Second Chances: An Unexpected Angel

Chapter 27

We walked through the door, and led Sméagol over to the kitchen table.

"Here, have a seat," Hayley said, pulling a chair out for Sméagol.

Sméagol sat down on the cushioned seat. "Oh, very comfy this is, Precious."

I nodded in agreement as I sat next to Sméagol.

Hayley rummaged through the pantry and the fridge, and picked out a bunch of different, random foods for Sméagol to try. She set them out on the table, and sat on the other side of him. She cut off a piece of cheddar cheese, and handed it to Sméagol. "This is cheddar cheese."

Sméagol took hold of the cheese, and nibbled off the edge of it.

"How is it?"

"Good. Sméagol likes it very much, Precious." He put the rest of the slice in his mouth, and slowly chewed it up.

Hayley then cut off a tiny slice of ham, and handed it to Sméagol. "This is ham. By the way, these foods are already cooked, but some of them have to be kept cold to keep them fresh."

Sméagol took a small bite of the ham. "Very tasty it is."

"Oh, good. Do you think you might like a ham and cheese sandwich?"

"Oh, yes, please!"

"Okay, I'll make you one." So, Hayley got out two slices of bread, and placed the ham and cheese on each slice. "I'm also going to put mustard and mayonnaise on the sandwich. It gives it more flavor, and makes it juicier."

"Oh, Sméagol likes juicy."

"Oh, Sméagol?" I said. "You might wanna wash your hands before you eat. They've been in the dirt, and I don't want you to get sick."

"Alright." Sméagol got up from his seat, and followed me over to the sink. "Hold out your hand." He did so as I squirted some soap into the palm of his hand. "Now, rub it all over your hands, and rub them together under the water, until the soap is all gone." I turned the water on, and made sure it wasn't too hot. "Here you go."

Sméagol rubbed the soap all over his hands. Then, he put them under the running water, and scrubbed and rubbed, until his hands were nice and clean. I grabbed a towel for him to dry his hands on, and then, we both sat back down at the table.

"How did that feel for you?"

"Very nice, Precious," he said. "Sméagol likes having clean hands."

"Yeah, it feels so good to be clean."

"It does, yes."

Just then, Hayley brought Sméagol's sandwich over to the table, and placed it in front of him. "There you go, Sméagol."

"Thank you, Precious. Oh, this looks delicious, it does."

"Would you like something with it, like maybe some chips?"

"Chips?"

"They're different from Middle Earth chips." Hayley opened a bag of potato chips, and handed a chip to Sméagol to try. "Here."

Sméagol popped the chip in his mouth. "So tasty this is," he said happily.

"Want some with your sandwich?"

"Yes, please."

Hayley poured some chips onto Sméagol's plate. "THere you go. Enjoy."

"Thank you, Precious."

"You're welcome." Then, Hayley grabbed her sub sandwich off the counter, took it out of the bag, and put it onto a plate. She poured some chips on her plate, and sat back down.

"What's that?" Sméagol asked, pointing to the sub.

"It's a sub sandwich. It's different from the sandwich you're having, but it's also really good. Hey, how's your lunch?"

Sméagol smiled at Hayley. "Very, very good. Sméagol loves ham sandwiches."

"Good. So, you liked the mustard and mayo I put on it?"

"Oh, yes, very much. So juicy sweet it is."

Hayley giggled. "You're so cute, Sméagol."

I smiled and nodded in agreement.

"What about poor Cheyenne?" asked Sméagol. "She's not eating anything."

"Oh, I already had my lunch," I said.

"Oh, what did it eat, Precious?"

"Ramen noodles. They're really good, too. I'll make you some sometime." Ramen noodles and popcorn are pretty much the only things I know how to cook.

"Alright."

After lunch, Sméagol helped Hayley clean up, and put the dishes away.

"Thank you, Sméagol," she said. "You're very helpful."

"Sméagol loves helping."

"Aww, you're so sweet."