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He laughed and took a seat next to me. “Any plans today?” he asked after he leaned in and gave me a good morning kiss.
“I thought I’d make breakfast, then I need to take care of some things with the house. After that, not much. How about you?”
“I’ll take Simba out for a run after breakfast. Run a few errands; I need an oil change, then I’m free.”
“Sweet! Want to meet back up later?”
“I’d like that a lot.”
I patted his thigh and got up to make breakfast. He followed me in and asked if there was anything he could do. I smiled and told him to sit, I had this, and he sat at the bar watching me as I started the avocado breakfast bake. Carefully, I sliced and removed its seed and placed the avocado halves on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I got the eggs, cheese, and bacon left over from last night and the asparagus out of thefridge, followed by the grater and a knife. Parker watched and seemed mesmerized by how I had lost myself in cooking. I was so into it; it was as if no one was around.
I cracked the eggs with ease, not breaking the yolk, into the hole where the seed once sat in the avocado. Then I topped the egg with a touch of salt and pepper before sprinkling the grated cheese on top. Carefully, I added the top of the asparagus to each half, sprinkled each with bacon bits, put the pan in the oven, set the timer, and washed my hands. Looking up, I saw Parker smiling, watching my every move; I blushed and said, “What? You’re staring at me and smiling.”
“You’re just so damn cute. I love your passion for cooking.” My face turned warmer, and I was sure I was as red as a tomato by then. I dried my hands and took a sip of my already cold coffee.
“These take about thirty minutes; want to go out on the lanai?”
“Lead the way,” he said as he followed me outside. We sat together as we decided we should plan for Saturday. I quickly sent El a text asking him and his boyfriend to join us. He answered instantly, saying he’d love to. When that was done, we talked about the menu.
“How about burgers?”
I thought about his suggestion for a minute, but a day on the boat deserved something more festive. “Nah, I was thinking more along the lines of a seafood feast. It seems fitting since we’ll be out on the boat all day. Although, it will take some doing and preparations to fix the lobster stock for the lobster arancini,” I said to myself as I looked over at Parker; he was still grinning. Ipunched him in the arm, and he pretended it hurt by rubbing it and sticking out his bottom lip in a pout. I laughed and swatted him again. “Well, what do you think?”
“What will go with the arancini? I think anything you cook will be sexy as hell. What other food did you have in mind?”
“I think arancini and little necks are good for appetizers. Then, we could make a low country boil to go with the seafood feast. Of course, we’ll also need to make sriracha aioli for the arancini.” At about that time, the timer went off. We rose and went into the kitchen. While I took out breakfast, I continued to talk about the dinner prep. Setting the halves on a plate, I handed Parker a small plate and fork, setting the same for myself beside him.
We ate at the bar; Parker had never had the avocado breakfast bake and loved it. After three servings, he sat back and rubbed his belly with a chuckle. “I’m going to get fat if I hang out with you too much.”
I laughed at him. “It’s healthy!”
While cleaning up the kitchen, we agreed to meet on Friday to prepare the lobster stock, then cook the lobster and the arborio rice, to chill. Excited and ready to start the day, I gave him a hug and a lingering kiss at the door. Then I said goodbye.
Olivia
Everything you can imagine is real. Pablo Picasso
I couldn’t get the feeling of his touch off my skin as if it was tattooed on me. I was giddy, but decided to try and accomplish something today. I started a list to help my focus. Otherwise, I’d be doomed.
Wash car
Shop
Set up an estate sale
List prices
The list went on for a good two pages. When I was done, I looked it over and was surprised at how much I had to do.
Starting with the estate sale, I was pleased that I had decided to sell my mother’s belongings. I wanted to make the home mine. As much as I would miss my mom’s furniture, which didn’t need to be replaced, it still felt like I was living with my mom. I wanted to add my own flair to the house.
I started by advertising the estate sale on Facebook Marketplace and in the local paper. Then, I made a list of everything I would sell, along with the asking price. After that was wrapped up, I made another list of changes I wanted to make to the house and jotted down the number to the charity that would receive the money, plus my offer of doubling what was raised.
Back to the remodeling list, the kitchen and baths were first on the list. All three were outdated, needing a more modern touch. All the floors needed replacing; there were cracks in thetile. It was an older home, and though my mom had taken excellent care of it, the age was starting to show.
Next came the windows and doors. On the outside, I want to re-sod the lawn, do some landscaping, and extend the lanai to include a gazebo area at the boat dock with lighting and a bar.
Feeling like I’d done something, I started googling trusted contractors and sending emails requesting quotes. I decided to get three quotes per project and some testimonials for security in selecting the contractors. With a glance at the clock, I was shocked it was already noon.
