We pulled into the post office parking lot and I handed the key to Terry. “You check.
I’m done.” For me this whole thing was just one big waste of time. She took the key and jumped
out of the car. I turned the radio on and zoned out, not expecting any better news than we had
earlier in the day.
A couple minutes later Terry walked out with a medium size cardboard box in her hands
and a huge smile on her face. She opened the car door and said, “I told you.”
“How come you didn’t open it?”
“I’m waiting until we get home.” She couldn’t keep from smiling. “This is so much fun.”
As I pulled into the garage, Terry had opened the car door ready to jump out as soon as
we stopped. She ran inside with the box. By the time I got in the house, the packing was strewn
all over kitchen floor.
“What is it?” I anxiously asked.
“You won’t believe it.” She stared intensely and seemed to be mesmerized by it’s
contents.
I stepped across the kitchen to take a peek. “Hmm! Looks like something from Pier One.
They carry all those hard-to-find gifts that no one ever buys.”
“Magnificent!” She carefully removed it and set it on the table. “It’s old.”
“No. It’s made to look old.” I crossed my arms. “Of course, this makes perfect sense. I
should have guessed.”
Terry held it up like a trophy. “How many wishes do you think we’ll get?”
“Oh! You think it’s a magic lamp like Aladdin’s.”
“Well, look at it. What else could it be?”
“Decoration for some gypsy’s house.” I smirked. “Go ahead, rub it to see what happens.”
“Okay, I will.” Terry closed her eyes as if that would make a difference and gently
rubbed the lamp while waiting for a genie to appear.
I twirled around, snapped my fingers and said “Poof!” I bowed and said, “I’m Harvey,
your genie. You have three wishes my dear. Use them wisely.”
“Harvey? That’s a terrible name for a genie.”
“Careful, I can make it two.”
“No. No. I apologize. Harvey, is a great name.” Terry curtsied.
I nodded. “What is your first wish, my dear?”
“My first wish is for me. Help me be authentic, generous and spontaneous. I want to
travel to Paris in a private jet and have an elegant dinner prepared by celebrity chef, Gordon
Ramsay.”
“Whoa! You might be confused as to what one wish includes. First of all, we don’t make
changes to your personality. Being authentic, generous and spontaneous doesn’t qualify as
a valid wish. The Paris thing in a private jet and the elegant dinner prepared by Gordan Ramsay
is over the top. Pick one and don’t be greedy!”
“Okay, so sorry. How about an elegant dinner at my home prepared by my celebrity genie
Harvey?”
“Now you’re talkin’. Your wish is granted.”
“Great. When is it? Tonight.? What are we having? Seafood please.”
“Hold on. Give me a minute. You just finished wishing.”
“I know, but I need to put it in my planner, now.”
‘Hmm! It’s a shame patience is a personality change.”
“What about my second wish?”
“Oh! You want to do them all today? I thought you might want to wait on the other two.”
“No, I know what I want. My second wish is for my husband. He hardly works and has a
lot of spare time. Help me find him a hobby.”
“Do you mean he works hard?”
“No, I said what I said.”
“Okay then. That is still a generous wish. It is granted.”
“So, what’s his hobby?”
“You’ll have to wait and see. Be patient. You know what that is, right?”
“My third wish is for my mom. She lives alone, and I’m afraid she may get lonely, so I
want her to have a companion she can trust who could also entertain her in an annoying way.”
“Excellent idea. She does like sarcastic humor. This is also a very generous wish. You
seem to be very authentic. Your wish is granted.
I’ll be leaving now but let me know how things worked out.”
“How will I get a hold of you?” Terry asked.
“Just whistle. You know how to do that, right?”
She smiled. “Yes, put your lips together and blow.” Terry sauntered off, tilted her head
and flipped her hair in my direction.
I touched my rear with two fingers, pretended to blow out the flames, then gave her a two
fingered wave as I left the kitchen.
* * *
Later that night I was making dinner, a casual no frills meal, when my wife walked in.
“Oh! Dinner.” Terry leaned over and sniffed. “Do I need to get dressed?”
“You are dressed.”
Terry put her hands on her hips. “No. I mean in my fancy clothes?”
“You can. It’s up to you.”
She put her hands together. “Oh! What are we having?”
I held up a tasting spoon. “Hot dogs and beans.”
“That’s not fancy.”
“We’ve got cloth napkins.”
“You were supposed to make me an elegant dinner.” Terry frowned and crossed her
arms. “It was my first wish.”
“I know, but it’s tomorrow night. I never said it was tonight.” I picked up a ladle. “Hey,
you’ll want some beans with your hot dog. They have some big bacon chunks in them.”
“Well, sure and no reservations needed.”
I took off work the next day so I could immerse myself in the preparation of the elegant
meal for my wife. The market had all the essential ingredients I needed which included the
appetizer, salad, main course and dessert. I bought them all plus a chef’s hat which I had
embroidered with Chef Harvey across the top. It was the perfect addition to my outfit.
It was a fun evening. My wife was all dolled up in her finest dress with color coordinated
shoes and purse. I grabbed the best sweatshirt that I could find from the clean basket ironed it.
Yay for me. “Why did you bring your purse? You know I won’t be charging you.”
“I know, but it completes the outfit.” Terry held her purse up to show me. “Your outfit is
perfect. That red sweatshirt really sets off your bloodshot eyes.”
“Thanks for noticing.” I smiled. “Tonight, our appetizer comes to you direct from Chile,
jumbo shrimp sautéed in white wine with green chiles. Tender and tangy but delightful.” I set the
plates on the table and snapped a napkin then laid it on Terry’s lap.
“Wow, this looks really good.”
“Thanks, it was the best frozen appetizer Schnucks carried.”
“Woohoo! Aren’t I special.”
We sat and talked while we dined on the shrimp. “You know jumbo shrimp is one of
those descriptions that shouldn’t be.”
Terry took a bite. “Yes. I agree. Maybe we should refer to them as extremely robust.”
“I like that. From now on we’ll call them robust shrimp.” I stood and walked to the
counter to get the salads I previously prepared. As I set Terry’s bowl in front of her, she picked
up a fork and scooped out a crouton.
“What kind of salad is this?”
“Oh! This is a Harvey salad. It’s like a Ceasar salad only different.”
“How is it different?”
“Well it’s made by Harvey instead of Ceasar.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
We sat and leisurely enjoyed our Harvey salads. I explained our main course requires
special handling and special equipment. I went to the garage and brought in a fire extinguisher,
and set it on the table.
“Well, this should be interesting.”
“Yes, I think I can guarantee that.” I rolled a cart over to the table containing a
portable burner to pan fry the steak. “Tonight, we are having Steak Diane. The final step in the
preparation is to light the cognac which will burn off the alcohol. Hence, the fire extinguisher.”
“Yummy and who is Diane?”
“It’s just the name of the dish. I don’t know the history of it. For tonight let’s call it
Steak Terry.”
“I love that!”
I was pleased to serve the steaks without any mishaps. They looked delicious. I hoped
they tasted half as good.
Terry took a bite. “The steak is very tender . . . Is it supposed to taste like lighter fluid?”
“It is not.” I bent over to smell the steak. “Does yours taste like lighter fluid?”
“No, but you put something in that portable burner.”
“Butane, it’s odorless and tasteless.”
“You would only know that if you tasted it. Did you?”
“No, butane is not a regular part of my diet.” I smiled. “No, really, how is your steak?”
“It’s terrific.” Terry giggled. “I love Steak Butane.”
I rolled my eyes. Once we finished the main course, I went to get the dessert. “Tonight,
we will be having Gordan Ramsay’s favorite dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding.”
“Oh! That sounds wonderful.” Terry smacked her lips.
“I watched a YouTube video. The whole process only took ten minutes.”
“Wow! How long did it take you?”
“Huh!” I shrugged. “Twenty, then eighteen, then finally seventeen.”
“You cooked three batches.”
“Well, I had to make sure they tasted good.”
“And did they?”
“See for yourself.” I set the dessert plates on the table each adorned with a chocolate
covered strawberry”.
“It looks delicious.” Terry took a bite. “Wow, this is terrific.”
“Thank you, sweetie.” I winked. “So, how was your first wish?”
“I couldn’t ask for more. You’re the best, Chef Harvey.” Terry took another bite of the
pudding. “Tomorrow, is my second wish.”
* * *
No comments:
Post a Comment