Losing Control

Sampu

"Hi, Gigi!" Enzo walked into the kitchen just as Stephanie was peering into the fridge to see what she can cook for dinner.

"Hi, anong ginagawa mo dito? Gutom ka na ba? May prutas dyan...sorry ha, magluluto pa lang ako eh," Stephanie faced Enzo.

"Actually, I was hoping di ka pa nakakaumpisa. Alam ko naman na ikaw ang chef dito, pero I was going to teach you my specialty."

"Oh really?" Stephanie folded her arms in front of her and smiled at Enzo. "Pinapayagan ka na pala sa kusina, Hijo?"

"Opo, lola, basta may adult supervision," sinakyan ni Enzo ang panunuya ni Stephanie. "Thank God you're here," he winked at her.

"Eh ano ba ang specialty mo, aber?"

"Barbecue chicken pizza."

"Wow, talaga?"

"Oo! Kaya pwede bang tulungan mo ako today?"

"Yes, of course!"

In truth, Stephanie was excited. She was beginning to enjoy this cooking thing. She was enjoying learning how to cook her favorite foods. Hindi na rin sya masyadong nandidiri sa sight or raw meat or tinatamad maglinis ng kusina pagkatapos. Sabi ni Enzo ay pati ang dough ay gagawin nila from scratch kaya mas ginanahan syang manood at tumulong.

Ang una nilang ginawa ay ang pizza dough. Kailangan pa kse nito mag proof and rise so yun muna ang inatupag nila. Madali lang pala gumawa ng dough, pero ninenerbyos sya na hindi ito umalsa. Pagkatapos nun ay nagmarinate muna sila ng chicken. Tamang tama naman kse by the time they were done, it was time to punch down the dough for a second rising. Natuwa sya na umalsa naman yung dough. In-on ni Enzo yung grill sa stove top para magrill na yung manok.

"O tapos?"

"Iwanan muna natin ang manok dyan para maluto. In the meantime, gawa muna tayo ng barbecue sauce."

Nanlaki mga mata ni Stephanie. "Pati yun, from scratch?"

"Oo naman! Mas masarap pa to kesa dyan sa bottled kind na puro asukal lang naman yan."

"Saan ka natuto magluto nito? Siguro may babae kang iniimpress dati no?"

"Actually, may babae akong gusto iimpress ngayon."

"Ha? Sino?"

"Kilala mo sya."

"Talaga? Nameet mo ba sa bar? May nireto din ba ako sa yo?" Nahihiyang tanong ni Stephanie kay Enzo.

"Hindi. Nameet ko sya sa palengke."

Namilog ang mga mata ni Stephanie. Alam naman na nya kung sino ang tinutukoy ni Enzo pero she just dropped the subject. Instead, hinalo nya na lang ang barbecue sauce. She dipped a wooden spoon into the pot and brought the spoon up to Enzo's mouth.

"Tikman mo. Masarap na ba?"

"Perfect," he said while looking into her eyes.

Enzo rolled out the dough and put the chicken and mozarella cheese on top of it then drizzled it with their homemade barbecue sauce. They put it in the oven to brown the dough and melt the cheese. Stephanie decided to make a garden salad to go along with their pizza. Namili naman si Enzo ng white wine from Ashton's stash to pair with their pizza.

They went through the swinging door laughing, with Enzo carrying the pizza on a wooden block while Stephanie carried the garden salad. Mismong kararating lang din ni Ashton sa dining table at tinitigan ang dalawa. Napatigil si Stephanie sa pagtawa at dalian ng nilapag ang salad sa table. Si Enzo naman ay tumatawa pa rin.