I really wanted to go out with her. We had met up a few times, been out for the odd drink. Always with a bunch of mates. This time I wanted her to see me as more than a mate.
Ian and Lee were talking about food. Emma did not eat meat. They were laughing.
‘I like veggie food,’ I said. They looked at me as if to say, ‘Since when?’
Then I looked at Emma and said, ‘In fact, I’ll cook some for you, if you like.’
She looked at me to see if I was joking. ‘All right,’ she said. ‘When?’
We fixed a day and a time.
I waited till I got home. Then I panicked. I told my mum. ‘It’s all a dreadful mistake,’ I said. ‘What can I cook?’
‘Pasta,’ she said. ‘You can’t go wrong.’
I knew I could go wrong but I didn’t argue.
Pasta. Boil it. Not too long, not too short a time. No problem.
Make a nice sauce. Plenty of tomato and garlic. Make it before and just heat it up.
Plus a salad – a big green summer salad.
I felt pretty good about the date.
When Emma rang the bell, I was ready. Big apron, very cool.
‘Smells good,’ she said, smiling.
‘Be with you soon,’ I said.
The pasta was ready. The sauce was great. No time to wash the lettuce. Never mind, off we go!
We sat down at the table. Emma looked pleased. ‘This is really good, Mick. I thought we might have to get a take-away.’ She smiled.
I smiled too. This cooking lark was easy.
Then I saw something move.
It was in my salad, on the plate next to my pasta. It was a caterpillar. A long green caterpillar. I turned the plate so that it was on my side. I did not want Emma to see a bug in my salad.
I could hardly eat for watching my plate. I picked at the lettuce leaves. I tried to keep the caterpillar covered up. I made sure I didn’t eat it.
We both finished eating. ‘You’ve left a lot of salad, Mick. Don’t you want it?’‘Um, no. I’m pretty full.’ Before I could do anything, she leant over. She picked up the plate and swept the lettuce onto hers.
I opened my mouth to speak. She opened hers and put a big forkful of lettuce in.
‘You make a good salad. It’s really tasty,’ she said.
I smiled.