I gave him a small smile. “You eat this for dinner?”
“Uh-huh,” he nodded.
“Your dad doesn’t mind?”
“He’s never here for dinner.”
“Ah…does Janet give you this for dinner?”
“Almost always,” he nodded.
I bit my lip and refrained from saying anything. “How about we try something different today?” I suggested, making my tone as enthusiastic as possible.
Noah looked hesitant. “I don’t know.”
“I promise it’ll be good,” I said.
“Cross your heart?”
I smiled and gave him a wink. “Cross my heart,” I promised.
I opened the fridge and peered in. There were a few carrots, beans, and potatoes, and I found some chicken in the freezer. Once the chicken had defrosted I cut it up and threw the pieces onto a frying pan with olive oil. Noah looked fascinated.
“Can I help?” he asked.
“Sure,” I nodded. “How about you set the table for me?”
Half an hour later, I had a home-cooked dinner ready for him. I arranged the chicken and veggies into a smiley face on the surface of his plate and set it down in front of him.
“Voila,” I said. “What do you think?”
“It’s so nice,” he said, sounding mightily impressed.
“Go on,” I encouraged. “Take a bite and tell me how you like it.”
He speared a piece of chicken with his fork and popped it in. Then he gave me a big happy smile and nodded. “That’s yummy.”
“Yeah,” I said, throwing my hands in the air. “I’m glad you like it.”
I sat down beside Noah at the table and passed him a glass of water. I helped myself to a few pieces of chicken and tried to engage Noah in some conversation.
“So…how are you liking school?”
“I like it,” Noah replied.
“Are your teachers nice?”
“Ms. Mary is nice,” Noah replied, with his mouth full. “But I don’t like Ms. Gayle. She’s always angry.”
“Urgh…I had a teacher like that,” I told him. “I was always nervous around her.”
“Me, too,” Noah said, looking at me with wide eyes.
I smiled. “Tell me about your friends.”
“My friends are Jaime and Lonnie and Peter,” Noah said. “But I’m not speaking to Dan.”
I raised my eyebrows. “And why is that?”