Work Text:
10 :20, itwas break time for Linda: a warm tea, a few biscuits from Terry’s birthday, and hopefully some office gossips. In the break room, Eddie was bent over the table, focused on a half sheet of paper and she peeked at it above his shoulder. A few dishes were listed. Lasagna had been crossed out, then written down again, underlined and adorned with three questions marks. Tamales had a third of its ingredients listed. And an unpronounceable French dish had been noted, with a few misspellings, in a small square on the right top. Linda sat down, soon to be joined by May, thermos mug in hand.
The girls waited half a minute before making their presence, and their interest, obvious.
Eddie pushed the small piece of paper to allow them a better view.
- “I invited Buck and Taylor Kelly, Thursday. I’m trying to decide what to make.”
The question was crucial, Linda got back to her professional stance.
- “First thing first: allergy, intolerance, and dislike?”
Eddie took a second to think about it.
- “Hum, Buck is allergic to seashells, and maybe asparagus. Chris hates mushrooms with a passion.”
- “And Taylor?”
He just shrugged his ignorance.
May put down her mug and crossed her fingers, leaning in.
- “Ok, but, what’s the purpose?”
Eddie stared at her and made a face.
- “To feed them?”
- “No, I mean…is it to impress Taylor?”
He shook his head.
- “No, not really.”
May seemed serious, Eddie bit his lips looking for a proper answer.
- “I guess I want to show Buck that I’m doing good, learning new things, taking care of myself.”
May rose her eyebrow, spitting image of her mother.
- “To impress Buck, it is.”
Eddie did not even react to the teasing tone. Linda brought them back on the task at hand.
- “Ok, so, what does he like?”
- “…He likes a lot of things….tomato based dishes but we always eat that…chili peppers…fried stuff…and balanced meals, I guess.”
Linda’s smile was victorious.
- “Great! so, let’s say, fried mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots, and spicy minced beef, the one you tried last week. Just add a little bit of nutmeg, and Swiss cheese in the potatoes. And should not be too long to cook, not like the bouillabaisse thing that would take you hours to do.”
May taped the paper with her index.
- “And cupcakes! Easy but fancy, and I will even give you my recipe!”
Eddie dutifully wrote down the new menu and looked at his watch with a tired sight.
- “I have to go back. Thanks a lot. Had been stuck on it since this morning.”
- “Tell us how it went?”
He nodded, a little bit nonplussed in front of the two Mona Lisa smiles. He could not shake the feeling that, as soon as he would have passed the door, the girls will talk about him. But to say what?