Work Text:
“Now be sure to have the boys back by Sunday night,” Lynda said as Daryl started to leave with Kennth and Randy.
“Of course, Lynda.” Darly responded.
“Bye Mom!” Randy yelled with a wave as he got into his dad’s car. Kenneth meanwhile gave a wave before heading in himself.
“You boys have fun with your father.” Lynda waved as the car started to drive off. Once the car was out of sight, she sighed and turned back into the house. She pulled out her phone and texted her husband Zaid.
Kenneth and Randy are with their father.
Lynda put her phone away and went to work around the house. Even though her boys were older and were honestly getting better at maintaining their keep there was still a lot of work to do. Once a decent amount was done, Lynda went on her computer and opened a blank work document. With Zaid’s support she had gotten a part-time job writing articles for a local online paper, which had a decent following and it wasn’t just Disventure Camp fans. Many people related to her struggles in her first marriage and how she found happiness in a second.
“Hmm I could write about the fishing trip.” Lynda tapped her cheek a little in thought. “But I did just write about co-parenting with older kids.”
As Lynda kept thinking she saw a small buzz from her phone. She picked it up and saw a text from Zaid.
Oh good. Hopefully Daryl didn’t give you too much trouble.
Lynda laughed to herself before she responded.
Oh it was no trouble just a quick exchange. Lynda glanced at the time. Hopefully the lunch rush wasn’t too bad for ya sweetheart.
She got a thumbs up and heart emoji in response. Lynda smiled. She knew a response was coming but the restaurant was busy. The fact she really appreciated that Zaid even took time to text her at all, Daryl could barely even do that. It was so simple yet more than she could ask for.
“Hbiba!” Zaid called as he walked through the door. “I made it home!”
“Hi sweetheart!” Lynda called from the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”
“Oh? And what did the brilliant Chef Lynda cook for her humble man.”
“Nothing much just a turkey sandwich…” Lynda sighed. “I need to go grocery shopping to tomorrow.”
“A turkey sandwich!” Zaid gasped. “I have been blessed by one of the Lynda Hakim’s turkey sandwiches!”
“You’re just flattering me.” Lynda laughed. “Oh, look now you got me giggling like a schoolgirl!”
“Because you deserve it!” Zaid booped his wife on the nose.
Zaid and Lynda proceeded to enjoy a nice dinner together. Zaid venting about the more difficult orders, with Lynda lending an ear. Secretly grateful her boys, even at their pickiest, were never like that. Once they were done, Lynda took the plates and started cleaning up. As she washed the dishes, Zaid walked up from behind her and kissed her on the cheek.
“And what do I owe the pleasure?” Lynda asked afterwards.
“That was a thank you for making that delicious turkey sandwich. You deserve it.”
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to go above and beyond for little old me.” Lynda played with her hair a bit.
“Of course I don’t, but I want too!”
“He’s so sweet to me,” Lynda thought to herself. “Much more than I ever deserved. I just wish I could do something for him. Wait I have an idea!”
“Alright Lynda, you got this!” Lynda crackled her knuckled before sitting in front of the computer. Quickly she typed in traditional Moroccan recipes. She read through the list. Most of them seemed doable. Then one stood out, harira.
“Oh, Zaid mentioned that one before!” Lynda clapped her hands together, before looking up recipes. “Hmm and it doesn’t take too long to make! Oh, Zaid is going to be so surprised!”
Soon, Lynda was at the supermarket, ingredient list in hand. Gathering everything she needed from tomatoes, to lentils, to chickpeas. She also grabbed some extra thing, like some halibut fillets and a couple of snacks.
“Alright last thing I need is a meat.” Lynda read it over. “It says here I can use either beef, chicken, or lamb. I never cooked with lamb before so that’s off the table.”
Lynda reached out for a package of beef, when she saw a package of lamb sitting near it. She paused before picking up the lamb package.
“Ah what the heck!” Lynda shrugged as she put the lamb in her shopping cart. “I like a challenge!”
Once Lynda was home, she started prepping everything. Taping the recipe on one of the kitchen cabinets. Everything was going well. The crockpot was heating up, the tomatoes were softening, the lamb was able to be chopped up nicely. Lynda started getting all giddy. Zaid was going to be soon surprised.
Eventually, it got time to brown the lamb before putting it in the soup. Lynda poured some oil into a pan, twisting it around. Carefully she dumped the lamb into the pan. Smiling as she heard the small sizzle from the pan. She took a spatula and started stirring the lamb around. The scent hitting her nose, it smelled delicious already. The lamb started to turn brown.
“Hmm not sure if I should take it off.” Lynda shook a little. She quickly grabbed her phone and started to quickly look up browning lamb. Glancing at the pan between typing. She nodded and got ready to take it off…
Then the pan caught fire. Swiftly, Lynda grabbed the pan lid and snuffed out the flame. She stood there for a few seconds, breathing heavily. Her eyes not leaving the lid for a second. Slowly she lifted the lid off the pan. The lamb was charred. It would be too rough to put in the harira.
“No…” Lynda fell onto the floor and buried her knees in her hands.
“You keeping messing up!” Darly’s voice rang in her head. “You can’t even cook a proper dinner without messing up.”
“Don’t panic Daryl.” Lynda recalled herself responding with. “I can fix it. I can fix it. I can fix it…”
“That’s right!” Lynda bolted up, putting both hands on her hips. “I can fix this! I am Lynda Hakim! And I am also a chef. I can make this work!”
Lynda took the lamb off the pan. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be saved. But Lynda did try a small piece of it, and it wasn’t inedible but she rather not risk putting it in the harira.
“There’s got to be something I can do.” Then a smile creeped on Lynda’s face. “Aha! The halibut fillets!”
Lynda darted to the fridge and pulled out the fillets. Grabbing a clean knife, she diced up the fillets and put them in a new pan. And before long, the fish was cooked perfectly. And then was able to dump it into the crock pot. With that taken care of, Lynda was able to get back to cooking.
“Hmm you know what,” Lynda pondered out loud. “Since I added the halibut, I might as well go full fusion on this!”
Lynda grabbed some mini potatoes, chopped them up to add. She also grabbed some basil and added it as well. Along with a few asparagus stalks. It smelled amazing so far! And something told her it would taste even better.
“And now.” Lynda placed the lid on the crock pot. “We wait.”
“Hibia!” Zaid paused once he walked into their house. An aroma of spices filled the air.
“Welcome back sweetheart!” Lynda said excitedly before hugging Zaid quickly. “Hungry?”
“Definitely. What ever you made smells amazing!”
“Get settled in!” Lynda grinned excitedly. “I’ll get you a nice serving.”
Zaid took off his jacket and shoes before taking a place at the table. Lynda kept smiling as she filled two bowls with harira.
“I hope he likes it…” Lynda thought before shaking her head. “No, no don’t think like that Lynda. He’s going to love it.”
Lynda walked into the dining room; Zaid sat there excitedly as Lynda placed a bowl in front him. Immediately his eyes lit up.
“Lynda!” Zaid gasped. “D-did you make harira?”
“I did!” Lynda grinned. “Oh well a special fusion version of it. I may have had a mishap with the lamb. But I added some halibut instead, with a bit of potato and asparagus as well. I hope you like it.”
“Well, that’s the marking of a true chef.” Zaid excitedly stirred his spoon a little. “Welp time to taste this.”
Lynda’s eyes did not leave her husband as the spoon went into his mouth. As soon as it did, a smile formed on his face.
“This is incredible!” Zaid said, his eyes lighting up as he did. Lynda curiously took a spoonful for herself and tried it. Flavor filling her mouth.
“I can’t believe you actually made this for me.” Zaid said. “Heck my mama would be proud of this and that’s saying something.”
“Would she actually admit it?” Lynda asked as she took another spoonful.
“Probably not.” Zaid laughed a little. “But knowing my mama, she would be impressed.”
“Well, I apricate the compliment.” Lynda smiled sweetly. “I’m glad I was able to do this for you. I wanted to thank you for everything you do for me.”
“But Lynda, you deserve it. I did say in my vows I’d give you everything you deserve.” Zaid gave Lynda a bit of flirtatious eyes.
“And I appreciate it so much.” Lynda sighed. “So, I wanted this to show how much I appreciate you.”
“Well, I can’t think of a better way to.” Zaid help up a spoonful “Cheers to us!’
“Cheers to us!”