Favorite Food

Amy plopped onto her couch in the living room as her three-year old son played on the floor. He was so hyperactive. Amy just hoped he'd tire himself out, so that there would be some peace in her house. Plus, being eight months pregnant didn't make it any easier. She looked at her watch. Jake would be home in about twenty minutes or so. It also meant that Mac hadn't eaten in more than four hours now. With all the playing and jumping, Amy knew he was going to come up to her and tell her that he was hungry soon.

'Mac, how about you get something to eat?' Amy asked her son.

'Okay!' the boy shouted as he ran into their kitchen.

Amy entered the room. 'So, what do you want?' she asked him.

'Ice-cream!' the boy shouted. Amy was afraid of this. She didn't want to give Mac, an already hyperactive three-year old, more sugar to add to his energy.

'You can't have ice-cream, Mac,' she informed.

'Oh,' said Mac, as if he had no idea. 'What can I eat?' he asked innocently.

Amy smiled softly as she opened the fridge. 'You want a sandwich?'

'No.'

'Okay, how about oatmeal?'

'Yuck! No!'

'Yogurt?'

'No.'

'Fruit?'

'No!'

Amy sighed as she turned to face the toddler. 'Are you even hungry?' she asked him as she put sat him down on a chair.

'Yes, Mommy! I'm very hungry.'

'Well, what do you want then?'

'Ice-cream!' the boy said as if it was obvious, which it was.

This wasn't new. He often demanded to eat ice-cream. But when any food item was placed in front of him, he would promptly eat it if he was hungry. Amy thought this was the same case. So, she started preparing a sandwich.

'Mommy, I don't want a sandwich!' Mac shouted from the table.

'Mac, you're hungry. And I know you love my sandwiches,' Amy replied. Amy couldn't cook. Not even if her life depended on it. But she did make sandwiches to die for. Whenever Jake would come from a long stakeout, he'd always pine for her sandwiches. Of course, he didn't always get what he wanted but Amy did make him sandwiches more often than not. It had also become one of Mac's favorite foods too. Maybe not as much as ice-cream but he still loved them

As she put the sandwich, Mac looked up at his mother with a frown. 'I don't want sandwich,' he said.

'Mac, baby, please don't whine. Look, I'll feed you myself, huh?' Amy tried negotiating.

Five minutes later, Amy found herself trying to get the sandwich to just even touch his lips. But Mac was really good at maneuvering his body in ways Amy had no idea. 'Fine! If you don't want it, I'll eat it!' Amy tried to threaten. Well, 'tried' being the key word.

'Okay,' the boy said.

Amy slowly lifted the sandwich to her mouth, expecting her son to stop her any moment. But the boy just stayed quietly as he wondered why his mom was taking so long to eat the sandwich. Just then, Jake walked in the room. 'Hey, you guys! Did you make sandwiches?' he asked.

'Daddy!' the boy said while running up to his father. Jake carried the boy in his arms as Amy put the sandwich back down. 'So, is that for me?' he asked Amy.

Amy sighed. 'No, but it might as well be,' she replied.

'What do you mean?'

'Well, Mac's hungry so I made him a sandwich but he won't eat it.'

'Really? Not even your sandwich?' Jake asked surprised. He turned to Mac. 'Well, what do you want, Buddy?' he asked his son.

'Ice-cream!' Mac shouted again.

'No!' exclaimed Amy before Jake could even say a word, 'No ice-cream before or for dinner!'

They boy looked really guilty for making his mom angry. 'Sorry, Mommy,' he said while looking down.

Amy sighed as she stood up. She walked over to Jake and took their son from his arms. 'It's okay, baby,' she said as she stroked his face, 'I just want you to eat, Mac.'

'That's it!' Jake said as he turned to his wife and his son. 'Ames, you think you can play with Mac for about forty five minutes?' he asked.

'Yeah, why?' Amy asked.

'I'm gonna make dinner!' he replied while smiling widely. It wasn't unusual having Jake make dinner. He was good at cooking and had been doing it more often after being a dad. What made Amy suspicious was how excited he looked at the prospect of making dinner.

Forty five minutes later, Amy and Mac walked into the kitchen to a delicious smell.

'Wow! That smells good. What did you make, Babe?' Amy asked as she put her son on the chair.

'You'll see,' said Jake as he put a bowl in front of Mac.

'This isn't ice-cream,' Mac said as a matter of fact.

'It's better,' said Jake as he fed his son a spoonful. Mac's eyes lit up. 'So, how is it?' Jake asked as Mac swallowed.

'Yummy!' Mac exclaimed. 'What is it?' Mac asked.

'It's called mac and cheese,' Jake said.

Mac stared at his father. He was shocked. 'But...' he trailed off.

'Yeah?'

'But I'm Mac…'

'I know. Isn't that cool?'

'Yeah! Mac and cheese is my favorite!' Mac exclaimed as he started shoving his mouth with his new favorite food.

'So, how'd you know he'd like this?' Amy asked Jake as she helped him lay out the table for them two.

'Couple of reasons,' Jake said, 'First of all, it's mac and cheese! Who doesn't like mac and cheese? Second of all, his name is Mac. He was bound to love this stuff.'

'I'll give you the first point but the second wasn't necessarily gonna hold true.'

'Are you kidding me? When I was five, I thought Jack-o'-lanterns were my best friends because they sounded like Jake-o'-lanterns. So, Mac was gonna love mac and cheese.'

'Hmm… well, he is definitely your son if there ever was a doubt.'

'I'd say he's definitely our son given how stubborn he is.'

Later that night, Amy was awake in bed while Jake was sleeping. 'Jake, wake up,' she said softly while poking him.

'What? Is everything alright?' Jake asked as he sat up straight.

'Yeah, I just had a question,' Amy said.

'What?'

'Well, you know how you figured out Mac would like mac and cheese?'

'Yeah?'

'Well, I was wondering what you'd feed Harry once he will get fussy,' Amy said as she stroked her baby bump.

'Umm… I don't know.'

'Come on, think!'

'Well, maybe something that rhymes with his name maybe. Like cherry or berry. Or maybe something that kinda shares syllables with his name. Like herring. Why are you asking right now?'

'Because Harry is being fussy and he wants to eat.'

'What?'

'Food cravings, Jake! Now go get me a cherry pie, a blueberry pie, and some pickled herring!'

'Ames, it's one in the morning!'

'Just go!' Amy said as she pushed him out of the bed. As Jake was about to leave, she called him out, 'Jake, wait!'

'What?' asked Jake as he turned around.

'Get some mac and cheese too.'

Jake sighed as he picked up his car keys but he smiled as he thought how chubby this kid was going to be when he arrived in a month.