AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, why don’t you two come on into the kitchen? The lasagna just came out of the oven and the salad’s ready. Plus, by the smells of it, the garlic bread is about to come out of the oven.”
Clint chuckled. “You haven’t lived until you’ve had her lasagna. Ready to eat?”
I shrugged. “I’m ready whenever the food’s ready.”
He kissed the side of my head. “A girl after my own stomach.”
Cecilia laughed as s
he turned around, beckoning for us to follow her into the kitchen. And the smells that greeted me once we got there made my stomach growl out loud. It was a beautiful home-cooked meal, and the table was set with fine china and actual silverware. Not the plastic stuff we used, and not the fake silver stuff found in most stores. Genuine silver utensils.
“Rae, what would you like to drink?”
Cecilia’s voice pulled me from my trance. “Um, soda or something is fine.”
Clint pulled out my seat. “We’ve got Mountain Dew, Diet Dr. Pepper, and Coke.”
“Um, Coke’s fine. Thank you.”
Cecilia was a brilliant host. She cracked open the can of Coke and poured it into the ice-filled crystal glass. Right in front of me. I’d never been treated this way before. Home-cooked meals in my house were microwaved meals and pre-cooked oven meals my mother slapped into the oven or something like that. With canned vegetables on the side. This was a spread. Lasagna. Fresh salad. Multiple dressings. Freshly-made garlic bread in actual loaf form.
Clint whispered in my ear, “And there’s blueberry crumble for dessert.”
And oh, the growl my stomach let out.
18
Clinton
“Oh, holy sh—itake mushrooms.”
I chuckled at the way Rae edited herself. “Good, huh?”
She groaned, taking another bite of the lasagna. “It’s heaven. Where in the world did you learn to cook?”
Cecilia smiled. “My mother. She taught me a lot of homemade recipes. Macaroni and cheese. Basic noodles.”
Rae’s eyes widened. “You made these noodles?”
“Yes ma’am, I did.”
Cecilia beamed with pride and my heart felt fuller than it had in a long time. Rae kept devouring the food like she hadn’t eaten in weeks, and I loved it. I adored a girl that wasn’t afraid to put carbs in her system. Not like the other girls at school, who walked around with fiber bars stuffed in their purses and ate nothing but fruit and yogurt for lunch.
“So, Rae. Are you a senior, too?”
Rae nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
“Any plans after graduation?”
I waited with baited breath as Rae swallowed her food. For some reason, I was now wondering what her plans were. I mean, it hadn’t been important before. But now that Cecilia had formally brought it up, I wanted to know the answer.
And quickly.
“Well, I’ve been saving back money from the grocery store. And if I play my cards right, I’ll have enough to share an apartment with Allison once we graduate.”
Cecilia nodded. “And who’s Allison?”
“Rae’s best friend,” I said.
