Finding Home in Redemption

Chapter Eleven

"Wow!" Sam and I both said when I opened the door to the apartment.

"How about I bring your stuff to you Monday after work or something?" she asked.

"Okay, that sounds great."

Everything looked amazing. Aaron had put all the decorations out, and there were a few candles lit throughout the living room. It smelled like a mixture of pine trees and food. I gave Sam a huge grin as she waved and backed out of the doorway into the hall. I took off my shoes and went on a search for Aaron.

When I walked into the kitchen, he was standing at the stove, so I leaned against the fridge and watched. From the tortillas on the counter, I assumed we were having some form of a taco. My favorite, which he knew from a previous conversation we had on one of our walks to work.

"I'm home," I finally said so I wouldn't scare him.

"I was wondering how long you were going to stand there like a creep," he said turning around to grin at me. I laughed and walked to the stove to see what he had.

"You knew I was standing there?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at knowing what's going on around me."

"You're like a ninja," I said, and he laughed. "So, tacos?"

"Oh, definitely. It's probably the only food that can be sketchy and good all at the same time."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. That and this is the only thing I felt confident enough to cook. And not even that confident, to be honest."

"I'm sure it'll be great!" I said grabbing the applesauce out of the fridge.

"What's that for?" he asked.

I looked down at my hands and thought about what I should do. Did I tell him or just put the applesauce away? I chose to tell him and prepared myself for the inevitable response.

"Okay, well, I have this thing with tacos, spaghetti, uh, basically all foods when I'm home. I just kinda throw applesauce on whatever I'm eating."

"You mean you like to eat it on the side?"

"No, you'll see."

We filled our plates, and Aaron poured lemonade for both of us. Making our way to the table in the dining room, I stepped over a sleeping Dog.

"He sleeps a lot," I said as we both sat down. "Are you sure he's only three?"

"I got him when he was about a year old, so he's going on five now. I think he's used to sleeping during the day since we've been doing that for so long."

"When will you have to do a night shift for whatever it is you do?" I asked, hoping he would give me something.

"I think I can go out Thursday nights for the next couple of months. It's cold, so traffic is slower than usual."

"Traffic for what?"

"Come on Bentley," he said smiling. "You know I'm not going to answer that."

"Just thought I'd try." I opened the applesauce and began pouring it over my taco meat. I folded up the tortilla and took a huge bite. Amazing. I glanced up to see a horrified expression on Aaron's face.

"What in the world? No. No, that can't be a thing," he said shaking his head back and forth.

"It's a thing, has been since I was, like, in the womb. Freaks the crap out of Pop though so I can't eat it at his house. Wanna try it?" I asked, offering him my jar of applesauce.