treehouse/content/amber.dj

title = "Amber"

+++

It was time to end work for the day.
We headed out of the office to the nearest train station.
The plan: do groceries, cook dinner, head back home.

We still didn't have any dinner plans for today, so it was time to settle on those.

--- Hey, Amber? --- I asked.\
--- Mm?\
--- Any ideas for dinner today?

Amber became lost in thought for a while.
Her and I have never been the best ideators when it came to brainstorming food, but she looked as if she was putting her all into it.

--- Considering all the quintessential dishes in our exquisite home-cooked meal menu...\
--- Mm-hmm.\
--- ...taking into account my desires and needs, hopes, and dreams...\
--- Uh-huh.\
--- I conclude...

--- Meat.

--- ...You realise you're not being very helpful, are you? --- I replied.\
--- What? Whyyy...?

I took a deep breath.

--- Meat is present in a large amount of dishes from various cuisines around the world.
Beginning with the basics, like whether it's fried, grilled, boiled, sous-vide, passing through the details, such as toppings used and side dishes...\
--- So?\
--- What I'm saying is that you're skedaddling around my question in the laziest way possible.
You can't just have "meat" for dinner.\
--- Ruuude!

A brief moment of silence occurred between us.
I thought a bit about what to eat.

Vegetables, meat.\
Vegetables.\
Meat.

Vegetables,

Meat.
Eat.
{~Eat.{~
Eat.~}~}

--- I'm making fajitas.\
--- Oh come on, you know I hate bell peppers!!\
--- Too bad.

Amber's face turned gloomy.

--- I'll pick them out of your plate.\
--- Promise?\
--- Promise.

The train arrived at the station.
It was time to gro gocery shopping.
Go shocerry shopping.
Sho gocerry--

`The doors are closing. Please stand back.`

As the train started moving, I started thinking about the weather.

The seasons were slowly changing, from winter, to spring.\
It was the first clear day since last week, with a majestically blue sky, lit up by our beloved friend, the Sun.

With the orange sunset arriving slowly at the horizon, I pondered at the skyscrapers, roads, rivers, and bridges, whizzing past the window.
I appreciated how the plants in the parks were beginning to bloom.

The sights outside filled me with a certain nostalgia.

`Next station: Forestville`

Time to get off.

--- Hey, Vec.\
--- Yeah?\
--- Can I get a chocolate bar?\
--- What for?\
--- Because I want one?\
--- But you didn't do anything.
You haven't _earned_ it.\
--- Come ooooon, I want a bar of chocolate!!\
--- No.

...

--- ...Alright, I'll get you one if you eat the bell peppers today.\
--- Okay!

...

--- Wait, what?

But she realised it too late.
I left her behind in front of the store, with the same old surprised look on her face.

It's honestly surprising how often she falls for that one.
You'd think her fox genetics would make her really swift and quick-witted, but it's the exact opposite.
She's a bit of a dummy.

With the groceries done, and Amber still bewildered by my trick, it was time to walk back home.
Four streets down the road, a five minute walk later, was our little house.

Shoes taken off at the entrance.
My paws felt immediate relief after a whole day of wearing them.

Three rooms.
One mine, one Amber's, one shared.
And a kitchen and a bathroom.

I walked into the kitchen across the warm wooden floor panels.
It was time to cook.\
Well, almost time.

--- Amber! Don't forget to clean your room!\
--- Yeah, yeah!\
--- Don't you "yeah, yeah" me!
You're not getting any food until you throw all those beverage cans out the trash!

_Now_, it was time to cook.

An onion, peeled and chopped into tiny pieces.
Three colourful bell peppers, one red, one yellow, one green, cut into strips.
Meat cut into cubes, seasoned with salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, and a pinch of chilli flakes.

Olive oil poured into a deep wok, heated up on the induction stove, together with a regular frying pan for the meat.
I poured the onion and peppers onto the wok, letting out a fragrant smell.
While the vegetables were sizzling out their water, I cooked the meat well done on the other pan.

I mixed the meat into the vegetables, and let the ingredients soak in each other's aromas.

Fajitas was ready.
It was time to eat.

Well, almost time.
Again.

--- Amber! Have you cleaned your room as requested?\
--- Uhh, yeah!\
--- Shall I come in and see?\
--- Uhh, no!\
--- So you haven't cleaned your room yet.\
--- I don't have enough fuel!
Let me eat first!\
--- Try not to clean your room afterwards and I'm turning off the breakers.\
--- Sure thing, _MOM_! --- she exclaimed as she sat down in front of the table.\
--- Knock it off.

She slid her hand across the table, almost as if to knock the cutlery off.\
But instead, she picked it up, and exclaimed,\
--- Let's dig in!\
--- Let's dig in. --- I replied.

And dig in, we did.

--- What did you do to the peppers? --- Amber said while chewing on the food.\
--- What do you mean?\
--- They're surprisingly good.\
--- I know, right.

I swallowed the bite I was chewing on.

--- But I didn't do anything special.
Just followed the recipe.\
--- So you're telling me bell peppers were always this good?\
--- In essence? Yeah, though, these are better than usual.\
--- You should make them more often.\
--- Ha ha, we'll see.

We finished our place, and I once again reminded her.

--- Don't forget to clean your room.\
--- Yes sir, Mr. Vector!\
--- A surprising amount of enthusiasm, I hear.\
--- Life's better when your fuel tank's full!

I didn't question the fuel tank thing, so as not to walk straight into her japes, and instead went straight to my room.

Tired and full, I laid down on my bed, and thought.

"How long have we been roommates again?"

I looked at the calendar on my phone.
"...a couple months, huh."

"Feels more like an eternity."

And with that last thought, my eyes began to close.
My mind slowly drifted away, and soon enough...

It was time to dream.