The Last Dinner | Weekly Short-Short Note | Mending Tongue Stew

At 5:00 PM, I stood in the kitchen. I had plenty of time before my husband returned home. I put a frying pan on the heat and sliced the beef tongue I had moved from the freezer to the refrigerator that morning.

Today would be the last time I prepared a meal for two.
We had said everything there was to say.
My husband would leave, and I would remain.

I transferred the browned beef tongue into a pressure cooker. I added the sautéed vegetables, poured in the red wine, and set it to pressurize. Exactly twenty minutes.

A small tear had gradually grown larger.
Even in something as simple as housework, there is a fundamental gap in awareness between men and women.
After a heated exchange, my husband gave in.
I was taking your kindness for granted. I am sorry.
No, people don't change that easily.

I stirred in the roux. My hands remembered the amounts of ingredients and seasonings for two people. I couldn't even imagine how much a single serving would be.

Since that day, my husband had changed.
Let's move in the direction you think is best, he said.
If you feel it with your life, people can change in an instant.
What will I do?

Tears can be mended.
Tonight, it is mending tongue stew.
When I thought that, tears began to fall.

I heard the sound of the front door opening.
I'm home. His voice, unchanged as always, was a relief.

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#WeeklyShortShortNote #FoxfireBarbecue #MendingTongueStew

I also took on the secret prompt. Thank you as always, Tarahakani-san.