Brain Bits To Go

Flash Fiction February Day 10

Cooking For Her

Travis sipped his coffee, placed his cup on the counter and let himself out into the garden. It was early enough that there were still traces of dew in the shadows and he paused to breath in the smell of damp earth and growing things. Moving down the rows, he gathered some green onions, a red bell pepper and a couple of tomatoes.

Returning to the kitchen, he rinsed them under cold water cut the fine roots from the onions, and removed the seeds from the pepper. He then diced them into small pieces just the way she liked them. Taking some left-over ham from the fridge, he cubed that as well. Then grated some sharp cheddar.

A melody chimed from the stove and he pulled on oven mitts and removed a loaf of fresh bread from the oven. He carefully tipped the loaf from the baking tin onto a waiting rack to cool.

Clipping leaves from the pots of herbs on the deep windowsill, Travis chopped them up very finely and put them into a small ceramic bow. He added some sesame oil and placed it on the warming element on the back of the stove. He pushed the button for the warmer and lifted the skillet from it’s hook on the wall nearby. 

He placed it on the stovetop, set the temperature to medium high left it to warm up. A few minutes later, he lifted the now warm and aromatic oil from the warming element and poured it into the skillet which he lifted and turned this way and that. He knew that she would love the smell of the oil when she would arrive in the kitchen.

Returning the skillet to the element, he turned and collected the eggs from the fridge. The two of them had driven to a local farm to buy the smaller brown eggs the day before. They both thought they tasted better, and besides, she was thrilled seeing the chickens who would provide their breakfast.

He partially cooked the peppers before adding the onions knowing she didn’t like them too crunchy in her omelette. While those sautéed, he sliced the tomatoes. Next, he added the ham to the pan and stirred it in with the rest, then added the eggs placing the shells in the compost bin under the sink.

He used the wooden spatula to break the yolks and then stirred them together with the vegetables, and ham. Once they were almost completely cooked, he covered them with the cheese he had shredded earlier. Travis placed a piece of aluminum foil shiny side down on top of the pan and turned the heat down.

He made his way down the hall to the bedroom. He tapped gently on the door. Opening it, he called softly “Good morning sleepyhead!”

First one hand and then the other appeared at the top edge of the comforter. Arms next in a long, luxurious stretch. The covers pushed down and his daughter’s face appeared. She breathed in deeply and her eyes flew wide. “You made my favourite!”

Travis laughed. “Well we did drive nearly thirty miles for the eggs, it would’ve been kind of silly not to!”

Kim held up her arms. “Hug first!”

He leaned over and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. “Carry me?”

Laughing again, he straightened up tucking his arms around her back and under her knees as he did so. She rested her head on his shoulder and he carried her to the kitchen and lowered her into her seat at the table.

He kissed her on the head and went to the counter to cut a few slices from the fresh loaf there. He put them on a plate, placed them on the table with a bowl containing the sliced tomatoes. Removing the foil from the skillet, he set it aside and opened the fridge to get the butter. With that on the table, he retrieved two plates from the cupboard and placed them on the table.

As he shared the scrambled eggs between them, Travis looked at Kim and thought, ‘She will always be worth the effort of making the ordinary special, because having her in my life makes everything special.’

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Something a little gentler this morning.

Cheers,