Ramen of course!

You burst back into your house and drop your bags on the countertop in your kitchen. You peel off your shirt to not get it dirty and start preheating your electric grill. You pull your wok off the wall and quickly oil it before setting it to preheat on the stove. You fill a pot with water, quickly salt it, and set it to boil.

You wash your hands before pulling out the tauros loin. Taking a knife off the wall magnet you set to making thin cutlets. Once the knife work is done, you place the meat slices in a bag. You add soysauce, miso, and chili paste before sealing them up and letting them sit.

You quickly wash your knife and cutting board, then add your seaweed to the now boiling water. You start preparing the carrots, skinning them and cutting them into thin sticks about as long as your thumb, before adding them to a container filled with white vinegar. You clean the Bok Choy and sprouts and leave them on the cutting board. You strain the seaweed from the broth and set it to a cooler temperature. You add miso and soya sauce to taste. You pull out four bowls from the cupboard and set them on the counter.

Now it is time for the meat. You check the temperature of the grill and then add the meat slices one by one until they are all sizzling away. You take the pot with the broth and pour it into two of the bowls equally using the other two bowls to cover them, so they keep their heat. You refill the pot with water and set it to boil again.

You add the spouts, seaweed and bok choy to the wok all together with a little salt and pepper. Then it is back to the meat to see how it is fairing. It is happily sizzling away filling the room with a delicious smell. Everything is cooking and you find yourself daydreaming while idly tending to the ingredients.

Your mind wanders back to the shop earlier, to Madison. She was nice to you. Like, really nice. Most people would have been angry with you. You have been yelled at in similar situations. But she was genuinely kind. You can’t help but think if those condoms were for her, she would have no problem finding a partner. You used to see her on your way home from school out in her garden, in that tight tank top. She isn’t as stacked as her daughter, but she is not lacking either. Not to mention, the only reason she wasn’t hurt from the fall was those thick mommy hips.

Something is burning. You curse and are quickly able to save the meat by flipping it. You drop the noodles in the pot of boiling water and take the vegetables off the burner. The meat quickly finishes cooking, a little dark on one side, but looking great otherwise. You let it rest on a plate. Once the noodles are soft, you strain them and add them to the bowls. Then you lay the rest of the toppings on top, each in their own section. You top the entire thing with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Done, two bowls of ramen... two bowls.

Whenever you cooked, you cooked for two. That was the rule of the house. Just made life easy. You hadn’t even thought about it. That he wasn’t here. That you were alone.

Madison’s voice springs to your mind. “The ones that get left behind should stick together you know.”

That’s what she said.

Maybe you don’t have to be alone. You were kind of a dick earlier. Maybe she is still around. You know that you read somewhere that ghost pokemon need to eat. You nod to yourself.

A peace offering then.