"Jack?" Aisha and Robin trooped into the kitchen, bracing themselves. "Can we help you?"
"No!" Jack stood in the center of the kitchen, wooden spoon in hand, fiddling with the knobs for the stove. "Well… maybe. I can't figure out which knob goes to which burner. And I do not remember what everything is supposed to be doing – boiling, simmering, heating."
Robin marched over and lifted a lid. "What is it?" she asked, staring down at a pan full of green mush.
"Fried collard greens."
Robin reacted with immediate disgust, and Aisha started laughing.
"Where does it say that's a traditional Christmas dish?" Robin asked.
Jack gestured towards the island. "There," he pointed out a magazine, dog-eared and pages marked, and Robin reached for it, but Aisha snatched it from her.
"Martha Stewart Living," she read, and Robin groaned. "Jack, you did not! The woman spent time in jail, for goodness sake. Does that say anything about her?"
"Hey, she's a good cook," Jack defended himself. He was preparing something near the sink, and Robin braced herself and looked.
"Mashed potatoes?" she asked hopefully, knowing that, if so, they were the oddest shaped potatoes she'd seen in her life.
"Let me guess," Aisha began. "Mashed turnips. 'Take a holiday classic and give it a unique twist.' That's so gross!"
"Out!" Jack pointed to the door, and Aisha departed, laughing so hard that Robin wanted to kill her.
"If you stay, you may not criticize my dinner," Jack threatened, and – remembering Sam's talk – Robin nodded grimly. "What shall I do?" she asked, tying on an apron.
Jack took one look around the kitchen and showed the first signs of panic. "Here – finish these," he decided, handing her the masher. "I am going to put the greens in the serving bowl."
"They'll get cold," Robin warned.
"You're right. Who wants to eat cold greens?" Jack reasoned.
Who wants to eat hot greens? Robin reasoned to herself. She did not say anything, but Jack turned on her anyway.
"Do not start," he warned.
Robin threw up her hands innocently. "I did not say anything!"
"No, but you were thinking it," Jack shot back.