Dinner and Dishes First. Wendy after

Rot wanted to see Wendy but rushing things wouldn't help. Besides, he was a hungry teenage boy.

His mother had a spaghetti sauce boiling over the stove, so he filled a saucepan with water and set it to boil.

"What are you doing?" From the look his mother gave him, he might as well have pulled a rabbit from his asshole.

"Helping with dinner. I'm hungry."

A quick search of the freezer turned up a loaf of french bread. He looked around for the microwave to thaw it and then remembered that his family hadn't yet adopted the new-fangled (in 1971) invention. So he sawed through the bread lengthwise with a dull breadknife--he'd have to sharpen it--buttered both halves, and started to sprinkle garlic on it before he remembered his date with Wendy. Garlic-breath would not help with the French lesson.

By the time he had the bread ready, the water was boiling so he dumped in spaghetti noodles, then turned on the broiler and put the bread in.

"I know I said this before," his mother said. "But who are you and what have you done with Rot."

Rot made himself laugh. "There's a new Rot in town, mom." He traced a finger down the smooth skin of her arm. "And I think you're going to like this one... a lot."