Dr. Nicholas Rush Drabble #59- "Food"
Out of everyone stuck aboard 'Destiny,' he especially knew how to live with what there was provided for them. He wasn't too fond of the dry powder, military supplied substance that substituted as food, but it was something. He was never one of those people who had a strong passion for food. Oh sure, he mildly enjoyed different tastes and flavors, but he had seen other food ecstatic individuals. The ones who strived to create new cuisines, the ones who could describe in great detail, any and every ingredient, flavor, texture, and whatever else they could think of and then some. Those people, most of them almost seemed to get an aphrodisiac sensation from just a small taste of food.
But having to eat, whatever this stuff was for so long, he wouldn't mind to eat just about anything else. He watched as the goop just dripped from his elevated spoon, back into the bowl. Colonel Young had stressed to everyone how important it was not to miss a meal. Not just because of the fact that malnourishment had pretty much reared its ugly head and infected everyone. But it was because if you missed a meal, that was it, until the next one. He scoffed a bit as he remembered a key detail about what was served to them every day. They had managed to put together different ingredients to substitute a banana flavor. Yeah, like that really made any difference to what they were eating.
"Piss off…"
He thought to himself, the mere thought that because this, whatever the hell it was, that this artificial flavoring pleased his pallet any, or his belly. He ate when he pretty much felt like it, which wasn't too often, considering all the work that was to be done. Did they not understand how badly they needed him? Without him, they would have never figured out what was needed to clean and fix the air support systems. None of them would have been able to figure out how to work or fix the different command systems, plenty needed for just basic functionality of this ship. They would have never gotten this far without him. Yet, it's his motives that are always being questioned. Okay, he might attempt to rationalize that some of his motives might have been…questionable. But he wasn't intentionally wishing any ill harm towards anyone. He simply wanted to continue on his own path. To further expand his own horizon of his research, to prove that all his years of study and practices were not just pipe dreams and imaginative talking. That there were more universes out there, different alien races and technology that was just waiting for someone to discover it all, to take the bait. Yes, she would have wanted it that way.
But to nag him about not taking the time to eat? There were plenty of people who nagged him about not eating. The only ones who really didn't give two cents either way were most of the civilians on board. Maybe it was because they didn't fully trust him, were somewhat afraid of him, or just simply didn't care. Of course, Young had mentioned something about him almost looking like a walking skeleton at times. His frame had always been scrawny, but was that the right description to even use? They all were slimming up. Even Eli, not that he was implying Eli was "fat," just the outer appearances of not properly eating was starting to show on everyone. But after maybe what seemed to be the hundredth request that he go eat something today, he finally caved in and obliged. Or he was trying to, as he sat in the mess room, still spooning the food and letting it drip from his spoon.
TJ had been sitting at a table opposite of him. They had gathered some herbs from one of the planets they had stopped and explored, and she was studying them and writing notes down as she ate. She soon had finished, giving her bowl off before she noticed he had been playing with his own bowl of food. He saw her offer a small smile, and turned to him before walking off.
"It will get better, Dr. Rush. Maybe some of these herbs can be used for flavoring purposes."
He only simply nodded at her, watching her walk off. Grunting softly, he was contemplating pushing his bowl away, before Eli and Lily joined him suddenly. They came in laughing about something, and watched as they were handed bowls of the same stuff. He hadn't meant to grunt out as they decided to sit at his table, still going on and talking. He drowned them out, as he felt his belly rumble, a hand idly going to lay on it. His mood was starting to become even more annoyed, because of the fact that now hunger pangs seemed to be coming up full force. He tried to hide the fact that he hadn't eaten what he had in his bowl, and to try and leave the room without the other two noticing; they seemed really engrossed in what they were talking about. He doubted it was anything serious anyways. But as soon as he stood up, he heard his belly growl, as if demanding he feed it something, and now.
His own stomach had blown his cover, and that annoyed him even more. The two who had been ignoring him, were now eyeing him suspiciously. He crossed his arms over his chest, giving them a blank but demeaning stare back. What the hell were they staring at? Suddenly the intercom system came alive, and he heard Young calling for Eli to come into the control room. Something was malfunctioning, and he tried to rush right behind Eli. This wasn't a job for some kid, even if he was some kind of math boy. Before he could even move past the table, Lily had suddenly stood up. He tried to go around her, but she only stepped in his way again. This was really starting to get on his last nerve; he didn't have time for this. He gave her a glare, thinking maybe she would have faltered, but it never came. He felt a slight chuckle leave his mouth, a hand going to rub his face some, before arms folded over his chest again.
"What is it, then Lily?"
"You need to eat."
"Who says?"
"Obviously, your own stomach."
He felt it grumble again, and he grunted, reluctantly giving in. He sat back down by his bowl, and she followed suit. He was no cook, but he probably could have come up with something better for them to eat, had they been able to find adequate ingredients to use. Gloria had been the cook in their relationship. She had made it seem so simple, and he used to reveal that it had been her craft, one of her pleasures. She had managed to even get him in the kitchen a couple of times, to help out. He gave a hidden smile as he flashed back to one of those times.
"See Nicholas, this isn't so bad, is it? Actually kind of fun."
"Aye."
"Here try this…"
The spoon hovered by his lips, and he felt the soft feeling of air as she tried to blow away some of the access heat emitting off the sauce. Once it was cool enough, he leaned forward, tasting the tart but sweet sauce. His comment had earned him a smile. He much rather her, she was so much sweeter tasting and delectable in his mind.
"Very nice love."
He let the memory slip back into the depths of his mind, as he heard Lily give a light chuckle. He may be an isolated person, but he was never one to not question anyone else. He was always curious, always wanting to know whatever he could, about any one or any thing. He wanted to know what had been so funny all of a sudden. He gave her a questioning look, an eyebrow arching up slightly, watching as she shook her head.
"Sorry. I was just thinking how nice it would be to cook again. I miss that. What's even funnier is I never used to like to. I was horrible at it. I'd burn water…"
It was his turn to give a soft scoff. He was kind of surprised. He had assumed all women knew how to cook, or at least enjoyed it. He wasn't chivalrous in the fact that he thought women were just around to cook, please their husbands, and reproduce to keep the human population alive. It was just that every woman he had come across had loved to cook. Based on what she had just expressed, she hadn't always been fond of it. Damn, he loved it when he was right. He revealed in it, when he was right. Dr. Nicholas Rush was hardly ever wrong in his assumptions.
The conversation ended, and it grew silent again. He was about to get up and just count this dinner a loss, before he saw her move to grab at her purse she had managed to bring with her through the gate. He watched her carefully; almost praying that maybe she kept a pack of smokes in there. He would almost do anything for a cup of coffee and a smoke. He'd scrape the nicotine from under someone's fingernails-it really was getting that bad. Instead, she pulled out a lighter and a bag of what looked like a dried herb. He watched had studied her actions carefully, almost programming it into memory. He was starting to wonder if that would substitute as a better flavor, as opposed to the fake banana tainted flavor of their current goop. He had somehow pegged her as not being a fan of that particular flavor, and probably requested hers to be plain. He watched the grounding of the herbs, the distribution in the food. The heat from the lighter flame beneath the bowl, heating what was inside.
The sound of scraping turned his attentive nature off, and he saw her bowl in front of him. He hardly ever got confused about anything, but he could feel the confusion showing on his face over at her. Pale skin almost looked paler, the back of his mind mentioned maybe she was ill. No words were expressed, he simply got a smile and she left. Could he really trust what had been added to this bowl? He was pretty sure it couldn't have been anything poisonous. He was willing to take his chances. He took a spoonful, studying it before taking a bite. He closed his eyes some, taking the time to actually taste the flavor, whatever it was. It wasn't too sweet, although there was a hint of sweetness. It was more of a savory taste; one that made this stuff seem more like a meal. Even just heating this stuff up, made it seem that much more appealing. He was soon looking into an empty bowl, feeling a bit better now that he had ate something. He got up, handing his bowl off, before walking down the corridor. One day, he'd have to ask what that stuff was; he may very well get hooked to its taste.
(Author's note: In case anyone was wondering what it was Lily had, as far as herbs was, it was a mixture of rosemary and sage. I'm always mixing herbs together, to see what differently flavors I get when mixed with food. Sage is more savory, and Rosemary is savory, but it does have a sweet hint. Of course, when you crush those up, you release more of their flavor. And of course, they taste better when they cook into a dish. So she substituted just slightly heating it up by using a lighter. Also, her burning water ordeal. Yeah, I used to do that myself. I was horrid in a kitchen until one day, I just started observing and getting the courage to try cooking. Now I love to do so.
Also, yes I know, it has a bit more OC in there. I know these are about him, but I honestly feel that we get to see some of his hidden thoughts and reactions, if there is someone interacting with him. I'm trying to, at least, include everyone at least once).