justwrite 23 november

Ryan is trying to keep it together. His mother is not home yet, Emily is apparently starving, and he is In Charge.

This likely means that there are three possible meal options for dinner.

1. Macaroni and cheese. This is always a successful choice with Emily, which is important when their mother is not around to encourage them to behave appropriately. Ryan is not always thrilled with this choice, but it’s easy. Their mother usually isn’t too worried about this one either way, but she does make sure that their boxed mac and cheese supply is of whole grain noodles and low-fat cheesestuffs. Also, she insists on the addition of something green to this meal. Mixed-in peas or broccoli are the standard greens. Sometimes they have lettuce instead, but this is mostly always the white-ish kind of icy lettuce, so Ryan doesn’t really see how that counts.

2. Something Ryan saw on TV on the cooking channel or online. This is Ryan’s favorite choice, as it means that he has a great deal of flexibility, as well as the chance to pleasantly surprise the other members of his family. Plus, it’s usually true that the other two will not have seen this dish before, so he has the opportunity to fudge the original design as necessary. Emily usually either loves or hates these meals. Their mother will usually nod pleasantly while trying Ryan’s creations, and will only be concerned about the potential messes involved in such experimentation.

3. Fast food or take-out procured from an establishment somewhere along their mother’s way home. This is sometimes the tastiest option—pizza, Wendy’s, Chinese—but it’s also the most unpredictable. This option is only available if their mother calls and offers to pick it up on her way back from work. Also, due to a series of double-dinner mix-ups, the rule is now that she must call before 5:30, and if she hasn’t called by then, Ryan needs to make other dinner arrangements. Emily likes option three. Ryan finds it challenging, due to the scheduling difficulty presented. Their mom usually arranges it as some sort of apology or reward meal, as it’s the only one of the late-home mom options that requires any work from her.

It’s now 5:25. The options are about to dwindle.