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Once the chicken was all cooked, I quickly fried the vegetables in another pan. I added everything to a warm tortilla, and sat down at the table with my phone, which vibrated softly in my hand.
“All right, Maria. What do you say?”
I opened my phone and found that it was not a response from Maria, but from Jesse. I raised an eyebrow. Why would he be messaging me instead of just coming out to talk to me?
I need some time. Fajitas for tomorrow sound great.
I now wondered if he hadn’t been ignoring me, but had decided that he needed to isolate himself from me for a little while. I felt like I needed to reply. Instead of words, I simply sent him a thumbs up in response. I could make sure I put aside stuff for fajitas for tomorrow’s lunch.
Thanks.
His reply was swift. I pursed my lips.
If I texted him, would we have a better chance at having a productive conversation? It wasn’t something I was willing to test out tonight, but it was something I needed to keep in mind. Certainly, it’d have the same kind of impact if I sent the wrong words put together.
I shook my head and began to eat my fajitas.
Once I was done with dinner, I put the rest of the vegetables and chicken into a plastic container to be put in the fridge. Then, I put my tortillas away. At least it sounded like Jesse was willing to talk to me. I wondered if he just needed an hour or two to compose himself after I pushed his buttons, accidentally.
So, I pressed on with my original plan. I made some cookies. This recipe mixed together quite easily, honestly, but it was the baking and spooning it all out that took longer. It made delicious chocolate chip cookies, though. He didn’t want any of the dough, and I knew that. However, I did take a little bit, just to make sure that it was good and as it should be.
What kind of a baker would I be if I didn’t at least taste the dough to make sure it had come together right?
After I put the first batch of cookies in the oven, I checked my phone to see if anyone had texted me. There was nothing from Jesse, which I had suspected would be the case. However, there was something from Maria.
Whatever the case, he’s always like that. Is it worse tonight?
Maria was at least giving him the benefit of the doubt. I sighed softly. She deserved to know that I had pushed his buttons, but I didn’t think that I had said anything that would have set him off like that. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t known what to say about the color combinations I’d decided to use and had let it fester until he didn’t have any choicebutto say something. If that was the case, I didn’t want to know what he would do if he didn’t like the ideas I was seeing in my head for how to replace the color combinations.
I didn’t know how to answer Maria, so I sat on her text.
The first batch of cookies finished, and I put in another sheet. I could smell the first ones that had come out. They had cooked beautifully. The edges were a little brown, but not a burnt brown. A golden-brown that meant they were just right.
That was all I wanted to see.
I put a couple cookies on a plate to cool before having one myself, straight out of the oven. While it was still unbearably hot, the chocolate especially, it was one of the best feelings in the world.
I glanced at the kitchen window as I enjoyed the cookie. The rain was coming down in torrents. It almost looked like a full sheet of rain drops descending from the sky. There were full puddles forming on the ground that I could see, and I decided that I wasn’t going to go anywhere tonight. Perhaps if it wasn’t raining, I would have gone to get some sugar cookies.
Once all of the cookies had come out of the oven, I took the ones I had originally put on a plate and headed for the master bedroom. The oven was off, as I always turned it off when I was done. Habit.
I knocked on the door. Jesse had not texted me since I had given him a thumbs up on the fajitas for tomorrow, but I hoped that he would not mind the interruption for the sweet treat of freshly made cookies.
He opened the door, glaring at me. He appeared ready to chew me out for daring to knock on the door until he saw the cookies.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly before he could slam the door. I held the cookies up for him to take. “I just came with a peace offering. Have one, or all of them. I have plenty more in the kitchen.”
He looked me straight in the eye and I suddenly noticed how clear they were. I felt my stomach do a weird flip thing. He sighed, looked at his shoes, then looked back at me.
“I should be the one apologizing,” he admitted before taking a cookie. “It wasn’t right of me to yell at you like that. I’ve had some… anger issues that I’ve been working on, and I messed up tonight… probably more than just tonight.”
That was as specific as he got, but it gave me some insight into what he was dealing with. I’d had no idea he struggled with anger. Perhaps it was just something he was telling me to give me an explanation for what had happened without having to be vulnerable with me. Truly vulnerable, at least. I didn’t want to pry.
So, I decided to take the anger issue excuse at face value. At least it meant that I might not be the problem, which was a relief. You can only be yelled at so many times before you begin to wonder if you might just be a terrible person to be around.
“Well, if you think you’d be able to handle it, I wanted to show you the designs I want to use for the fundraiser. I think getting a firefighter’s opinion on the colors and designs would be a good idea, since there will be so many around,” I said.
His mouth was full of cookie, so he only nodded.
