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5/10/15
"IS THERE ANYTHING I can help with?" I ask as I step into the kitchen. Cale and Bailey have yet to come down stairs.
My mom's opening the oven and checking in on the twice-baked potatoes, and my dad has just come in with a pan of deliciously smelling grilled salmon. Everything looks and smells amazing and I realize how much I've missed a good home cooked meal. There will always be something about your own parents and how they cook that is the best. It's the best because it reminds me of home.
"Salad please Gray. Everything is already cut up just mix together," my mother requests as she worries over the asparagus on the stove.
I snatch a large glass bowl from the cabinet and place it on the island. I walk over to the fridge and gather all the ingredients for the salad. I unload them onto the countertops and spread them out to see what I am working with. Mom has a fresh bag of spinach and cut up lettuce. I empty them both into the bowl first. I then litter the salad with sliced baby tomatoes, chopped onions, mushrooms, and various other greens. I pour on the homemade dressing my dad always makes. I honestly don't know how he does it, but it tastes amazing.
My parents and I work silently but in comfort. The breeze of the ocean coming in from the kitchen windows mix with the country music softly playing in the background. I feel more at home than I have in a very long time.
I grab the wooden tongs and toss the salad thoroughly making sure to coat the leaves with the oil based dressing. I then top the whole salad with a light sprinkle of fresh shredded mozzarella.
"Dinner!" my father bellows. I know what he's guessing is happening upstairs and anyone can tell he isn't pleased by it. My parents are a tad old fashioned.
"I finished the salad," I say as I bring it over to the table. My mom follows with the potatoes on one plate and the asparagus on the other.
I can hear the two lovebirds come down the stairs before I can see them. I look up to see my sister patting down her hair and Cale fixing his shirt. Super classy. My stomach churns in disgust. "Wonder what you two were doing?" I mumble with a sneer.
"What?" my mother and Bailey ask at the same time.
I sigh. "Nothing just talking to myself," I say waving it off.
I help my parents finish setting the table up while my sister and Cale continue to be nauseatingly annoying.
Finally everything is finished and we all sit down as one big happy family...minus Cale. Everyone starts to dish up their plates and I am waiting for who will bring up the elephant in the room first.
Throat clearing from my father means he is volunteering. "So," he pauses. "How did you two meet?"
"How did he propose? And when is the wedding?" My mother pipes in happily.
