and nearly wiggled along to the tune he was singing along to once again.

'You can't give up, looking for a diamond in the rough
You never know when it shows up
Make sure you're holding on
'Cause it could be the one, the one you're waiting on'

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_{Word Count 1298
Inspiration Gotta Be Somebody by Nickelback
Tags Open
Status Complete
Template By Arro @ Caution 2.0}

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