Choices
Copyright© 2001 by Ashes of Roses
Chapter 16: The second time around.
We spent Tuesday and Thursday evening together, though she left at around eleven both nights. She showed up Friday night with a small overnight bag.
"I told my parents I'd be staying over."
"And they didn't give you an earful, I see."
"No, just a brief good-night and a 'Be careful' from my mom."
"'Kay. Ready for dinner?"
"You're spoiling me, you know." I raised an eyebrow as she continued. "All these wonderful home-cooked meals. How can I stand to eat my own cooking for the next two years?"
I bit back my first reply--"I wouldn't mind cooking for you for the next two years"--and simply said, "If you pick up cooking as quickly as you did lab technique, you won't have anything to worry about. Here, have a seat."
She sat down and inhaled deeply. "Smells Chinese."
"I've been trying out a few recipes, and finally got the beef to behave."
"How is the beef supposed to behave? It can't be that content with being eaten."
"Very funny. It should be soft enough to melt in your mouth."
"Okay, you're quitting grad school right now and becoming a chef."
"Wait until you try the food. You might want me to stay in school." I brought out the dishes, soup, and rice bowls, and we fell to with vigor.
"Seriously, Jordan, this is really good!"
"Glad you liked it."
"You sure you don't want to do this for a living? Master chefs make more than scientists."
"They most likely do. Still, I can't do this on a regular basis. I can manage nutritious and edible with relative ease, but tasty is both difficult and time-consuming."
"The miso soup was delicious."
"I can't take too much credit for that, because-"
"-the miso is pre-made. Oh, come on. No one makes their own miso. And before you ask, my parents and I spent a few years on the West Coast. That's why I'm familiar with Asian food."
"You didn't need to tell me that; I knew as soon as we started eating."
"How?"
I nodded to her chopsticks. "By the fact that you're using them as well as if you've been using them for your whole life."
"I didn't think of that. Chopsticks are almost as second nature as forks and knives are for me."
After doing the dishes (I washed and she dried), we watched a movie she had brought with her. "'Meet Joe Black.' Hmmm, good taste," I had commented. "One of my favorite actors."
"Brad Pitt?"
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