Chapter 8
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Ker
Ker tossed his keys into the bowl on the table near the door and placed the bag of food on the island as his phone rang. A late afternoon meeting, followed by a trip through a drive-through, meant he was getting home later than usual. Seeing it was Ash, he hit answer and tucked the phone between his shoulder and chin.
“Hey, Ash. What’s up?” Shrugging off his coat, he tossed it on one of the island chairs, opened the bag of fast food, and stuffed a few fries into his mouth.
“Just thought I’d call to say hi and see how you’re doing,” Ash replied. “Is this a good time?”
“I just walked in the door with my dinner, but if you don’t mind chatting while I eat my burger and fries, it’s fine with me.”
“Are you sure? I can call back, or you can call me when you’re done. I don’t want to interrupt your dinner.”
“Seriously, it’s all good.” Ker chuckled. “Just tell me how things are with you first. By the time you’ve filled me in, I’ll be finished with the food.”
Ash proceeded to tell him about his week so far, sharing details about Sunday dinner with his mom and his brothers and telling him a little about work.
Ker made a point of hmming and aahing at appropriate times while he chewed so that Ash would know he was listening. When there was a lull, Ker said, “Wow, sounds like a good week so far.”
“Yeah, I can’t complain. Have you finished eating?”
“I have,” Ker said, balling up the burger wrapper and tossing it in the bag. He added the empty French fry sleeve and threw everything in the trash, then snagged a bottle of water from the fridge. “Do I remember you telling me that you have family dinner every Sunday?” Ker asked.
“Yeah, we do. Well, unless one of us is working or something, but even then, we’ll try to stop by later. Mom always makes enough food so that there are leftovers for us to take home.”
“That sounds amazing. As much as my folks can drive me crazy, I do miss Mom’s home cooking. Somehow, opening a can of soup, making a sandwich, or picking up a burger at the drive-through just don’t cut it.”
“Um, does that mean you don’t cook for yourself very often?” Ash sounded amused.
“Not really. I can grill a steak or cook a burger, but that gets boring after a while. I really don’t have much in the way of skills in the kitchen.” Sipping at his water, he thought about what he wanted to say next. “So, that’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Of course. What do you want to talk about?”
“Remember your first week at A Helping Hand? When Joyce just kinda threw you in the deep end and asked you to make a big ole pot of soup?”
“Sure, that was easy. Soup’s kind of a no-brainer.”
“For you, maybe, but I’d have been terrified. I wouldn’t have known where to start. But you just dove right in, and before I knew it, the soup was ready, and it was delicious,” Ker said.
“Well, thanks. I’ve been cooking since I was a kid. Mom—well, Aunt Muriel, but honestly, I never think of her like that anymore—insisted that we all chip in when we were growing up. She made sure we knew basic stuff so that when we finally ventured out on our own, we wouldn’t starve.”
“My mom did that with Sharon but not with me—although I kinda wish she had. But that brings me to my question, or questions, I guess. First, you’re telling me you know how to make more than just soup, right?”
“Of course. Beef stew, several kinds of soup, spaghetti sauce, lasagna, a few different kinds of casseroles. All sorts of stuff. Why?”
“Would you be willing to show me a few things? I’ve tried to watch some of the cooking shows on TV, but frankly, a lot of them seem way too complicated, and I don’t think I could make most of that stuff. I just need some basic info so that I can move past premade meals and takeout.”
“I’d be happy to show you some stuff. It’s really not all that hard. And with things like soups and stews or pasta sauce, you can make a big batch on the weekend, when you have more time, then package it up in small portions and freeze it. Then when you get home late from work, a home-cooked meal takes just a few minutes, thanks to the microwave.”
“Oh my God, I think you just saved my life!” Ker was jubilant. “When can we start?”
“Do you have any plans after we finish up at A Helping Hand on Saturday?” Ash asked.
“No. Well, laundry, but I can do that here while we cook. What are we gonna make first?” Ker was practically jumping up and down in excitement.
“I can sense how excited you are, dude. This is gonna be fun. How about we start with some basic pasta sauce? I’m thinking a nice rich meat sauce. And maybe some chicken soup. Do you have a couple of big stockpots, or should I bring a few supplies from my kitchen?”
“I’ve got one good-sized one that I don’t think I’ve ever used before. It was part of set a I bought years ago. Hang on a sec.” Ker pulled out the pot from one of the lower cabinets in the kitchen and checked the bottom. “It says eight quarts. Is that okay?”
“Perfect. I’ll bring one of mine, too, along with a few other things since I don’t know exactly what you have. I’ll put together a list of ingredients you’ll need and text that over to you before Friday. Once I see your kitchen, I can recommend a few things you may need to make cooking a little easier.”
“Thank you so much! I can’t wait to get started. I’ll also jot down a few things that I like that maybe we can work on in the future. I really appreciate your willingness to help me.”
“Happy to be of service. I’ll see you on Saturday.”
After Ker rang off, he couldn’t stop smiling, thinking about spending the day with Ash and learning how to cook.
There was no doubt about it, this week had dragged. Ker was sure part of it was that he was excited to have his first cooking class with Ash tomorrow after they finished serving lunch at the community kitchen.
Which is why he was at the grocery store on a Friday night. He was methodically moving up and down each aisle as he checked items off the list Ash had sent him. Penne, canned tomatoes, ground beef, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, and it just went on and on. Were they really gonna use all these things? It seemed like enough to feed an army. Well, Ash had told him they would be making enough to freeze so that he could just pull out things for quick meals.
He was really curious exactly how this was all gonna work, but he trusted Ash, so he didn’t worry about it too much. Normally, he would stock up on a bunch of frozen meals that just took a few minutes to heat up in the microwave, but would he need those now? Ash had said something about making spaghetti sauce and chicken soup, but a little variety would be nice, so he grabbed a couple of frozen protein-and-grain bowls that he liked, just to have some other stuff on hand. And some ready-made chicken salad at the deli so he could make himself a sandwich tonight after he put all these groceries away.
After dinner, he was still feeling wound up and excited about spending the day with Ash, so he opened up his laptop and searched for some cooking videos on YouTube. He might not know much, but he didn’t want to come off as completely ignorant the next day. Maybe he could find something basic to watch until he got sleepy. He found one called “Cooking Tips for Kitchen Beginners” and settled in to try and learn something.