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Roy was signing off on the items they picked up at Rampart. Johnny was scowling and mumbling to himself.
“What’s the matter with him?” Dixie asked
“It’s Chet’s turn to cook again,” Roy explained.
“He brought in bananas and whipping cream,” Johnny moaned.
“What’s wrong with that?” Dixie asked.
“It goes in a casserole with chicken and chili sauce,” Johnny explained.
Dixie’s eyeballs went wide.
“Exactly,” Johnny said.
Johnny and Roy were on their way back to the station.
“Did you see the bacon and peanuts?” Roy asked after they had been riding in silence for a while.
“Peanuts?” Johnny asked in disgust. “Peanuts? So it’s just gonna have random crunchy bites?”
“You like all the ingredients in the casserole,” Roy pointed out.
“I like chocolate and mayonnaise too. I’m not mixing them together,” Johnny said in disgust.
Then he turned slightly green.
“Take deep breaths. Don’t throw up in the squad,” Roy warned.
“Cap, you gotta do something,” Marco said.
Hank was sitting in his office. He looked up surprised to see Marco and Mike standing there looking upset.
“Something about what?” he asked in confusion.
“Chet and his experimental cooking. The whole day room smells like bananas,” Mike explained.
“I agree,” Roy said from behind.
The squad had just pulled up into the station. Johnny had made a beeline for the bathroom.
“I thought you said his meal sounded interesting,” Hank replied.
“I was trying to be polite. I have to listen to Johnny complain the whole shift every time Chet cooks. And I can ignore that. But he’s gonna throw up in the squad if these strange combinations keep happening,” Roy answered.
“Chet’s food is making him sick?” Hank asked in concern.
“The idea of Chet’s food is making him sick,” Roy said.
“Me too,” Mike chimed in.
“Okay, let’s just get through today and if it’s terrible I’ll talk to him,” Hank promised.
“You don’t even mash it up? You just put long strips of banana in there?” Johnny asked in horror.
He was observing the cooking process to make sure there were no more surprises.
“That’s how you make it,” Chet explained patiently.
“That’s how who makes it? Where did this recipe come from?” Johnny demanded.
“It came from Sweden,” Chet answered.
“If you wanted to do something from Sweden why didn’t you just make meatballs?”
“Because I wanted to make this!”
“Have you even tried this?”
“Well, no. But…”
“But nothing. You are using us as guinea pigs!”
“Don’t worry. You’re gonna love it.”
It was time to eat. All six men were sitting around the table staring at their plates. None of them made a move to try it.
“What’s this called?” Johnny finally asked.
“Flying Jacob,” Chet answered.
There was more silence.
“Okay, I’ll try it,” Mike volunteered.
He put the food on his spoon and slowly brought it to his mouth. After some hesitation he put it in his mouth. He slowly started chewing.
“This is good,” he finally announced.
“Really?” Marco asked. Then he took a bite. “I like it.”
This gave the other four men the courage to taste it.
“Wow, this is delicious,” Cap said.
“I love it,” Roy added.
“I hate to say it, Chet, but you did good. I really like it,” Johnny complimented.
Chet just looked at all of them. He couldn’t believe they all liked it.
“This is horrible,” he finally said. “What was I thinking? I’m never making this again. I gotta go brush my teeth and get this horrible taste out of my mouth.”
The other men looked at him and continued to dig in.