Chapter 11: Doesn't That Just Burn You Up?

It wasn't long before the Oss family had already spent an entire day living under the same roof as the Helgasons.

Much to Lief and Josefin's delight, the boys were already bonding quite well with Karen's siblings. Admittedly, Edvin and Arvid were at a loss as to how to change a diaper.

Other than that, though, things went quite well.

Edvin enjoyed playing Peek-a-boo and This Little Piggy with Kristin. So much so, that he actually dreaded having to leave for work.

As for Arvid and Karl, theirs was a more subtle but no less important relationship.

It rather baffled Arvid, having to know that Karl's studies were far too advanced for a boy his age. Nevertheless, he was willing to help him out however he could.

But not everything was completely without a hitch.

For whatever reason that night, Arvid had decided to make dinner for the rest of the house. He'd assumed that whoever normally cooked for Lief and his children could use the break.

Though Arvid had little, if any experience in cooking, he was willing to try. Although, maybe he should have asked permission first, or at least asked for help.

He also felt as if something weren't quite right with the stove. He'd assumed that was simply his gut confusing fear with hunger.

It wasn't long before it happened. 

"Gah! What is that noise?" Josefin couldn't stand whatever the loud shrill beeping sound was.

She couldn't help but wonder that it sounded familiar, though. When she did recognize what exactly that sound was, she sprinted right back into the house.

"Please tell me I wasn't just hearing things," Karen said as she joined in running into the kitchen.

"Don't worry, Karen...you're not the only one." As expected, the sight was a frightening one. Soon, the girls were joined by Lief and Karl.

Understandably, Arvid was panicking as he attempted to put out the fire that somehow started up. It didn't help he had to listen to screaming and Lief shouting, "What the hell?!"

Despite all the panic and a slightly faulty extinguisher, Arvid did manage to put out the surprisingly small fire.

But even though the worst part was over, Josefin was still in hysterics over what she just saw.

"Arvid! Arvid, w-what was all that?! What were you doing in here?" Arvid didn't like when his mother got like this.

"Mom, calm down! I was just..." Calming down was obviously the last thing his mother was capable of doing right now.

"Don't do that again! Next time you want something, ask me or Lief! I don't want this to happen again! Hear me?" Despite his best efforts, Arvid simply couldn't get Josefin to stop freaking out.

She was doing so when she left the room with the others. That left Lief alone with Josefin's boy.

"So...What was that about?" Lief sort of already knew what it was about, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"Oh...Mom's overreacting again. She's been like that since Dad died." Hearing that made the gears in Lief's mind start to turn.

"All right...Arvid, how exactly did your father die, again?"

"Huh? Oh...He burned to death."

"Ah, so that explains it..."

"I don't think your mother was overreacting, there," Lief said in a gentle tone, as he placed a hand on Arvid's shoulder.

"You say she was, but from what I just saw, her reaction was understandable. She saw fire, and well..."

"I guess she was afraid she was going to lose another person close to her." Lief saw that Arvid was still a bit upset over the whole thing.

"So before you go and think your mother's blowing things out of proportion, remember she just doesn't want to repeat history. You should be happy your mother cares so much about her boys."

"Yeah...I guess so."

"Come on, now. Smile! It's over now, and we can get on with our night." Lief was admittedly trying to paint a happy face onto something that was happy-paint resistant, but he was willing to do it.

"But...What about dinner?"

"We can order pizza. Don't worry about it. Now, big smile!" After a bit of hesitation, Arvid returned the big toothy grin Lief was projecting.

"Atta boy! Now, let's get ordering."

So, after that night, things settled into a nice calm routine. Both families, after some initial panicking, managed to have a nice quiet dinner.

"Huh?"

Of course, they had to explain to Edvin why a firetruck was front of the house when he came home from work that night.

(End of Chapter 11.)