Chapter 6

She came padding into the kitchen.

I said, “Okay. First lesson is to wear shoes or at least socks. Nasty things can find feet and be very painful.” She blushed. “If your shoes are still too wet, let’s get you in a pair of socks.” She smiled. “Follow me.”

We went into my bedroom and I pulled an older pair of athletic socks from a drawer and handed them to her. She sat on a chair in the room and pulled them on. They were “tube” socks so worked though she had smaller feet than I did.

“Sam, this is a pleasant room. It’s yours?”

“Thanks. Yes. The house isn’t big but I could add on to it if I wanted to or needed to. I’ve not found a reason. It also doesn’t show but the walls are thicker with more insulation than normal. That makes the house easier to heat and cool.”

She said, “I’s very quiet, too.”

“True. That’s how I wanted it. Let’s get into the kitchen and get some supper cooking.”

We went into the kitchen. I pulled out some ground beef that I hadn’t frozen. “This is an easy dish with ground beef, tomatoes, and egg noodles. There are also some spices or it would be very bland.” I went to the fridge and pulled an onion and a green pepper out. I set them on the island. I put a large deep frying pan on the stove and started it heating. I put the ground beef into it. I said, “Now, while the hamburger starts to brown, we’ll cut up a green pepper and an onion. Watch.”

I took the pepper and cut it in half. I then removed the seeds and proceeded to cut it into cubes. “You do the other half.” She took that half and emptied out the seeds and flesh. She then started cutting. She was slow but steady which worked for me.

I added her diced pepper to the pan with mine. I spread the beef around some more adding salt and pepper. I looked in my spice rack and added oregano. “That was good. Now, we’ll cut up the onion.” I cut the onion in half and proceeded to take off the outer skin and then dice it. She followed my moves. The onion was added to the mixture in the pan.

I said, “In the pantry, I will need two cans of tomatoes and the box of egg noodles.” She nodded and looked lost. I pointed. She opened the pantry door and looked for and found what I wanted. I opened the cans of tomatoes and dumped them into the mixture. Taking another pot, I put water and salt in it and set it to heat to a boil.

“This is a simple but tasty meal. I’m sure a real chef would make it better but it works for me.” When the water began to boil. I measured the egg noodles by hand and poured them into that pot. I turned down the frying pan to simmer. “Now, we wait tor the egg noodles to cook. Once they’re ready, we can eat.”

It didn’t take long once the water started to boil. I tested the noodles twice before removing the pot from the heat and pouring them over a strainer in the sink. I then dumped the noodles into the pan with the rest and mixed it up. I let it simmer for just a few minutes. I said, “Set the table but put the plates here. We’ll serve the plates and take them to the table.”

I went to the fridge and retrieved the bottle of pink merlot and twisted the cap. I reached for a wine glass. Looking at Alice, I asked, “Would you like wine?”

“I-I guess so. I’ve never seen wine with a twist-off cap.”

“It’s cheap but not bad.”

I poured us each a glass and put them on the table. I said, “Soup’s on.”

We served our plates and sat down. As was my habit, I offered a silent blessing. I noticed that the “princess” had already started. Whatever.

She liked it, I guess. “It’s plain but good. The wine is on the sweet side but that’s a merlot. All in all, it’s a pretty good meal.”

“You won’t starve though my cooking isn’t ‘chef’ quality. I don’t like fancy just want good food. My favorite place locally is a BBQ joint. They serve ribs and the meat just falls off the bones. It’s great. They don’t serve alcoholic beverages nor are they open on Sunday. It’s just the way they like to operate.’

“That’s different. I thought every good restaurant served alcohol.”

“It isn’t a restaurant. It’s a joint. There’s a difference.”

“Oh.”

“In this case, I happen to know the owner. He’s a fundamental Christian and won’t work on Sunday and doesn’t drink alcoholic beverages. It’s his place and that’s the way he wants it.”

“I would think that costs him business.”

“He doesn’t care. His beliefs come first.”

“My father requires all restaurants be open on Sunday and have wine and beer available.”

“I’m glad I don’t live there. It sounds like a soulless dictatorship. Obviously, your father doesn’t care about any other person’s beliefs. I don’t totally agree with Al’s beliefs but I do respect them. If I want his BBQ on Sunday, I buy it Friday or Saturday and bring it here.”

“My father’s subjects love him and willingly do what he wants.”

“Bull.”

We ate the rest of the meal in peaceful quiet.

When we finished eating, I put the dishes in the dishwasher and turned it on. Going into the den, I turned the TV back on and watched some Food Network shows until the first of the early “late” news came on. I turned to the one I usually watched.

It had a couple of very articulate ladies handling the news and weather. The sports guy was learning. Anyway, the big news locally was Alice still being missing. There was some guessing but no hard leads on where she might be. Her bodyguards were refusing all requests for interviews. There was an aura of dislike toward them. The local sheriff sounded off that they were troublesome and had caused some disturbances in the county. He had complained to the State Department about their presence since he thought they were hampering his investigation.