Ok, here's the newest one. I've added more of Malcolm's family and less of Malcolm. I find that I really like Lois and Piama and how they interacted in the show. Anyway, updates will take longer now as yours truly had gotten himself a job singing and let me tell you, embarrassing myself in public has never been so much fun. Especially when you're paid to do it D
Freddy couldn't believe what he was seeing. Or what he was hearing, to be more exact. They were in their room and Malcolm was holding the phone away from his ears at arms length, letting Lois's voice reverberate through the whole room.
"…DARE YOU!!! YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT HAS BEEN TRYING TO FEED ALL YOUR MOUTHS WITH THE MONEY YOUR FATHER AND I MAKE?! AND NOW YOU"VE GONE AND LOST THE ONLY JOB THAT…"
"I still have the bookstore Mom, and the cafeteria duty," quipped Malcolm into the phone, before holding it out again.
"…INTERRUPT ME WHEN I TALK. NOW WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?! YOUR FATHER AND I ARE NOT SENDING ANY CASH IF THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE GETTING FROM TELLING ME THIS…"
Placing the phone gently onto his desk with a wince, Malcolm crept over to Freddy and sat beside him, Lois's voice still bouncing of the walls.
"You know that it is physically impossible for anyone to scream that loud, right?" Freddy whispered.
Malcolm stared dejectedly at the phone and was mumbling in reply, more to himself than his mother.
"…not my fault. They had to let me go because…"
"…PENNILESS. YOUR FATHER IS GOING TO BE SO DISAPPOINTED IN YOU…"
"…Don't need any money. They gave me three months worth of..."
"…WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT YOU? LOOK AT REESE , ALSO A JANITOR AND HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM KEEPING HIS JOB…"
"… of course, he's the only janitor they have…"
"…NEXT TIME I CALL I EXPECT YOU TO HAVE ANOTHER JOB THAT IS JUST AS RESPECTABLE AND PAY JUST AS MUCH. I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE TO GROVEL AND BEG. IF THEY STILL WON'T GIVE YOU A JOB, TELL THEM TO TALK TO ME!"
And with that, the sound of the phone crashing into a receiver marked the descent of a sudden, unearthly silence that blanketed upon the room. Malcolm looked at Freddy, a trace of a smile beginning to take shape on his lips.
Now there is no way I can't get a job. Mom will make sure of that.
"I'd love to meet your Mom some day," croaked Freddy, his face pulled into an expression that can only be described as pure, unadulterated awe.
They always say that at first.
Francis smiled as he walked into his house, taking in the delicious aroma's wafting in from the kitchen.
"I'm home," he called out.
"I'm in here," replied Piama from the bedroom.
Francis frowned, stopping in his tracks. From the sounds of it, someone was definitely in the kitchen cooking up a storm.
And doing a good job of it too, Francis thought.
Walking towards his room, the sight that greeted him was enough to make him smile again. Piama was bending down to pick up a pen she had dropped from the floor, her back facing the door.
Francis whistled.
Piama retrieved the pen and made a show of rolling her eyes, the edges of her mouth twitching. She was dressed in an orange, tight fitting t-shirt and a brown colored, knee length skirt.
Leaning in for a quick kiss, Francis couldn't help but notice a peculiar expression on her face.
"I invited Reese over for dinner and he insisted I let him cook," Piama noticed Francis's look of disbelief and continued, "says he needs it to…calm himself down."
"Calm down? Why? What happened?" there was more than a hint of concern in his voice right now.
Anything that was enough to upset Reese to make him prepare dinner for anyone willingly without a bribe or blackmail deserves a certain degree of attention, not to mention a whole truckload of concern.
"I'll tell you over dinner. Reese seems to be going all out Asian tonight," smiled Piama before slipping past him to go to the living room, not catching the worried expression on Francis's face.
All out Asian…, Francis thought. This is definitely not good. Smells great though.
Reese stirred the curry powder into the saucepan that already contained sautéed onions, garlic, cinnamon sticks and star anise. He then added a little water, making it into a brown paste before adding a dash of paprika.
"Need any help?" chirped Piama behind him. She had called him a few hours ago at noon to ask if he knew more about Lois's condition. He had replied in such a melancholic manner that Piama became concerned enough to invite him over for dinner.
"Nah, I'm fine," replied Reese, his voice cracking from not being used in the last two hours or so, "check the chicken for me will ya?"
Piama peered into the oven where Reese was grilling the chicken parts.
"Looking good. What is it?"
"Chicken."
"I know it's chicken. I mean what are you grilling it with."
Reese sighed. In a monotone, he answered, "The chicken is cut into small parts to quicken the cooking process. It was seasoned with salt, turmeric, fennel seeds and cumin before being grilled in the oven on medium heat. After it is grilled half done, it will be added to this curry I'm making along with red chilies, potatoes, eggplant and carrots to make Malayan style chicken curry. Fresh coconut milk will be added in the last minute to add a creamy texture as well as a more wholesome flavor. Now leave."
"Wow…" muttered Piama as she glanced over his shoulder, ignoring the last two words he said.
"What else are we having?"
Again, Reese answered in a monotone, as if what he was saying had been drilled into him from the moment he could remember, "Basmati rice mixed with coriander, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, ghee and a couple strings of saffron is being boiled in the rice cooker I brought. It should be ready soon and all I'll need to do is to add the chili oil and cashew nuts. Itwill be eaten with the curry I'm making right now."
Even before Piama can take in all he had said, or the smells emanating from the rice cooker which was at the corner emitting small clouds of steam, Reese began to describe all the dishes he had in store for them.
"After I set the curry to a simmer, I will mix the minced lamb I have with slices of ginger, chopped Chinese mushrooms, cubed potatoes, spring onion, light soy sauce and sesame oil. It will be left to stand for fifteen minutes before I wrap them up in spring roll pastry and deep fry them to a golden crisp. I also have some Shanghai greens for me to stir fry with some garlic, onions, red chilies, prawns seasoned with oyster sauce, salt and a bit of shrimp paste."
"Urm…Reese? I'm not sure if I have-" Piama started, gazing at her pantry with a slightly uncertain look in her eyes.
"I picked up most of it already," Reese huffed before continuing, "For desert, I have mango pudding with cashew and raisins setting in the refrigerator. Later I will scald some water and sugar over high heat and pour it over the pudding to caramelize and sprinkle it with mint. I already boiled the green tea."
Piama stared at Reese with a mixture of wonder and delight in her face before happily proclaiming, "Francis is going to be so happy!!"
Just then, Francis walked into the kitchen but Piama jumped on him without even giving him time to greet his brother.
"Oh Francis," Piama was giddy with excitement, "you won't believe what your brother is doing, he's squeezing the whole of Asia into the menu …" her voice trailed off as she dragged Francis by the arm into the dining area to set the table, "…from India to China and all the bits in between…"
Don't bet on it, Reese told Piama inwardly, thinking about his mother. Reese was right. Francis did not know whether to laugh or cry, torn between the news of his mother's pregnancy and Piama's insistence that they get a dog to cover up her lie.
Dewey sulkily slid into the backseat of the car as Hal opened the front door to let himself in. Jamie was already seated beside him, a small soft toy in his hands he had probably picked up from an unguarded baby pram at the tracks.
For Dewey, it had been one of the lousiest days he had had to experience. Considering his family background, it was saying quite a lot. Of course, he had been excited when his father told him they would be spending the whole day at the racetracks. Jamie, not exactly sure what to expect, had gone along quietly.
But I certainly hadn't planned on watching cars drive around in circles for the whole day, Dewey thought to himself.
Hal had been too engrossed with the tracks to notice his restlessness after the first two hours. And also the fact that Jamie had gone missing after the third. Dewey had spent a good part of the whole day winding through crowds of sweaty, smelly spectators and into stalls and the various restrooms found at the racetrack looking for his little brother.
He had been on the verge of panicking when he overheard a mechanic telling his friend about how a small boy was brought to the medic tent for injuries. Fearing the worst, he had walked all the way across the stands to the white tent only to discover that the boy they were talking about was not Jamie. In fact, he had been on his way back to where he left his father when he heard a commotion behind him. Turning around, he saw Jamie holding out what looked like a large piece of colored cloth to him, running away after Dewey took it. Moments later, a large woman with a large hole in her skirt waddled up angrily to him. Putting two and two together, he had fled.
He ran back to Hal who was carrying Jamie up onto his shoulders, laughing away. When he saw Dewey, he frowned, saying, "I expected better of you Dewey, running around like that without telling me. Good thing Jamie here stayed put or we would all be in a fix."
Sitting in the car, arms crossed up in front of him, Dewey's mood was not getting any better. I bet I wasn't that much trouble when I was his age.
Jamie who was beside him, staring with large shiny brown eyes, slid closer to him and tried to hug his elder brother.
Dewey smiled faintly, leaning into the hug, before saying, "Don't worry, you'll only be my personal slave for a few more months. I'm still making you tie my shoelaces though."
"Oh, and hugging doesn't work on me and Malcolm. Reese is the one I told you about remember? It'll confuse him so much…"
In the front, Hal was rejoicing. We should do this more often. I'll bring Lois next time, give her a break.
Please……review…...whatever crap………..I'm writing…….