The Messy Truth

Chapter 8 "Big News"

While he worked on his English homework, bold and robust scents of that night's dinner filled his nose and seduced his mind with thoughts of devouring every morsel. He imagined himself floating down on the aromas like a cartoon character, saliva forming at his chops. His mother rarely cooked like this on a weeknight, but Jakob was always excited when she did. He disagreed with his parents often, but there was no debate to be had over Nadine's culinary prowess. Somehow she could make meat so tender it essentially melted in your mouth, rice so sticky you could use a chopstick to eat it, and sauce so precise in consistency that it coated its assigned dish with the precision of an Olympic ice skater. Last year, she catered Jakob's birthday party with all of his favorite foods: bbq ribs and pulled pork, baked mac and cheese, deviled eggs, and hummingbird cake. He was in hog heaven for a solid five straight days, happily munching on leftovers until they were gone.

While Jakob's stomach churned in anticipation, his brother Ralph came into his room and plopped himself on Jakob's well-made bed.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked. Ralph was four years younger than Jakob and regularly found himself locating his older brother in the house.

"Minding mine," Jakob teased. "You should do the same"

Ralph chuckled, rolled his eyes, and lay back on Jakob's pillows.

"Man, it's smellin' good down there."

"Yeah it is. What's goin' on anyway? Is Aunt Faith comin' into town?"

"I don't think so, but man I wish she would. I love when they have mac-and-cheese wars."

Nadine and Faith Drakos had a standing feud over the superiority of their own macaroni and cheese. At every function each brought hoards of her own recipe insisting everyone eat it and never missing an opportunity to make mention of perceived flaws in the other's dish. JD, Sr. and his brother Gerald just sat in silent annoyance at the whole charade, hoping at some point their wives would tire themselves out.

Jakob allowed his brother to stay in his room, fiddling with his things while he worked. Though it was difficult, Jakob ignored Ralph's tendency to drop everything he touched and return the displaced item somewhere other than its original location. Jakob was uniquely patient with his brother in effort to overcompensate for their father's impatience with him. Ralph couldn't help that he was clumsy and had a hard time paying attention to things, but JD, Sr. expected a level of perfection from his sons that Jakob knew gave Ralph a degree of an inferiority complex. After The Christmas Story debuted, Jakob started calling his little brother "Ralphie" to let him know his clumsiness was more endearing than it was frustrating.

Just before Ralphie made his way to Jakob's autographed football from Jerry Rice, their father called to them from the dining room.

"Boys," he shouted up the stairs, "Wash your hands and come on down for dinner."

Ralph made an immediate beeline to their shared bathroom, and Jakob returned all his misplaced goods to their original locations before washing his own hands and meeting his family downstairs for dinner. When he arrived at the dining table, his eyes widened and his stomach flipped.

"Wow, Mom!" he said walking over to her seat and placing a kiss on her cheek. "This looks bangin'."

"Thank you, baby" She smiled and patted his cheek lovingly.

Nadine Drakos had crafted a meal unlike any he had seen before outside of the holidays or when his uncle and aunt were in town. She laid out a feast complete with roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans with almonds, cornbread, and her own famed mac-and-cheese. The family joined hands, and JD, Sr. prayed over the meal.