This is the fourteenth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, and Part XIII before continuing.
Back at Uncle Phil’s house, I tied Star to a fence post and ran inside.
Cordy barked and wagged her tail, somehow managing to convey both pleasure at seeing me and indignation at having been left behind.
It didn’t look like she had peed in the crate, but it was hard to tell for sure since she had knocked over her water bowl.
I would investigate further after our walk.
I took her for a quick walk, then refilled her water bowl and let her roam free around the house while I considered what to do for dinner. Considering Jen had let me leave early when they could have really used an extra pair of eyes, the least I could do was make dinner for everyone.
But Uncle Phil was not known for his cooking skills, which made me wonder what I would find in his fridge…
As expected, the fridge was bare of pretty much everything except eggs, bacon, cheese, and condiments. Not a fruit or vegetable in sight.
The freezer contained the expected frozen dinners. I did find some frozen ground beef, but I had no idea how old it was. I just hoped it wasn’t too old and had been well preserved in the freezer.
I threw it in the sink and ran cold water over it to try to get it to thaw.
Now I just needed something I could cook with the ground beef.
I searched the pantry, but just found more condiments.
I looked over the supplies again, waiting for inspiration to strike.
My eyes landed on a jar of salsa and I got an idea.
I would love to take credit for the fact that dinner was ready just as everyone was heading back, but the truth is I just got lucky. Still, I gave myself a mental pat on the back as I set the table.
“What’s all this?” Uncle Phil asked as he walked in the door.
“Dinner. I figured, since I had to leave early, the least I could do was make you all dinner.”
I could tell by the emotions warring on his face that he still wanted to yell at me, even though I had tried to make up for it.
“It’s OK. You can yell at me for bailing,” I said.
“Nah. You did what you said you were gonna do. There was no reason to expect you to stay out any longer.” He hesitated before adding, “And thank you for dinner. But why all the plates?”
“Aren’t Mike and Jen staying for dinner?”
“Doubt it. But we can ask.”
He went out to the gate where they were unsaddling the horses, presumably to invite them to stay for dinner. I pulled out a few condiments and toppings while I waited, and got an unpleasant surprise when I checked the sour cream. Several large circles of mold had bloomed across the top and it smelled like someone had died. I couldn’t get the lid on fast enough before tossing it in the trash can.
“What did you make,” Jen asked as she walked in.
“What my dad would call hamburger helper. I just cooked some ground beef with whatever I could find that I thought would go well with it. There’s salsa and beans. We don’t have cornbread, but we do have corn chips if you want to eat it like salsa, which is how I plan to eat.”
“Any chance you have sour cream,” asked Mike.
“Sorry. All out of sour cream.”
“What,” said Uncle Phil. “We have sour cream.”
“We absolutely do not.”
He checked the fridge. “What did you do with it?”
“Threw it in the trash.”
“It could still be good.”
“It’s not.”
He opened the lid and made a face similar to what I probably made when I first saw it. He looked at me and said, “Ew!”
I made a face and said “Blech!”
He said, “Ew!”
I said, “Blech!”
We went back and forth like that a couple more times until we were both laughing.
To be continued…