"Phillip?" Anne called. "Could you make dinner tonight? W.D. wants me to go over our new routine tonight and I won't be home 'til later." Phillip looked up from the spreadsheet he was working on.
"Uh… sure," Phillip replied. Anne smiled at him.
"Thanks!" she said. "I should be back around eight." She walked out of the apartment and Phillip wondered what he had just gotten himself into.
A few hours later, Phillip stared at the mess of eggs he had tried to cook. They were rather burnt on one side and raw in the middle, but he really wasn't sure what he did wrong. Just then, Anne walked in the door.
"Hi Phillip!" she said. Phillip looked at her with the expression of a puppy who had just chewed on someone's dress shoes. "What's wrong?" Anne asked. Phillip held up the pan of eggs in reply, and Anne looked at them.
"They're eggs," Phillip said by way of explanation. Anne's mouth tilted upward as she tried not to laugh. Phillip looked so sad and disappointed, though, that it was hard not to.
"Well…" Anne started. "They look…"
"Bad?" Phillip suggested.
"Like eggs," she finished. "Well done eggs?" Phillip's face fell.
"Sorry Anne," he said. "I don't really know how to cook." Anne laughed.
"It's okay, Phillip," she said. "I can teach you if you want."
"Really?" Phillip asked, setting down the pan on the stove.
"Sure!" Anne replied. She pulled a carton of eggs from the fridge and set them on the counter. "First, you can dump the other pan of eggs in the trash." Phillip grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry about that," he said again, dumping the eggs.
"It's okay, really. I should've known that you wouldn't have learned to cook at home," Anne told him. "Now, to start, you can crack three eggs into this measuring cup and mix them with a fork." Phillip cracked the eggs and Anne sprinkled salt in them. "Now mix them until they turn all the same color," she instructed. Phillip continued mixing as Anne put butter into the pan. "Now pour them into the pan."
"What's the butter for?" Phillip asked.
"It's so the eggs don't stick to the pan," Anne replied. Realization dawned in Phillip's eyes.
"Is that why the eggs stuck to the pan earlier?" he asked. Anne nodded.
"Now you can pour the eggs into the pan," she said. Phillip poured them into the pan and they sizzled.
"Is that okay?" he asked Anne with wide eyes.
"It's fine!" she laughed. "It means the pan is hot."
"Oh," Phillip said.
"Now, you have to use the spatula to move the eggs away from the bottom of the pan so they don't burn." Anne told him, demonstrating. She handed the spatula to Phillip, who poked at the eggs, looking up at Anne for approval. She smiled at him.
"That's right," she said. "Now, can you get two plates out of the cupboard?" she asked. Phillip pulled out the plates and set them on the counter, and Anne divided the eggs between them. "See? Eggs," Anne said. Phillip smiled, spooning eggs into his mouth, and Anne laughed.
"Sorry," he said around a mouthful of eggs. "I'm hungry, and the eggs I made earlier were less than edible." Anne laughed again.
"So… are they good?" she asked. Phillip nodded.
"Thank you for helping me with dinner," he said. "Sorry it wasn't done when you got home." Anne smiled.
"It's okay," she told him. "You can cook now." Phillip smiled.
"Sort of," he said. Anne laughed.
"Eggs count!" she said. "And you can make tea." Phillip nodded.
"Thank you for helping," he said.
"You're welcome," Anne replied.