Chapter Ten

It was almost five by the time the children got called in for dinner that night. Entering the dining room, Laurie eyed the cuisine wearily. Everything was in covered pots, well, everything but the salad, which looked as if someone just peeled a head of lettuce and tossed it into a bowl. Though she hated to admit it, besides the strange salad, the aroma of the meal was appetizing.

"Alright. Everyone have a seat!" Rueben still wore the pink apron and took a seat at the head of the table. The children took their usual seats and Keith inhaled deeply.

"Smells good. What is it?"

"You'll see in a moment." Rueben stood and began removing lids from the various pots and pans on the table. "Well, bon appetite! Dig in!"

What Laurie saw surprised her. The first pot was filled with creamy macaroni and cheese and the second, with savory spaghetti. In the third, was what looked like chicken noodle soup. Though Laurie was a big questionable about Reuben's selections for this meal, she had to admit, it all looked good.

"Well?"

Laurie looked up at Ruben and noticed that neither she nor the rest of her siblings had moved.

"Dig in. Come on, kids. I spent most of the day, making it."

Keith was the first to act and take a large spoonful of spaghetti, followed by Danny who began to dish up a serving of macaroni. Laurie acted last, opting on the salad.

Once everyone was served, Laurie took a bite of spaghetti. Though a little dry, Laurie couldn't help but admit it tasted pretty good. She went on to try the other dishes. Everything was edible and Laurie actually liked it. It's no wonder why she was instantly suspicious. How could Rueben, the guy who almost burnt the house down, now be such an accomplished chef?

"So? What do you kids think?"

"Yum!" Said Tracy as she spooned another mound of macaroni into her mouth.

"It's really good, Rueben. How did you learn how to cook like this?" Keith looked to him. Laurie could tell her brother was just as suspicious as she.

"Well, I just sort of taught myself. Just because I can't make roast, doesn't mean I can't cook at all." Laurie didn't agree. Rueben really couldn't cook at all. So why could he cook now? She figured the answer lay in the kitchen.

"I'm going to go get a glass of water." Laurie rose to her feet. One way or another, she was going to figure out Rueben's cooking secrets.

Rueben stopped her instantly. "Wait! What? What's wrong with milk?" He motioned towards the bottle sitting on the table.

"Nothing, I just feel like water with dinner tonight." Laurie answered simply. She watched as Rueben thought over what she had said. Finally he nodded.

"Well…" His worried expression melted away to a smile. "Then while you're at it, can you grab the orange juice out of the refrigerator?"

"Sure." To say the very least, Laurie was surprised that he was actually letting her into the kitchen alone. Maybe I was wrong? Maybe he really did cook all this stuff. She pushed her chair in and headed towards the kitchen door.

"I want juice too, Ma Kincaid." Laurie heard Tracy say as she entered the kitchen.

"Alright," Ruben replied instantly, "You can have some too."

"Me too, Ma Kincaid?"

"Sure, Chris. Why not?"

Laurie almost smiled as she pushed her way through the swinging door. It seemed like things were finally beginning to mesh at the Partridge home again. Tonight there were no fires, no stomachaches, and no over-reactive washing machines, just a normal family, with a very abnormal mother, sitting down to an unusual yet delicious meal.

"Hey, Laurie?"

She paused as her older brother addressed her and turned back towards the table. "Yeah?"

"Forgetting something?" He held up her empty glass.

She gave him a knowing look. "Oh, thank you." She nodded and then escaped instantly to the safety of the kitchen. Inside, all looked as it should. No messes, no dishes piled high in the sink…

Laurie looked again. No dishes? She hastily went over to the sink and looked inside. Sure enough, the sink was empty. "That's strange…"

"Laurie!" Rueben called from the dining room.

"In a minute!" She called back and then hastily went to the cupboards. Perhaps Rueben had washed the dishes as he went along, dried them off, and stowed them away in the kitchen cabinets again?

She opened a door and looked inside. All her mother's pots and pans were in order. It seemed like that was the answer to her puzzle. Then again…

On a fleeting suspicion, Laurie made one last stop on her search in the kitchen: the dishwasher. Opening it up, she was surprised to find several of her mother's largest mugs resting on the top rack. Mugs? She doubted Reuben drank so much coffee. Besides, being the untidy person Reuben was, he would have used one mug for all nine servings. She smelled something fishy; not only that but she also smelled chicken noodle soup, red-sauce spaghetti, and scrumptious macaroni-and-cheese. Laurie lifted up a mug. The residue of a serving of creamy Mac-and-cheese still stuck to the porcelain sides.

"Aha…" Laurie instantly replaced the mug to its spot and went to the kitchen's trashcan. Sure enough, several boxes of Betty Crocker's Mug-O-Lunches were pressed down inside. She pulled one out. It didn't surprise her to see that this variety was the chicken noodle flavor. She figured the other ones were spaghetti and macaroni.

"Laurie? What's taking you so long-?" Rueben paused when he saw Laurie with the box.

Laurie held it up high and smirked mercilessly. "You can cook, huh?"