Chance Of A Lifetime

A Friend I Haven't Met Yet

January 2020:

      Ashley pulled into his driveway, easing the Charger in next to his most recent acquisition, a fully-restored jet-black 1956 Oldsmobile that he had dubbed "Evil-Lyn", after a favorite cartoon character from his childhood. He made sure to leave as much space between the two vehicles as possible, since the thought of damaging either one by banging it with the door of the other was almost physically painful to him. 

      He made his way to the front door, and as he stepped into the entryway, an appetizing smell drifted through from the kitchen, and he realized that Aerin had apparently had one of her infrequent "domestic impulses" and decided to cook dinner. She claimed to not really enjoy that particular chore, so he did the majority of the household cooking, but she would occasionally surprise him. He paused to hang up his coat and car keys, then hurried through to the kitchen to see what she had come up with.

      As he entered the kitchen, he saw his roommate standing by the stove, carefully peeling a sheet of foil off of a baking pan, which was emitting clouds of steam. "Hey there, sugar!" he called out. "What smells so good?"

      "Well, it's called 'Forgotten Chicken', according to the recipe," she responded. "I found it on Pinterest, and we had all of the ingredients, so I figured I could whip some up, since you've been working your ass off for the last couple of weeks. It comes with a built-in side dish, so we just need a salad, and we're all set."

      "I think I can handle that," Ashley stated, so he went to the refrigerator to gather the components for a salad while Aerin placed the pan back into the oven to broil for a bit. In fairly short order, they had everything ready, and decided to just eat at the kitchen island, instead of taking the time to set the table. After drizzling a bit of dressing over his salad, he removed a chicken breast from the pan and placed it on his plate, then scooped out some of the creamy-looking rice it rested on. "Looks pretty good," he observed. "What's in this, exactly?"

      "I mixed up a can of cream of mushroom soup, a can of cream of chicken, some water, and Minute Rice, then laid the chicken on top, and sprinkled French onion soup mix over the meat to make a coating," she informed him. "Quick and simple, just how I like it."

      "Well, I appreciate the thought, sugar," Ashley declared as he lifted a piece of the chicken to his mouth. His eyebrows raised as he chewed, and once he had swallowed, he said, "Yeah, this one's a keeper. That French onion coating kind of works its way through the chicken, and gives it a really good flavor."

      "The rice isn't too shabby, either," Aerin replied. "Try some of it before it has a chance to get cold."

      He did so, and agreed that it was quite tasty, even though it was a bit richer than his usual fare, since he generally followed a fairly strict health-oriented diet, with minimal fat, sugar, or carbs, and a near-complete absence of red meat, allowing only a scattering of bacon over his salad on rare occasions. But since he watched what he ate the majority of the time, he reasoned that there was nothing wrong with the occasional indulgent meal or dessert. After they had eaten their fill, Aerin scooped the leftovers into containers and put them into the refrigerator, while Ashley loaded the dishwasher, after which they retired to the living room to relax, and possibly watch a movie. 

      But, before Ash even had a chance to sit down, his phone started to ring, and Aerin curled up on the couch with the remote, waiting to select a movie as he took a call from someone who seemed to be in Las Vegas, judging by some of his responses. Then, when he finished that call, he had to respond to a series of texts from his friend Jeremiah, with whom he was involved in a home-renovation project, and then to reply to a voicemail from another friend, Chisa. Finally, when it seemed that no one else was going to attempt to contact him, he placed the phone on the end table and said, "Sorry about that, Aerin. I don't know why it is that everyone seems to wind up trying to contact me simultaneously, and usually right around this time of day."