"Okay, I've spread us out a bit this time." Rick handed aprons to Michonne and the kids as he pointed out the new way Spaghetti Sunday was going to go this time.
"Yeah, last week we were bumping elbows…" Carl said.
"And butts," Andre finished.
"Boys." Michonne warned, tying the strings of Judith's apron behind her back. They had matching pink ones, and all the guys wore grey.
"Chopping station is over here," Rick continued. "Seasonings are over here. We've got a meat station today, run by the grownups, beef and Italian sausage." He saw the smiles on the kids faces glad that meat was added this time, since the vegan spaghetti from last week wasn't a favorite.
"Fancy." Michonne was impressed with the thought that went into tonight's meal prep. With three Sundays under their belts, the neighbors were fastly becoming contenders for The Food Network.
"What about the bread?" Carl asked, looking around the room for the warm loaf he was used to seeing.
"Got that too." Rick motioned to the oven where the bread was warming. "You want to be in charge of the garlic butter?"
"Yes!"
"Alright, let's get started." Rick said, rubbing his hands together as the kids all went to their designated station; the one they'd been thinking about all day. Carl got started with making the garlic butter, unwrapping sticks of unsalted butter and measuring out garlic cloves to chop along with onion powder since he hated cutting raw onions. Michonne looked on as all three kids put their chef's faces on, focusing on the task at hand. Andre and Judith stood side by side and chopped tomatoes and garlic, sliding the onions in Michonne's direction to cut for them.
"Andre doesn't want to cry." Carl teased.
"I wasn't crying last time." He used his sleeve to wipe some imaginary sweat from his forehead, something he'd seen chefs do on tv, and figured he should too. "Something got in my eye." Andre made sure to look Carl in the eyes so he could see that he was being serious. Michonne took her place between Andre and Judith, quickly chopping the first onion while they looked on in awe that not even a single tear was shed or eye watered. "You're good at that Mom."
"That was fast." Judith said impressed.
"I've had lots of practice. Believe it or not, when I was pregnant with these two, I craved onions for an entire month. I ate them everyday. All different kinds, all different ways. I'm surprised Carl and Andre don't peel back in layers." Michonne winked at Judith who wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Ewe, that would be gross." Carl said from his garlic butter station.
"And stinky." Judith added, waving her hand in front of her face. Michonne chopped the second one just as fast and added it to the large ceramic bowl that was on the counter. She wiped her hands off on her apron and handed the knife back to Andre.
"It's all yours buddy." Michonne walked over to her station where Rick was waiting, holding out a wooden spatula to her.
"You do the beef and I'll get the sausage. We'll mix em together when we're done."
"Sounds good to me." Michonne said to him, with a smile. "I like mine chunky. You okay with that?"
"I won't count it against you." He started crumbling the meat in his pan. "So, onions,huh? I bet you were a pleasure to have a conversation with." Rick laughed and hoped she knew he was only joking.
"I bought mints by the case that month. I was so bad, like ravenous. That was the worst of my cravings during my whole pregnancy. I even learned how to make onion rings that month."
"That does sound bad. I bet your windows stayed open for thirty days straight."
"I was stocked in candles too, and those onion rings will be the best you'll ever taste." She was pointing the spatula at him to help get her point across. Rick looked to the boys for some help, but both of them knew better than get involved where they didn't stand a chance.
"You're gonna have to prove that one." He challenged her.
"That won't be a problem, just let me know when and where." Rick licked his bottom lip and tried to reign in the smile that her competitive side had put on his face. He didn't need her knowing how much it affected him.
"Mom, is this enough tomatoes?" Andre asked, pointing to the ceramic bowl on the counter. Judith looked at Michonne, waiting for her answer, wiping her juicy hands off on the front of her pink apron.
"That looks like more than enough." She turned to Rick and handed him her spatula, so she could go to the kids. "I think you two are ready to puree it all."
"Yep, looks that way to me too." Rick said stirring the two different pots with both hands. " Y'all remember what to do?"
"Keep the lid on." Carl, Judith and Andre all said in unison, remembering when that little step was forgotten a few weeks ago and they were all covered in chunky, half blended sauce.
"What are we playing this time?" Carl asked, kneeling to take his spot at the coffee table
"Uno!" Judith shouted, sitting next to him.
"No." Michonne said firmly. "The last time we played, there were actual tears shed." She kept her eyes from the person she was referring to and didn't mention a name, but it still made her laugh. The draw four card was was not made for the faint at heart, and that night proved it. Luckily Rick's nice coffee table wasn't flipped over in protest.
"How about something that doesn't make us so... emotional." Rick said as a tinge of embarrassment crept up his face. They had pureed the tomatoes and onions and added everything to the huge metal pot on the stove. The kids took turns holding their faces over the pot to breathe in the homemade sauce and Rick held the spoon to Michonne's mouth for her to taste. After adding a couple teaspoons of a couple more spices, she put the lid on with a thumbs up and they left the kitchen to let it do it's thing.
While the sauce simmered and the bread warmed, they played a few intense rounds of Old Maid that tested everyone's poker face, but didn't end in any shed tears. There was even a bout of giggles that started with Michonne who was staring at the Old Maid in her hand and swore it looked like her fourth grade teacher Mrs. Reynolds. Once she started they all looked at her, but she couldn't tell them that she had the Old Maid, so she started laughing harder and Judith joined her, then Andre and Rick. As hard as he fought it, Carl starting laughing too and the game was paused for a good ten minutes so they all could settle down.
An hour later, Rick had the kids set the table and Michonne placed wine glasses at each place setting. Something that Rick knew nothing about until Michonne brought them last week. She put coordinating chargers underneath his plain white plates and cloth napkins with rings to the left of them and they all sat atop pretty gold quilted placemats. She poured merlot into a glass for her and put a bottle of beer by Rick's plate. The kids got sparkling water, the kind with a fruity flavor to make it easier to drink when flat water wasn't your favorite. It had all become such a fancy ordeal, and Michonne grew to love doing it each week. The Sunday routine had become something that she looked forward to Monday through Friday and prepared for on Saturday.
As she carried the bowl of salad in one hand and a bottle of dressing in the other, she was proud of the way everyone had pitched in to make the dinner so special. Carl carefully took the basket of bread and put it in the middle of the table. Rick set the spaghetti sauce next to it, and Andre was in charge of the noodles. Since the first Spaghetti Sunday, three weeks ago, Rick made it a point to model certain behaviors for the kids. He knew it was working when tonight the boys pulled out Judith's chair for her, just like he did for Michonne.
"Thank you." Michonne said as she sat down.
"Anytime," Rick responded with a grin. Blame it on the lingering look between the two, but it had the kids giggling uncontrollably again. "Alright, you three, let's eat."
The food was passed around and plated. Judith followed Michonne and placed her napkin in her lap right before she started to eat. Rick smiled at her, but didn't call attention to it, he was impressed with her observation. Sauce dripped onto the tablecloth and noodles slipped off forks, but no one fussed about it, too enthralled with their meal to notice. After several big mouthfuls and a some sips of her wine, Michonne broke up the silence of the table.
"Okay, who's ready to go back to school tomorrow?"
"Not me!" Andre answered, with a mouth full of food.
"Me!" Carl said.
"Me too." Judith added.
"Well, looks like we have no choice, since it's the last day of Spring Break." Michonne said, not believing that the week went by so quickly.
"Boo." Andre mocked.
"What, you don't think your break was good?" Michonne asked, looking over at Rick. "You all should be tired with everything we did."
"From bowling?" Carl asked, unbelieving that three rounds of bowling could make someone tired.
"And miniature golf," Michonne said. "And laser tag."
"That awful movie." Rick said quietly. A matinee featuring talking animals that lived as princesses and princes, wasn't his idea of a good time, but since it was Spring Break and he'd taken the week off, the objective was to keep them all busy the entire week.
"It wasn't awful." Judith told him.
"And the park, three days in a row." Michonne held up three fingers for emphasis. She didn't mind the park, she and Rick sat and talked on the bench while the kids played. He even talked her into getting on the swings, pushing her until her feet were high in the air.
"Can we go do laser tag again?" Andre asked both Rick and Michonne.
"Yeah, but first, your mom needs to work on her aim." All the kids laughed remembering all the missed shots Michonne had, blaming it on them moving instead of her inaccuracy.
"Hey, I wasn't that bad."
"You weren't that good either mom. Next time you're on Carl's team."
"No way. I want to win." Carl exclaimed.
"See what you started?" Michonne looked at Rick. She couldn't believe that she was being passed around and no one wanted her on their team.
"Okay, okay." Rick tried to defuse the situation. "Your mom just needs a little practice. How bout this, I'll help her with her aim and when we get back out there, it'll be us versus you three." He pointed to Carl, Judith and Andre. "Loser does the dishes after dinner for a month."
"A whole month?" Carl whined.
"That's not fair." Judith folded her arms over her chest.
"It's not fair, only if you think you'll lose." Rick told them.
"I'm not losing to them." Andre told Carl and Judith.
"Me either." Judith and Carl said together, gaining confidence from Andre's certainty.
"So it's settled then. Parents against kids the next time we do laser tag."
Deal." Andre said after getting the okay from both Carl and Judith.
Not long after the last noodle of spaghetti was slurped up, Rick and the kids helped clear the table while Michonne got dessert ready. The weather was mild and the sun was just starting to set, so they went out into the backyard to eat the chocolate cake that Michonne and Judith had made on Saturday. The kids somehow found room in their bellies for the cake and the scoop of vanilla ice cream that she put with it, sitting on a red picnic table that Rick built for Judith a few years ago. Michonne and he stood on the back porch and watched them eat and laugh.
"I think they had a pretty good break?" Rick said after taking the first bite of the chocolate cake. He had to stop himself from shoveling it all into his mouth with the way it melted in his mouth.
"I think so too. I don't think we missed anything in terms of fun this week." Michonne spooned a large amount of ice cream in her mouth, hoping it might keep her from rambling.
"What about you?" Rick turned to her. "Did you have a good break?" She nodded her head as an answer so she could finish swallowing the mouthful of ice cream that she had.
"I did. It was great having a partner in crime against these three." She gave him an awkward shoulder bump, and tried not to think of the eye roll Sasha would be giving her right now. "Um… you're going back to work too tomorrow aren't you?"
"Yes, I am. I have to remember to set my alarm."
"You need a wake up call." She asked him halfway joking.
"If you're offering." He licked the back of his spoon where a mix of chocolate frosting and vanilla ice cream had settled.
"I'll give you a call in the morning then."
"You've got a little…," Rick pointed to her face and the drop of ice cream that was sitting at the corner of her mouth. She went to lick it off at the same time that he went to wipe it off and she ended up licking half of his thumb.
"Sorry." She turned her head and looked down at her shoes in embarrassment.
"It's all right." Rick licked off the small amount of ice cream that he got on his thumb from off of her mouth. "I was just trying to help you out a little bit."
"Yeah, but you weren't expecting me to taste you in the process."
"Well…"
"Oh my god." Michonne put her hand to her forehead, not believing that she just said that to him. "That came out totally wrong. You know what I meant, right?"
"I know exactly what you meant." Rick smiled at her, captivated by her bashfulness.
"I think it's time to do the dishes now." She took the bowl from his hand, not bothering to check if he was finished or not and hurried into the kitchen to fill the sink with water. She turned the cold water on first to splash her face with, in hopes of erasing away the embarrassment that she knew was all over it.
"That was the best cake ever mom." Carl said coming in ten minutes later, followed by Judith, Andre and Rick.
"Yes it was." Judith rubbed her tummy. "My belly is full."
"That's good." Michonne said putting the dishes in the sink. "That means you'll sleep good tonight."
"Let's hope." Rick handed dish towels to all the kids. "Alright y'all know what time it is now."
"Dishes." They all grumbled.
"Okay, it looks like you're all set for lunches this week." Michonne looked at the leftovers in Rick's fridge. Even with her taking some home, he and Judith still had plenty left for the week. "If you run out of cake, just let me know. I'll be happy to make you another one. I mean, I'm sure Judith wouldn't mind helping me make another one." She looked at Judith knowing she's be game to be a mini baker again.
"Can I Daddy?"
"I don't mind at all." Michonne told Rick before turning to Judith. "I'm sure your Daddy wouldn't mind something sweet later on in the week. How about I pick her up from school Friday and we can make it then?"
"Sweets are always good." Rick told her with a wink.
"You can stay for dinner when you pick her up."
"How can I say no to that?" Rick took the bag of leftovers that she was carrying and started to walk them to the door.
"Can we walk them home Daddy?"
"That sounds like a good idea." Rick answered, glad that his daughter liked the boys enough to want to hang out a little bit longer. He opened the door and with the street clear, Michonne handed her keys to Carl and the kids raced across the street and rushed into the house before Rick and Michonne were even out of his driveway.
"This was a nice dinner. I think we're almost ready to open a spaghetti bistro." Michonne teased.
"Let's give it a few more weeks at least." They had made it to Michonne's yard and Rick placed a gentle guiding hand on the small of her back right before she stepped over the curb into her yard.
"At least." Michonne whispered, surprised by at how his hand felt on her back. "I'll think of a name for it in the meantime." They walked to her front door and Michonne turned around to look at him before opening the door. "Well…"
"Thanks for coming by tonight."
"You say that every Sunday Rick. You don't have to thank me. We really do enjoy it." They both paused as their gazes met. Michonne wasn't sure what to do next, but it seemed as though Rick did. He took a tentative half step towards Michonne, his eyes now focused on her lips that she absentmindedly licked as a slow breeze hit her face. She saw his head lean in and her eyes widened in surprise at what he was about to do. She held her breath in anticipation, not expecting the door to swing open.
"Daddy look what Andre gave me." Judith held a colorful book up to his face as he straightened up. "It's a comic book with a girl pirate!"
"It sure is. It's one of my favorites." Michonne took the book and flipped through the pages with Judith. "You're gonna love it."
"Can we go home now?" Judith asked Rick, suddenly in a rush to leave.
"I guess she wants to read that now, huh?" Rick said to Michonne.
"Looks like it." Michonne looked to Judith, but could feel Rick's eyes on her. "I'll want to hear about your favorite part on Friday okay."
"Okay. Good night."
"Good night sweetie." She turned to Rick and gave him a shy smile. "Good night Rick."
"Good night Michonne. I'll talk to you in the morning."
"One wake up call coming up."