Quiet cooking

"quiet?could something smell quiet?"She was thinking about the phrase , asking herself. He was right, After the  pork chops  and the steaks and  roasts she cooked for the family,this was quiet cooking . No violence involved anywhere down the food chain, except maybe for pulling up the vegetables. The Stew  cooked quietly and smelled quiet.It was quiet here in the kitchen.

"If you don't mind, tell me a little about your family in Italy."He was stretches out on the chair, his right leg a crossed over his left at the ankles.

Silence bothered her around him, so she talked.Told him about her growing years, the private school, the nuns, her parents---housewife, bank manager. About standing along the sea wall as a teenager and watching ships from all over the world. About the American soldiers that came later. About meeting Richard in a cafe where she and some girlfriends were drinking coffee. The war had disrupted lives, and they wondered if they would ever get married. She was silent about Niccolo.

“清静？什么东西闻起来很清静吗？”她在想这句话，问自己，他是对的。在惯常给家人做猪排牛排烧烤之余，今天的这顿饭确实做得很清静。没有任何暴力卷入整个制作过程中，除了把蔬菜从地里拔起来也许可以算。炖菜安静地炖着，味道闻起来也很安静，厨房里静悄悄的。

“要是你不介意的话，给我讲讲你在意大利的生活。”他在椅子上伸直了腿，右腿和左腿在脚踝处交叉。

和他一起相对无言让她感觉很不自在，所以她讲起来，关于她成长的岁月，修女，她的父母——家庭主妇，银行经理；关于他十几岁是经常站在海边的大堤岸看来自于世界各地的船只；关于随后到来的那些士兵；关于她如何和一群女伴在一家咖啡馆里喝咖啡时遇到了理查德。战争搅乱了她的生活，他们曾经困惑是否会结婚，对于尼克洛，她只字未提。