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Olruggio's birthday was coming up in a couple days, which meant by the traditions of their little family, he got to pick out what they would eat that day. In theory, this should be Olruggio's choice and Olruggio alone, but everyone else wanted to give their own opinion on the matter.
As oh boy, did those girls have opinions. The bad thing about having four girls who originally came from four different families is they all had fast food burger chains of choice. They discussed their preferred restaurants on the way to the grocery store.
"Burger King!"
"McDonald's!"
"Wendy's!"
"Hardee's!"
They were all the same level of mediocrity to Olruggio. There was no way he would ever pick one of those places. No, the only hamburger he wanted to eat was one made by Qifrey. A homemade patty perfectly spiced to perfection at just the right thickness. Sometimes he would even make homemade buns. Surely, he would do so for Olruggio's birthday.
"Burgers at home don't sound bad..." he offered.
"The burgers we make at home aren't really comparable to fast food burgers," said Qifrey. "They're more like, Red Robin." Better than Red Robin, that's what Olruggio thought. "What I'm saying is, I think Olruggio would rather pick a restaurant that's a bit more special for his birthday, instead of an ordinary fast-food restaurant."
"I don't want to go to a restaurant," said Olruggio.
"Now–" said Qifrey.
"But you have to!" said Richeh. "It's the law!"
"No... The law's not 'pick a restaurant', it's 'pick what you want to eat', and I want to eat Qifrey's food. I haven't decided what exactly yet, that's all." Maybe something that made a lot so there could be leftovers for the whole week. Or maybe he should pick something that was challenging to make so they didn't have it very often. Since Olruggio wasn't required to help as it was his birthday, maybe he should pick shrimp or dumplings or something which was meticulous to make... It might be a little cruel to make him do that all by himself, though. Olruggio would feel guilty.
"We eat Qifrey's food all the time," said Tetia. "There's nothing special about it."
"There is," said Olruggio. "It's better than any restaurant, if you ask me."
"I don't know..." said Coco. "I mean, it is very good, but–"
Why were they talking him down?
"He's the best cook around," said Olruggio. He turned around to look at the back of the van. The girls looked pensive. Agott was looking out the window without saying a word, Tetia was fidgeting, Coco was frowning, and Richeh looked like she was about to argue some more. "McDonald's isn't really good food, it's just sodium and sodium is addictive. You'll understand when you're older."
"You stop liking McDonald's when you get old?"
"Yes–"
"It's more like your palette expands," said Qifrey. "You start to appreciate other types of food more. I appreciate the compliments, Olly, but you really should pick a restaurant. Not McDonald's. Red Robin."
"Do you want to eat at Red Robin?" Olruggio asked.
"No... It's your choice, Olruggio," said Qifrey.
"Mm... I can't think of a single restaurant in the world that's nearly as good as your cooking, though."
"Outback Steakhouse," said Richeh.
"No..." said Olruggio. "The best thing about there is the rolls, and you can buy those at the grocery store."
"Red Lobster," offered Tetia.
"The best thing about that place is the biscuits, and you can buy those at the grocery store, too,"
"Olive Garden," said Agott, finally giving her opinion on the matter.
"The best thing about that place is the breadsticks, and..."
"They don't sell Olive Garden-brand breadsticks at the grocery store," said Qifrey. "At least not yet."
"Do you see, though? The best thing about all of those places is the bread, and do you know who makes the best homemade bread? Qifrey. We have bread at home," said Olruggio.
"Qifrey can't make unlimited breadsticks," pointed out Richeh.
"He could if he had unlimited supplies," Olruggio quickly responded.
"And time," added Qifrey.
"And time, of course," said Olruggio.
"Well, you have a few more days to decide," said Qifrey. You could always change your mind.."
"I'm definitely not going to a restaurant," Olruggio said. "The question is what I want you to make."
The girls behind them sighed. They would be fine. They had their own birthdays where they could choose whatever they wanted to eat.
The question of what was going to be had for supper in a few days was pushed aside for the question of what was going to be had for supper tonight as they arrived at their destination: the grocery store. They wandered throughout the aisles as they tried to decide before eventually reached the frozen section. Nothing good here except vegetables and ice cream, Olruggio thought.
"How about chicken nuggets for supper?" asked Tetia, attracted to the bags of frozen ones.
"That sounds good," said Qifrey. "I suppose I can make that."
"No," said Richeh. She pointed at the bag. "I want the frozen ones."
"Well... Maybe not for supper, but perhaps I can get you them for lunch sometime, when we're busy," said Qifrey.
"Why can't we have them for supper?" asked Richeh. "If they're good for lunch, then they should be good for supper.
"Well, uh... I suppose..."
"Homemade ones are better," said Olruggio. They were healthier, and more filling too than the thin ones from Tyson.
"Frozen ones are better," said Richeh.
"Are they?" asked Coco. "The ones Mr. Qifrey makes have more chicken."
Finally, someone who understood.
"They can be a bit spicy though," said Tetia.
"Why didn't you say so? I can use a bit less spice," said Qifrey.
"I don't mind them," said Agott.
"Then I can do half of them spicy, and half of them not," said Qifrey.
See? This was the appeal of a homemade meal. There was a level of customization and care put into them that you couldn't get from something straight from the bag, that's what Olruggio thought.
"I want the ones shaped like dinosaurs though," said Richeh.
"The ones shaped like dinosaurs taste the same as the ones shaped not like dinosaurs," Agott pointed out.
"They taste better," said Richeh.
"I haven't had those ones in a while... I don't remember if they taste different or not," said Tetia.
"I've never had the dinosaur-shaped ones. My mom always got the regular ones," said Coco.
"You're missing out," Richeh insisted.
Olruggio looked towards Qifrey, who seemed to be deeply considering his options. He was often too easily persuaded by the children, though.
"Even the dinosaur ones aren't nearly as good as homemade chicken nuggets," said Olruggio.
Richeh quickly turned towards him. "Homemade chicken nuggets aren't shaped like dinosaurs."
"Qifrey can shape them into dinosaurs."
"He can?" asked Richeh.
"I can?" said Qifrey.
"Of course you can. You can do anything," said Olruggio.
"I can..."
"I want that for supper!" said Richeh. The other girls all agreed excitedly.
"Well..." Qifrey hesitated. "I can do it if Olruggio helps me."
"You want my help? Er... Of course I can..."
Shaping chicken nuggets into dinosaurs by hands turned out to be harder than Tyson made it look. The nugget he had made looked more like a misshapen lump that only vaguely looked like 'an animal' and nothing like the long neck dinosaur he had been attempting to make.
"I think I may have lied to the girls," said Olruggio. "This is the one thing you can't cook."
"They probably have a press to do it at the factory," said Qifrey. The neck of his brontosarous fell off yet again. "You know, Olruggio. It's okay for children to eat processed foods every once in a while, don't you think?"
"Of course it is," said Olruggio, who was trying to add definition to the spikes of his stegosaurus to little avail."
"I would've been fine with frozen dinosaur nuggets for supper."
"They would've been all right, I guess..." said Olruggio.
"They would've looked better than this." Qifrey squashed his brontosarous.
"Did you not want to cook?" It was a hobby of Qifrey's, but that didn't mean that he wanted to do it all the time, Olruggio supposed.
"No," Qifrey shook his head. "I love cooking, most of the time."
"If you are getting tired. I can help out more," offered Olruggio. He decided his stegosaurus was as good as it was going to get and put it on a tray. What other dinosaurs could easily be done in nugget form? What was the underwater one? That was basically a blob. He could do that.
"You already do plenty, considering how busy you are," Qifrey assured him. "It's just, I think the girls are getting sick of my cooking."
"How is that possible? There's lots of diversity in your meals."
"There is, but..."
"And they're all good, too."
"Good to you," said Qifrey. "Children are more picky, you know. Richeh doesn't like things with too many vegetables. It's not just that, either. Eating out is fun. You get to eat at a new place. I think all children crave fast food and restaurants they don't realize are overpriced."
"We could go on picnics more," said Olruggio.
"It's winter right now," Qifrey pointed out. "Besides, it's not just that. You get to pick out exactly what you want to eat, at a restaurant. You know, it teaches them independence."
"When we do eat out, half of them usually just get chicken strips," said Olruggio. "Or mac and cheese." Usually Kraft, straight out of the box. Talk about something they could make at home...
"There's nothing wrong with that," said Olruggio. "It still gives them the freedom of choice."
"But your food is still better than any restaurant."
"Well, we'll just have to eat at better ones, then. It's what they want. So we should do what they want every once in a while to make them happy."
It was Olruggio's birthday, couldn't he pick whatever he wanted? Or was eating at a restaurant occasionally one of the great sacrifices you had to make as an adult with children? That was what he was making it sound like.
Qifrey must've sensed his disappointment. "You can request a couple meals next week, okay? That can be your true birthday celebration."
"A couple?"
"Yes!" Qifrey gave him a beautiful smile.
"Well... I guess if you insist."
"These don't look like dinosaurs very much," said Richeh, frowning at the results of their hard work.
"It's after the meteor hit," said Qifrey.
"That's sad..." Tetia poked at her nugget.
"Would you rather them be alive?" asked Agott.
"I guess, but..." Tetia sighed. "I would've rather had regular ones if I knew they would turn out like this..."
"I was worried they would be too cute to eat, so this is fine," said Coco.
"You lied," said Richeh looking directly at Olruggio. "Qifrey can't make dinosaur-shaped nuggets."
"I've decided I will eat out at my birthday," said Olruggio, quickly changing the subject.
Richeh's anger quickly diminished.
"Where?" she demanded to know.
Ah, that was the real question, wasn't it? Qifrey had said that it was the element of choice that was important. "Maybe a buffet..." That was something that was impossible for Qifrey, wasn't it? Making up dozens of dishes at once. Yeah, a buffet.
"Which one?"
"I dunno..." What buffets were in town?
"There's a new Chinese buffet that opened nearby. I heard it even has sushi," Qifrey offered up as an idea.
"Sushi is from Japan," said Olruggio.
"Well, I've heard they have pizza too," said Qifrey.
Olruggio greatly doubted the authenticity of the restaurant. The girls looked quite excited at the news, though.
"We can go to the Chinese buffet with sushi and pizza."
The girls cheered.
Olruggio's birthday had arrived and it was time to eat.
"Remember, girls. You're all ten," said Olruggio, looking at the pricing. What happened at eleven that made a child suddenly eat five dollars more worth of food?
The girls quickly loaded up their plates with all sorts of noodles and rice and meats and of course, pizza. Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent.
This buffet sucked.
Of course it would. It was expensive, but not expensive enough to justify dozens of high-quality meals at once. Qifrey had talked about the sushi. However, the fish had an odd gray tint to it, though. Olruggio doubted it was safe to eat. The fried rice was plain. Even the pizza got a negative review.
"It tastes like it's been out for hours," said Tetia with a frown.
Well, because it probably had. It wasn't very busy here. The news must be spreading that this place wasn't worth it. The restaurant had even messed up the egg drop soup. They had put vegetables in it. Egg drop soup wasn't supposed to have vegetables, only a couple scallions. The girls didn't want to eat it, and that was usually a crowd pleaser at Chinese restaurants.
How was he ever talked into this? Qifrey gave him an apologetic smile from across the table. Well, it wasn't good enough. He could be home right now, eating a delicious meal made by Qifrey, instead of out in public eating food made by underpaid workers.
"Can we go home?" asked Agott, who hadn't finished her first plate.
No. Olruggio hadn't eaten twenty dollars worth of food yet. He picked at his plate. Had he even eaten five dollars worth?
"But we've only been up once," said Qifrey. "Besides, don't you want to at least try the desserts?"
"No! Richeh wants to go home and eat cake!"
Just whose birthday was it?
Fortunately, Qifrey remembered that. "Well, what do you think, Olruggio? Are you done eating? Since it's your birthday, the final decision should be up to you?"
The answer was obvious. The cake at home was made by Qifrey. "Sure, let's get out of here."
"Can you make egg drop soup, Mr. Qifrey?" Coco asked on the way home.
Qifrey hummed. "Well, I've never made it before, but it's just egg, isn't it? It shouldn't be that hard. I'll look up the ingredients. If I don't have enough to make it tonight, we can have it tomorrow."
"Make it without any vegetables," said Agott.
"Make it without the little green thing, either," said Richeh.
"I like the little green thing," said Tetia.
Richeh shook her head. "It's bitter."
"You should be able to scoop around them. There's not usually that many of them."
And so, Qifrey was proven to be a better cook than restaurants after all. Or at least a better cook than the ones at Chinese buffets doomed to be closed down within a year.