Arianna

Noticed at 5:55pm

Hungry for dinner, thinking of what to make. There's a can of black beans, and I've heard of people making black bean soup/stew. Time to make it up.

Starting to cut the onion: peeling the thin crisp from the outside; cutting one, two, three, four thin slices, then another for good measure, chop it crossways (more of a "copcopcopcop"). Since it's from the fridge, I didn't feel the sting in my tear ducts, but I was still nervous, overblinking and keeping my head away from the battlefield. copcopcop, scrapescrape into the pan. Garlic, peeled until smooth, thrown into the press, forced through tiny holes, smells delicious even raw. A three second pour of oil and the electric stove up to 4. I stir everything together with a wooden spoon, then wait for a sizzling, rubbing my thumb across the grain of the handle. waiting waiting

I turn and dice the green pepper, washing out seeds and cutting out whitish inner rind. copcopcopsizzlesizzle

I let everything stew - the smell of home is released, and I'm there, in the kitchen practically stepping on a cat, listening to the news on WTHR.
The door opens and my roommate's boyfriend walks in. I say, "She's not here." He thanks me and leaves. I turn back to the stove, stirring again, my memories stirred.

I open the can of black beans, rinse in the basket, and then dump, add chicken stock and stewstewstirstew for as long as it takes to crisp bacon and put it in as well. Add a random, appropriate amount of the following: lemon pepper, salt, chili pepper and paprika. Stir, taste for deliciousness, and wow. I melt; how could I have just faked something so sumptuous, hearty... crazy good.