China Roses

Eva Stark was a rising star in the culinary world. Ever since she could remember, she had a passion for cooking that started with her helping her mother with dinner. She entered culinary school after she graduated high school, and worked hard to become a 4-star chef at a top restaurant. She succeeded in everything she wanted to accomplish in the culinary, never forgetting her roots of her small town as she did so.

 

Tony Stark, her father, was her town's top and number one mechanic. He could fix anything and everything that had an engine, whether it was cars or tractors. If her mother had given her a love of cooking, then her father had instilled in her the love she had for tinkering with machines. Her love of tinkering had proved to be beneficial in her cooking in ways she'd never guessed as the tinkering had helped her hone both precision and attention to the little details, just like her father.

 

Pepper Potts, her mother, was one of the most loved teachers in town at their local elementary school. She always encouraged Eva's love of learning new things and exploring her world, whether it was through her cooking or helping her father take apart old appliances with her father.  Another trait Eva had gotten from her mother was her love of helping other people, something that Eva had worked into her cooking on days she volunteered in programs that fed the less fortunate.

 

Finally, Eva's older brother, Ethan, was a talented artist who had moved away from their town to New York to pursue his dreams in the arts. Even with him living hundreds of miles from them, they all remained close to one another and they supported each other in their individual endeavors.

 

One day when Eva was in the middle of prepping everything for dinner service that evening when she got a call from her father. Her Dad was in a bit of a bind, and needed her help for what some might consider to be an unusual project. It seemed the town's only milk truck had broken down on the outskirts of town. The milk truck was a very important part of town as it was used to deliver fresh milk to the town's families on an almost daily basis.

 

"Of course, I can help, Daddy. Just give me a day or so to get back to town and we'll have the milk truck fixed in no time!" 

 

With the end of that phone call, Eva packed up her tools and headed back to her hometown as quickly as she could arrange it. She dropped off her things at her parents house, then went to find her father. It didn't take long to find him since everyone in town knew about the milk truck and was able to tell her the location. When she arrived at the spot, she found her father in the middle of a group of farmers she'd known most of her life, all gathered around the milk truck. The farmers were all smiles when they saw her as they were all eager to get the truck back to delivering.

 

After hugging her father, Eva said, "Well, first things first and I think that's we need to get the milk truck towed back into town. But that's only if you don't want to start hauling all your tools out here to Farmer Stokes's field?"

 

"All the same to you, Tony, Miss Stark, I'd prefer that you didn't, since I plan on letting my cows in this field today," Farmer Kurt L. Stokes piped up.

 

"Okay, towing it to my garage it is then!" Tony said.

 

 

***

It took about an hour to get the tow truck out to the farm, get the milk truck hooked up, and then towed back to Tony's shop. Once the milk truck was in the shop, father and daughter got to work to see what had caused the milk truck to break down.

 

While they worked, they talked, laughed, and caught up with what was happening in their every day lives as it'd been awhile since Eva had come home. After they'd been working a few hours, Eva suggested they take a break, and she got out the thermos of milk one of the farmers had given her while they'd waited on the tow truck.

 

"So, Daddy," Eva began, taking a sip of milk before continuing, "You know how you and Mom have had the suspicion that I am seeing someone. And you know how I've uh been denying it?"

 

Tony nodded, "Yes, I know and know." He sipped his own milk and took a bite of one of his daughter's homemade chocolate chip cookies she'd brought with her, "So are you? Seeing someone that is?"

 

Eva nodded, and took a deep breath before she said, "Yeah... yeah I am seeing someone, and we're actually coming up on the six month mark soon."

 

He gave a whistle, "Wow! Six months already, huh?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"So, is it okay for me to ask who he is?"

 

She nodded, "Yeah, yeah it's okay. It's... Loki Laufeyson." As she talked she watched her Dad closely to see his reaction.

 

Tony's eyes widened, even as he nearly choked on his milk. After a coughing fit, and wiping away his tears from it, her asked, "Loki Laufeyson... as in the other chef you were bickering with every two seconds on that cooking competition you did?"

 

"Yes, he's the one," she confirmed, smiling sheepishly.

 

Tony whistled again then said, "Wow, honey, never in a million years would I seen that one coming since you two really seemed to... not like each other. Or was all that animosity between you two a part of it too since you were doing a so-called reality cooking competition?" He made air quotation marks when he said the word air, "I made I've heard how sometimes they ask competitors to put on acts with each other to make these shows more interesting since people love juicy drama."

 

"Well in our case what you saw was not an act put on for benefit of the show. I mean if you want to confirm it, just ask Darcy, and she'll tell you that neither Loki or I even liked each other before we went on Commander Chef!"

 

"No love lost then, huh?"

 

"No, there wasn't. We literally could not stand each other!" Eva said, rolling her eyes as she recalled her past interactions with Loki.

 

"So what changed between you two?" Tony asked.

 

Eva took a moment to gather her thoughts, thinking on where exactly the unexpected turn in her relationship with Loki, and had transformed it from hostile rivalry to something that was definitely friendship and perhaps love? Finally she sighed, and said, "It's kind of a long story, Dad, but I'll do my best to sum up. It turned out that after the show had ended, we both went back to our respective restaurants, and we continued on with our careers. But somehow, over the next month, we kept bumping into each other at the most unexpected places."

 

"Such as?" Tony inquired.

 

"Well for one, like the restaurant that prepares and serves quality, nutritional food to the poor and the homeless. I like to volunteer there whenever I can, and one day I went in for a shift, and found Loki of all people already in the kitchen.!"

 

Tony arched an eyebrow.

 

"I'm serious, Daddy! Loki was there, chopping up rainbow carrots!"

 

As she continued to recount the transformation in her relationship with Loki, Tony listened attentively, his curiosity piqued by the unexpected turn of events. When Eva had finished, he leaned back against his workbench, and thought about everything she had told him.

 

"I'll say it again, wow. That really is quite the plot twist," Tony remarked with a chuckle, "Who would have thought that behind all that bickering you two were doing was hiding the spark of romance?"

 

Eva grinned, relief washing over her at her father's positive reaction, and she nodded, "Yeah, it's crazy how these things work out sometimes. I mean we went from not liking each other at all to collaborating with each other in the kitchen, and well, outside of it too."

 

Her father gave a pensive nod, "I suppose maybe it could be the magic of good food? I mean I've never tasted his food but I have yours, and believe me, it has the ability to bring people together in more ways than just one."

 

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching the garage. Eva looked to the door to see who it was, and she found Loki standing there with a sheepish smile on his face

 

"Hello, I hope that I'm not interrupting something important," Loki said, his gaze going back and forth between them.

 

Eva shook her head, and she  gestured for him to come closer, "Not at all. Dad, as I'm sure you know, is Loki Laufeyson."

 

With a warm smile, Tony extended his hand in greeting, "It's nice to meet you, Loki. Eva's told me a lot about you."

 

Loki shook Tony's hand with a polite smile, "Likewise, Mr. Stark. I hope Eva hasn't been causing too much trouble."

 

Tony looked at his daughter, and laughed, "Oh you have no idea."

 

"Well, we've got about another hour or so left of work to do to hopefully get the truck up and going," Eva said, wiping grease from her hands onto a rag.

 

"Do you need any help?" Loki asked.

 

"Do you know about about engines?" she countered.

 

"Touche. No, sorry, I do not. I'm a man who takes his automobile to the shop whenever something might be wrong."

 

Loki looked around the garage, his eyes lit up in interest, "Well, there must be something I can do to be of help. Perhaps, I can fetch tools for you or hold something in place for you?"

 

Eva gave him an appreciative smile at his offer, "Actually, that would be great. Dad, could you pass me the wrench?"

 

"Sure thing, sweetheart," Tony said as he handed her the requested tool.

 

Loki eagerly jumped into helping them, fetching and handing tools over, and kept parts steady as Eva and Tony worked on getting the milk truck repaired. Despite his lack of mechanical expertise, Loki's willingness to help them and learn impressed them both.

 

While the worked, Eva stole glances of Loki. There was something endearing about the way he threw himself into whatever task they needed him to do, the way he rolled up his sleeves and the way his brow furrowed when he was concentrating that made her heart flutter.

 

Eventually their hard word paid off as the milk truck's engine turned over and roared to life, causing the three of them to cheer.

 

"Yes, we did it!" Eva exclaimed, throwing her arms around Loki in a happy hug.

 

Loki grinned, hugging her back, "Teamwork makes dream work."

 

Tony put his hands on both of their shoulders, eyes shining with pride, "We couldn't have finished this as fast without your help, Loki. Thank you!"

 

He nodded, "It was my pleasure, Mr. Stark."

 

With the milk truck now running smoothly, they stepped back to admire their handiwork. And as Eva looked at Loki, grease smeared across his cheek and a triumphant smile on his face, she couldn't shake the feeling that their partnership extended far beyond just fixing a truck. Perhaps, she thought, it was the beginning of something more.