Operation Centuria: The First 25

Day 12: Potatoes "the ones in particular" by Rabena

The sweet smell of something desirably edible wafts into the room. Mouth watering, I try to maintain my composure. Eric, one of my friends’ older brother was cooking in the kitchen just a couple of walks away from their living room. I sat all alone in the big spacious couch waiting for either Eric or Morey to come out and try to make things less awkward for me.

Why was it all weird for me to be sitting in their couch? Well for one thing I keep imagining how if their mother comes home from work and finds me here she’s going to think I’m an intruder. Another thing is me being not really in “visiting each other” terms with Morey. I was actually more close with his older brother. But not that close either!

I met Eric, Morey’s big brother in Church camp a couple of weeks after summer vacation started  and I felt like we totally hit it off the moment he started talking to me as if we knew each other.  The Church camp we went to was like a week long retreat or recollection. It was good for teens to relax and to learn and of course to reconnect with God. For me one of the blessings there was finding my own voice and finding out I could have the courage to speak up and socialize. I was very anti-social in school and when I met Eric he had this ease when he communicates. It was so casual. He was 19 years old and I was like 15! He’s nice and thoughtful. He listens to my ideas and really values my opinions. He was so mature.

And I guess for a girl who spends most of her time with guys that like basket ball and pretty girls it’s nice to meet someone who talks about the Bible, theatre and art.

“Erin!” Erin and Eric. Has a nice ring to it. Erin is my nickname. My real name is Katherine. Lol, that was totally a Taming of the Shrew quote. But true, I am Katherine. “Get in here!” he said from the kitchen. I immediately made my way to him but entered so gingerly because I don’t want to look too at home.

“I have a bowl of potatoes there and I can’t figure out what to do with them.”

“Mashed potatoes?” I shrugged.

“Nah. We should make something unique and different.”

Like he was. I thought. Unique and different. Good different.

And we were like that for a while. I had no idea why I had the courage to even be there at that moment, sitting on one of the chairs across toying with an egg while he checks a cookbook, talking to this totally out of my league guy. But something about being there didn’t feel out of my league.

We were connecting. It was me and this guy.

“…of course when I get back to college it’s take out all the way.” came out of the blue like a pin to a balloon.

“Why?”  I asked realizing I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Well, you know, when you get to college you’d be so busy you wouldn’t have time to cook. And you’d be living in a dormitory, where would you keep a kitchen?”

And then I realized I still had no idea what he was going on about. I knew but I couldn’t relate.

“We should really stay on topic. What do we do?”

“I think we should stick with mashed potatoes” I said. But someday I’ll learn different ways to cook and then let’s cook something else.

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TO GOD BE THE GLORY!