Noelle makes dinner while her dad is in the hospital

Cooking couldn't be THAT hard, right?

Dad would usually cook. It was only natural, with mom being so busy at work. Noelle wasn't sure whether he was a good cook, per se, but he had a distinct style. A lot of fat, a lot of meat, occasional salads that tended to be on the simple side. He started enlisting her to cut tomatoes and dice onions when she was eight. She never really advanced beyond that.

And now he was away. He wouldn't be cooking. Mom always took care of food when dad wasn't home and there weren't any leftovers, but she was working late for at least the next week. Something to do with building permits, she said in her voicemail.

Noelle had dropped by the grocery store for some food that looked simple to prepare.

She filled a pot with water, for the rice. Half full was probably fine? Too much water was probably better than too little. She set it on the furnace.

Lettuce was straightforward. She knew how to slice tomatoes. There was a bottle of mysterious salad dressing in the fridge that hadn't expired yet. She put those things in a bowl in proportions that felt vaguely right.

She had some broccoli to boil or bake or whatever it was you did with broccoli. Without thinking, she plucked a piece of raw broccoli and nibbled on it.

It was surprisingly tasty. She added some to the salad.

The rice was done boiling. It had swelled. There was a lot more of it now than before. Noelle supposed she would be eating rice for the next few days as well.

She put the salad, a lot of rice and a bottle of ketchup in a basket with plates and cutlery, and set off.

Rudy greeted her as soon as she stepped through the door. "Noelle!" He sniffed the air. "What's that I smell?"

"Hi dad! Just some rice and salad. Nothing really fancy."

"Well, get it over here. I'm tired of the hospital muck."