A Nice Family Meal ...

Family is more important, right? Always I say, even though it didn’t occur to me earlier. Today I have a chemistry test to study for but instead I cooked a dinner for my parents and sister before they all got home. I just walked right into the kitchen and started warming up the spaghetti sauce, adding more tomatoes and spices. Then I found the pasta and I just started preparing this meal. For my family. I dropped my preoccupied mind somewhere in the process and stopped thinking about school. I was entirely focused on cooking. It was all ready by the time my dad and sister came home. I turned off the stove, set up the table and served the spaghetti. I brought the parmesan cheese from the fridge. I brought pickles too, something that my dad likes to eat with spaghetti. Why? Beats me. I guess the sour flavor brings out the tinge in his mouth. Who knows? Soon after I set the table, my mom came in through the door. So I grabbed another plate. I told them all to sit down to eat because it was all ready. They did after a few minutes. We ate in silence, the smell of the tomato sauce surrounding our faces, its vibrant colour dancing in front of our eyes, with just the little specks of the green oregano giving it some contrast.

At the beginning of the meal I made some nervous comments of how I wasn’t sure whether the pasta was good or not because I never know when it is ready, when to take it out and what to do with it. My mom took her first bite. I filled my sister’s plate. “Is it okay?” I asked. “Yes, it’s good. It’s good,” my mom assured me and continued eating. My sister said, “As long as it’s food that I can eat, it’s all good ... I don’t care.” My sister’s nine years old.

After we had eaten, we all sat around for a little while, as my sister was finishing. There was some brief conversation, about our day at school, work, and the plans for the upcoming weekend. I could see my mom was tired. Her lids were heavy. My dad excused himself and retreated to their bedroom, also tired from the long day. I stood up to clear the dishes. “Mina, could you please take out the clean dishes from the dishwasher and put in these?