Chocolate, Strawberries, and Whipped Cream
She entered her father’s house and heard silence. She had been on edge the last few days and the silence just made her more nervous. Maybe she better lay off the caffeine for a while… Chloe paused, listening more closely. Perhaps they just went out for ice cream? But that couldn’t be true, because she saw her Dad’s old Honda parked outside.
“Dad?” Chloe called tentatively, dropping her bag by the doorway.
“In the kitchen!” Gabe Sullivan called back, unknowing that his daughter was heaving a sigh of relief in the entranceway.
It was then that she heard the radio echoing in the kitchen and an all too familiar smell wafting through the house. Chloe slid off her heels, glad to be rid of them after a ten hour workday.
Bennie and the Jets pounded through the radio in the warmly lit kitchen. At the island counter, Holly was standing on a chair, her blonde hair still pulled back in the ponytail she had worn to school that morning. Her dad was standing next to her, wearing the ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron Holly and Andrew had picked out the previous Father’s Day.
“Mom!” Holly exclaimed excitedly when Chloe entered the kitchen. “Pop is teaching us how to make waffles!”
“Oh, yeah?” Chloe said brightly, smile on her face. She was hoping it was enough to mask her worry.
Gabe smiled guiltily from the counter, catching Chloe’s eye. “Haven’t been to the store in a couple days,” he admitted with a wink, then in a more somber tone added: “Besides, it looks like you could use some.”
And she should know better than to try to fool her own father.
She offered him a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I could.” Her comfort food - the one thing that Gabe always made when she was feeling down, granted, it was the only food that he had perfected early. Chloe looked closer at the batter, seeing small lumps. “Blueberry?”
“Chocolate chip,” Gabe explained, looking towards the boy setting the kitchen table. “Andrew’s idea.”
“You let him con you into putting chocolate in the waffles?” She laughed, sending a playful look to her son. Andrew grinned and shrugged his shoulders.
“The boy knows what he likes,” Gabe said proudly, giving an affirmative nod. “A little chocolate never hurt anyone.”
“And I added the strawberries!” Holly interjected proudly, flour smudged on her cheek.
“Sounds like all they need is a little whipped cream,” Chloe said, stealing one of the strawberries out of the container. She hadn’t had anything to eat all day. She was famished.
“Got you covered,” Gabe said after a moment of thought, heading to the fridge. He removed a can of whipped cream. “Andy, head’s up!”
Andrew caught the whipped cream, placing it on the table alongside the syrup and butter. Dishes had already been set out along with the silverware. Now all that was needed was the finished product.
Chloe watched Andrew, caught off guard by how some things just made him look so much like Dean. Gabe watched his daughter carefully. He knew this was getting to her. It hadn’t been easy the last couple of days. When she had called yesterday, asking him to get the kids from school he had been delighted - but knew that something wasn’t right. Dean was supposed to be home by today.
“Alright, troops, go get cleaned up and let the pros finish up here,” he said to Holly and Andrew. “First one back gets extra chocolate chips.”
Holly met Andrew’s eyes before jumping off the stool. Closer to the door, Holly made it out of the room first though Andrew wasn’t far behind. Chloe sighed, wiping up some of the excess flour with a dishrag.
“You doing okay, Chlobug?” Gabe asked concernedly.
“Yeah,” she said, though her tone betrayed her sentiment. “I’m just worried about him. This isn’t like him…”
“Now, I think that’s stretching it just a bit,” Gabe said pointedly, a smile remaining on his face. “This isn’t the first time he’s gone off on something and not been able to call.”
“But for this long? It’s been almost a month.”
“You’ve just run yourself down. Take a break and relax. Have some of these delicious waffles those kids of yours made you.”
Chloe cracked a genuine smile. “They didn’t give you too much trouble?”
“Give me trouble? Them? Never.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“No problem, Bug,” Gabe said, loading the finished waffles onto a plate. “I like spending time with them. That Andrew…smart cookie, huh?”
“Yeah,” she agreed.
“He’s going to go to MIT.”
“What about MetU?”
“MetU isn’t worth the ink it puts on its diplomas.” He placed the plate down on the table and took off his apron.
“I went to MetU,” Chloe pointed out with a laugh.
“And looked how it screwed up your education after Dark Thursday,” Gabe said. “I wouldn’t put another dime into that place.”
“You do pay taxes, don’t you?”
“You know what I meant.”
At that moment, two kids burst through the entrance of the kitchen.
“Who won?” Holly asked.
“I did,” Andrew responded.
“No way!” She countered hotly.
“Yes, I did. Just ask Pop.”
“Changed my mind,” Gabe said, diffusing the situation. “Everyone gets extra chocolate.”
“Mom, too?”
“Mom, too.”
The family sat down at the table, waffles being passed around along with the syrup and whipped cream.
“Pop said we could watch Monty Python tonight,” Holly said through a mouthful of waffle.
“You’re corrupting them early,” Chloe laughed.
“Never too early for Python.”
“I guess.”
“Pop, are you coming to my baseball game on Friday?” Andrew asked enthusiastically.
The conversation settled into an easy. Holly and Andrew began talking about their day at school with Chloe and Gabe interjecting comments occasionally. Their enthusiasm and innocence kept Chloe’s mind off the worry of Dean’s prolonged absence. He would call. In the meantime, she had her kids to keep her occupied and her dad to make sure that she knew she was never on her own and had plenty of waffles.
“Dad?” Chloe called tentatively, dropping her bag by the doorway.
“In the kitchen!” Gabe Sullivan called back, unknowing that his daughter was heaving a sigh of relief in the entranceway.
It was then that she heard the radio echoing in the kitchen and an all too familiar smell wafting through the house. Chloe slid off her heels, glad to be rid of them after a ten hour workday.
Bennie and the Jets pounded through the radio in the warmly lit kitchen. At the island counter, Holly was standing on a chair, her blonde hair still pulled back in the ponytail she had worn to school that morning. Her dad was standing next to her, wearing the ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron Holly and Andrew had picked out the previous Father’s Day.
“Mom!” Holly exclaimed excitedly when Chloe entered the kitchen. “Pop is teaching us how to make waffles!”
“Oh, yeah?” Chloe said brightly, smile on her face. She was hoping it was enough to mask her worry.
Gabe smiled guiltily from the counter, catching Chloe’s eye. “Haven’t been to the store in a couple days,” he admitted with a wink, then in a more somber tone added: “Besides, it looks like you could use some.”
And she should know better than to try to fool her own father.
She offered him a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I could.” Her comfort food - the one thing that Gabe always made when she was feeling down, granted, it was the only food that he had perfected early. Chloe looked closer at the batter, seeing small lumps. “Blueberry?”
“Chocolate chip,” Gabe explained, looking towards the boy setting the kitchen table. “Andrew’s idea.”
“You let him con you into putting chocolate in the waffles?” She laughed, sending a playful look to her son. Andrew grinned and shrugged his shoulders.
“The boy knows what he likes,” Gabe said proudly, giving an affirmative nod. “A little chocolate never hurt anyone.”
“And I added the strawberries!” Holly interjected proudly, flour smudged on her cheek.
“Sounds like all they need is a little whipped cream,” Chloe said, stealing one of the strawberries out of the container. She hadn’t had anything to eat all day. She was famished.
“Got you covered,” Gabe said after a moment of thought, heading to the fridge. He removed a can of whipped cream. “Andy, head’s up!”
Andrew caught the whipped cream, placing it on the table alongside the syrup and butter. Dishes had already been set out along with the silverware. Now all that was needed was the finished product.
Chloe watched Andrew, caught off guard by how some things just made him look so much like Dean. Gabe watched his daughter carefully. He knew this was getting to her. It hadn’t been easy the last couple of days. When she had called yesterday, asking him to get the kids from school he had been delighted - but knew that something wasn’t right. Dean was supposed to be home by today.
“Alright, troops, go get cleaned up and let the pros finish up here,” he said to Holly and Andrew. “First one back gets extra chocolate chips.”
Holly met Andrew’s eyes before jumping off the stool. Closer to the door, Holly made it out of the room first though Andrew wasn’t far behind. Chloe sighed, wiping up some of the excess flour with a dishrag.
“You doing okay, Chlobug?” Gabe asked concernedly.
“Yeah,” she said, though her tone betrayed her sentiment. “I’m just worried about him. This isn’t like him…”
“Now, I think that’s stretching it just a bit,” Gabe said pointedly, a smile remaining on his face. “This isn’t the first time he’s gone off on something and not been able to call.”
“But for this long? It’s been almost a month.”
“You’ve just run yourself down. Take a break and relax. Have some of these delicious waffles those kids of yours made you.”
Chloe cracked a genuine smile. “They didn’t give you too much trouble?”
“Give me trouble? Them? Never.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“No problem, Bug,” Gabe said, loading the finished waffles onto a plate. “I like spending time with them. That Andrew…smart cookie, huh?”
“Yeah,” she agreed.
“He’s going to go to MIT.”
“What about MetU?”
“MetU isn’t worth the ink it puts on its diplomas.” He placed the plate down on the table and took off his apron.
“I went to MetU,” Chloe pointed out with a laugh.
“And looked how it screwed up your education after Dark Thursday,” Gabe said. “I wouldn’t put another dime into that place.”
“You do pay taxes, don’t you?”
“You know what I meant.”
At that moment, two kids burst through the entrance of the kitchen.
“Who won?” Holly asked.
“I did,” Andrew responded.
“No way!” She countered hotly.
“Yes, I did. Just ask Pop.”
“Changed my mind,” Gabe said, diffusing the situation. “Everyone gets extra chocolate.”
“Mom, too?”
“Mom, too.”
The family sat down at the table, waffles being passed around along with the syrup and whipped cream.
“Pop said we could watch Monty Python tonight,” Holly said through a mouthful of waffle.
“You’re corrupting them early,” Chloe laughed.
“Never too early for Python.”
“I guess.”
“Pop, are you coming to my baseball game on Friday?” Andrew asked enthusiastically.
The conversation settled into an easy. Holly and Andrew began talking about their day at school with Chloe and Gabe interjecting comments occasionally. Their enthusiasm and innocence kept Chloe’s mind off the worry of Dean’s prolonged absence. He would call. In the meantime, she had her kids to keep her occupied and her dad to make sure that she knew she was never on her own and had plenty of waffles.