So...I've discovered one of the benefits to having no hope of transportation. No one forces you to get a summer job and you get to spend the summer in your pajamas.
The downside of not having a summer job is that I'm incredibly broke & I'm expected to help with chores around the house including laundry and dishes. Also, because my mom is working the 5-9 PM shift at her job, I'm responsible for dinner. My family is usually pretty self sufficient so long as there are microwavable BBQ wings in the freezer and chips in the cabinet, but now and then, Mom remembers to buy real food and I get to prepare it.
I'd lost track of time, being completely immersed in playing "Faerie Solitaire" which is incredibly fun with great graphics and non-invasive background music (Don't you just hate when you can't concentrate on the game because of the "background" music?)
My dad knocks on the door and says "Can you help me for a minute?"
Thinking that he needs help outside, I say "Yeah, just let me put some pants on first" because I'm in my college t-shirt & undies.
I pull on shorts and stuff my feet into a pair of flip-flops and flip-flop-squish my way into the kitchen where my dad is standing.
He says "You'll need clean hands for this" and points to a bowl of mush. Admittedly, it is a deliciously scented bowl of mush, but still...a bowl of mush.
I wash my hands and began to poke the bowl of mush.
"Don't do that. That's the girly way. Dig in their deep, mix it up right," my dad growls.
"I'm just checking for lumps," I say and dig my hands in.
The moment I squish my hands in, the scent of hickory smoke BBQ sauce hits my nose.
"Mmm, that smells really good," I say.
"Yeah, well, I put lots of good stuff in there...egg, mustard, onion, some Liquid Smoke..." My dad looks especially pleased with himself. "And this is prime ground chuck, so that makes it even better. This is gonna be some damned good meatloaf."
So, I'm kneading this meatloaf and suddenly, I come up with something that makes me giggle.
"Hey, dad, I just thought of something...Great advice for women. Don't waste money on all those frilly, flowery perfumes, just dab some Liquid Smoke behind your ears. That's sure to catch a man's attention!"
My dad laughs and says, "Yeah, he'll think 'Have you been near a fire pit?'"
I reply, "Yep, and he'll say "Girl, you smell like BBQ! Smells good!"
Dad says "Yeah, where you been all my life?"
We both laugh over our crazy father-daughter bonding moment of humor.
Then he instructs me to take the meatloaf and dump it onto a aluminum foil covered dish. I shape the meatloaf into a loaf as he suggests and then he wraps it up in the foil.
We smile at each other in shared camaraderie and the moment concludes.
Reading Audience: AWWWW.
And for the record, my hands still smell like Liquid Smoke.