The blunder in the kitchen

★★★

“What is he doing, Cornell? It is almost time for dinner,” Jessica questioned Cornell, who was clinging to his mother. Every time she wanted to go to the kitchen, he was chasing her away, telling her that she would cause an interruption in Liam's cooking. Jessica had no concept of how her presence would interfere with his cooking when all she wanted to know was how long his food would take to finish.

“I have seen the meals, Mum. Most importantly, they smell savory and are almost ready,” Cornell spoke out quickly, drawing her mother's attention to him. He had anticipated Liam would complete making dinner in two hours, but more than two hours passed with no aroma wafting from the kitchen.

“I do believe you, but, strangely, you're stopping me from going to the kitchen. Would you kindly move aside so I can see what he is putting together for dinner?" Jessica took a step forward towards the kitchen, gently shoving Cornell out of the way.

Almost instantaneously, a strong burning smel