She picked up her spoon, scooped up a chunk of meat, and took a bite. She instantly choked on the spice.
She tossed the spoon and hastily poured herself a glass of water.
"Why is this so spicy? Did I put in too much pepper?" she mumbled to herself.
The stew smelled perfect, but it was far too spicy for Layla's liking.
She was used to the lighter flavors of meals at home, and though she would occasionally dine out with her friends, she could only tolerate food that was mildly spicy.
After finishing her water, she sat back down in her chair and thought of ways to get rid of the spice. Finally, she placed a bowl of water next to her and submerged the meat in the water to wash off some of the spices, so that she would not choke again, before taking another bite.
Just then, her phone started ringing.
It was a video call from Avery, and Layla immediately answered it.
"Darling, I saw the photos you posted. Are you having stew tonight?" Avery asked.
"Yeah, Mom! Let me show it to you." Layla adjusted the camera and showed Avery the steaming pot of stew. "I made this myself. It tastes great!"
Layla did not tell Avery that she had accidentally added too much spice to it as she was too embarrassed to admit that she had made a mistake in her first attempt at cooking.
"Looks good... It looks a little red. It must be quite spicy, right?" Avery asked.
Layla sniffled and stubbornly said, "It's fine! Just slightly spicier than what I'm used to, but I can always have it with bread. Mom, have you eaten?"
"We've just finished dinner, and there're plenty of leftovers! The house feels so empty without you."
A lump formed in Layla's throat. "Mom, I'm just a forty-minute drive away from you. If you say things like that, I'm going to want to come home. Don't try to shake my resolve!" Layla pouted.
Seeing how cheerful Layla seemed, Elliot said, "Alright. I look forward to it."
After the call, Layla set her phone down and proceeded with her dinner.
For some reason, the food no longer tasted as good after the call. She had overestimated her appetite and had cooked too much. She could not finish it.
After eating a slice of bread, she began to eat just the stew. She had put far too much effort into cooking for her to discard the stew without finishing it.
She ate while scrolling through her phone. An hour later, she finished two-thirds of the stew and could not eat anymore, so she threw the rest away.
Afterward, she spent half an hour cleaning and was forced to admit that her enthusiasm for cooking had mostly faded in the mere three hours it took for her to cook, eat, and clean.
Once she was done, she collapsed onto the couch and sent a message to Ivy. [Ivy, cooking is so tiring! I cooked too much! I couldn't finish everything and had to throw it away.]
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Eagle Eyes on Me