The sun hadn’t had a chance to peak over the horizon when Noémi stepped off of the bus. She made her way quickly up the sidewalk, excitement bubbling in her stomach. It was her first day of work, and she had no idea what to make the Cheung’s for breakfast. Should she go all out? Or keep things simple?

She wasn’t a big planning person, though coming up with dishes on the fly was annoying at times, she loved the spontaneity that came with not creating a menu beforehand. And she’d gone grocery shopping the day before (as well as reorganize the kitchen), so her choices for which meal to prepare were essentially endless.

Noémi donned her chef’s coat as she was approaching the front door. It was lilac colored with black trim and buttons. It clung nicely to her upper body. She loved the way she looked in it; she cherished each time that she was able to cook in it. The coat had been a gift from Chef Tzell when Noémi had left her sous chef position, but since then, the only uniforms she’d been allowed to wear were white or grey. Drab. Yet another reason she couldn’t stand working in a restaurant.

She adjusted the uniform a little before ringing the doorbell. Thomas, timely as ever, appeared a second later. His bland expression quickly morphed into a cheery smile. Noémi was just as quick to return it.

They’d really hit it off yesterday. He’d accompanied her to the grocery store and had helped her rearrange the kitchen. He was a hard worker and a great conversationalist. Even if he had seemed to be a little quiet at first.

“Hello, Noémi!” He greeted. “Good morning.”

“Morning, Tommy.” She said. “How goes it?”

“I’m tired.” He sighed, gesturing for her to enter. "I’m so tired.”

“Long night?”

“Mm. And an early morning.”

“Poor thing. Have you eaten yet?”

“I had a banana.”

“So no, then.” She went to the refrigerator and peered inside. “What sounds good for breakfast?”

“Pancakes. Maybe some hash browns too.”

“I was actually just thinking pancakes. But I’ll do waffles instead. And maybe I’ll cook up some potatoes and eggs too.”

Thomas’ stomach growled softly. She laughed when his face reddened.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“See you, Tommy.”

Noémi plugged her iPod into the speakers she’d left on the counter yesterday and set the songs on shuffle.

As one of Chopin’s prelude’s filled the kitchen, she prepared the batter for the waffle iron. She skinned a few potatoes and took them to the shredder then she spiced them up and sprinkled them into a large pan where olive oil had started to bubble.

With a silicone cooking brush, she painted the waffle iron with vegetable oil as the potatoes browned. She turned them over and then ladled the batter onto the iron. After a minute or so, the waffle iron’s light went out, and she carefully removed it and put on the next one.

By the time Noémi heard an alarm clock going off, she had finished setting the dinner table with: pitchers of orange juice and ice water, the breakfast (waffles, hash browns, bacon, and scrambled eggs), and a small assortment of fruit. She was deciding where to put the fruit when she felt a tap on her hip. She flinched. There was a little boy standing there.

“Um, hey there.” She said. “Where’d you come from?”

“My room.” He murmured. “Sorry for scaring you.”

“That’s ok.” She crouched down and offered her hand. “I’m Noémi. What’s your name?”

“Yan-Tao.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of you.”

“You have?”

“Yep. Your dad told me about you when he hired me.”

“Oh. So you’re the new chef?”

“I am.” She smiled as he took her hand to shake. “So how old are you, Yan-Tao?”

“Seven.”

“You’re a big boy then. Did you just wake up?”

He shook his head. “I’ve been up for hours.”

“Oh? Why?”

“I had a weird dream.” He said.

“Did you? Can I ask what this dream was about?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but then he shook his head. “You’ll think it’s weird.”

“No, I won’t. I promise.” But the boy still seemed uncertain. “I’ll tell you my dream if you tell me yours.”

“Mm… Okay. That’s fair.”

“Okay, but I’m going to finish setting up the table while I talk.”

He nodded.

She stood and resumed her placement of the dishes around the table. “I dreamed that I was in a meat factory.” She said.

Yan-Tao smiled a little. “Why were you in a meat factory?”

“I was taking a tour; the tour guide was telling us about the history of how we came to be meat eaters. I don’t remember all that he said, but even in the dream it didn’t make sense to me. Anyway, at the end of his tour, he told us we could sample the meat.” She leaned against one of the chairs and smiled at the boy. “Now, you don’t know this about me yet, but I love meat. If I could get away with it, and if I could get my vegan mom to cosign, I’d survive solely on meat.”

A slightly mischievous smile spread across his face. “What’s a ‘vegan’?”

“It’s someone who doesn’t use animal byproducts. They don’t eat dairy or wear alligator skin.”

“Oh. So no ice cream?” he asked, horrified.

Noémi laughed. “Well, there’s ice cream that doesn’t have milk in it. Like they make it with coconut or almond milk.”

“But still.” Yan-Tao frowned. “So then what happened?”

“It was a chef’s worst nightmare. When we got to the table with all the food; all of the meat was uncooked!” She turned her face up. “It was raw meat and the people were actually eating it.”

“Eww!” he giggled. “That’s gross!”

“And dangerous. It was about then that I woke up. Now, tell me about yours.”

“His what?” A voice cracked like a whip between them.

Noémi looked toward the entrance to the dining room and found a very stern woman standing there. Her dark hair was pinned up and she wore a dark purple silk kimono robe and matching slippers. She had a very sharp face and there was a kind of bitter readiness in her gaze.

Yan-Tao’s shoulders drooped a little. “I had a dream, mother.” He said before Noémi could recover. “Noémi was telling me about hers before I told her about mine.”

The woman said nothing. She walked toward them, her eyes never leaving Noémi’s face. It was like meeting the gaze of some great predator. Noémi felt as though she were being swallowed into the darkness of her irises.

“My name is Huo.” She said, bowing slightly.

Noémi bowed awkwardly back. “I’m Noémi.”

“I know. My husband informed me that he’d hired you.”

She was unsure of how to reply to that. She watched as Huo walked purposefully to her chair and sat. Yan-Tao went slowly and sat beside her.

Zhi Cheung was the next person to arrive, and he was already fully dressed. He sat down at the head of the table next to his wife, pulling his tie up toward his neck. He seemed to be struggling with it. Huo, who seemed to be ignoring him, turned toward her son and ran her hand slowly over his hair, smoothing the already flattened strands.

Eventually Zhi gave up and the ends of his tie hung at opposite sides of his neck. “Good morning, Noémi.”

“Good morning, Mr. Cheung.”

“How are you this morning?”

“I’m good. I was sleepy earlier, but the smell of the food woke me up.”

He smiled. “That’s good. You wouldn’t happen to know how to tie a tie, would you?”

Actually, she did, but the glance that Huo gave her discouraged her from giving an affirmative answer. Instead she told him, “Sorry, I’ve never been good at that.”

Zhi sighed and nodded.

The fourth member of the family shuffled in. Her hair was just as dark as her mother’s but faded to an ombre at the ends. It fell in her face and about her shoulders. She wore an oversized t shirt and sweat pants. The typical weekend uniform for a girl her age—and it looked to Noémi that she was well into high school.

“Mei-Li,” Huo said. “Introduce yourself to our new chef.”

The girl looked up. “Hello.” She murmured. “I’m Mei-Li.”

“I’m Noémi. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

“Mei-Li, before you sit down, could you help me with my tie?” Zhi queried.

She sighed. “Why don’t you already know how to tie it?” Then she sat in the chair across from her brother and slouched.

Noémi cleared , “So, um, breakfast is ready. I hope you find it to your liking. If there’s anything wrong with what I’ve prepared, please let me know. I’ll be in the kitchen cleaning up.”

She gave one more smile before disappearing into the kitchen.

The family ate in silence. Huo got herself three waffles and served Yan-Tao one cut into fourths. He drizzled the pieces in syrup before reaching for a couple pieces of bacon.

“Eggs?”  Zhi queried, lifting the plate.

“Me.” His son replied.

He passed the plate to Huo who helped Yan-Tao. When he was finished, Mei-Li took it from him. After getting herself some, she set the plate on the table, pretending that she couldn’t see that her father wanted it back. As the quiet returned to the table, she nibbled on a piece of her waffle, eating it dry like her mother. She eyed the hash browns and bacon longingly. Zhi took note.

“Mei-Li,” Zhi began, “would you like some?”

“No.” She set down her fork and pushed away from the table. “I think I’m done.”

He blinked. She’d only had half of her waffle, and she hadn’t touched her eggs. “But—”

“I said I’m finished.” She snapped.

Huo looked at her sharply. “Mei-Li.”

“Sorry.” She grumbled. She snatched an apple out of the bowl and walked back toward the steps, ignoring the rumble in her stomach.

Zhi sighed and checked his watch. “It’s about time that I head out too.” He took his jacket from the back of his chair and stood.

“Bye, dad.” Yan-Tao said through a mouthful of food.

“Bye, son.” He walked around the table and rubbed his head.  He looked at his wife.

She looked back, but avoided making eye contact for too long. “Goodbye.”

He nodded. “Thank Noémi for breakfast for me, please.”

She returned to her waffles without responding.

Zhi looked at her for a second longer. He knew she could feel his gaze, but she refused to acknowledge him. She stiffened as he leaned down and whispered something in her ear. He sealed his words with a kiss to her temple, and then he was gone.

She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his steps until he’d walked through the garage door. Yan-Tao looked up at her, his face a little sticky from the syrup. He reached up and wiped her cheek.

They were streaked with tears again. 

Hey guys!

Sorry. I can't believe I've been gone for so long. I don't really have an exuse for my absence, other than saying that starting college and a new relationship at the same time can be really time-consuming. Though, again, that's not really an excuse >.>

Anyway, I can't guarantee that this update means I'll go back to regular posts, but I will try to get at least one new update posted next month.

Thanks for hanging in there you guys. I really appreciate it!

Also, the main image is Huo.