Ben Gaston stormed into house and threw his book bag onto the floor. With an effort, he pulled off his off track running shoes and tossed them into the foyer.
“Mom! I’m home! I can’t stay for dinner! Kelly bought tickets for the matinee, so we have to go like right away!”
Ben ran into the kitchen and sees his mother tending to a boiling pot on the stove. He opened the refrigerator to see what he could grab.
“I think I will just grab an apple and a cheese stick. I know, you want me to eat a full meal, but don’t worry. I will grab something from the concessions.”
When his mother wouldn’t respond, Ben rolled his eyes. “All right! Geez! I know you think that concession stand stuff is crap and a filled with salt and high fructose corn syrup, and all that garbage! But, at least that stuff taste’s better soy bean this and tofu that! Ugh! I hate that crap. What are you cooking?”
When his mother did not answer him for the second time, he finally looked at her carefully. She was going through the motions of stirring the contents in the boiling water with a wooden spoon. She watched the contents carefully without emotion.
“Mom? Is everything all right?”
Laura Gaston did not look her son in the eye. She continued to stare at the boiling pot. Ben looked into the pot and could not identify the strange items being tossed around by the flotsam and jetsam of hot water and electrical heat.
“What are you cooking there, mom?”
For the first time in the conversation, Laura Gaston turned to face her son. “It’s edamame. It’s Japanese.”
Ben groaned. “Edamame? More soy? C’mon mom!”
Laura Gaston turned off the heat. As the two watched the water bubbles subside, Ben noticed something odd. In a sea of green, he saw one yellow pod being tossed around. The yellow pod was also a lot larger than the others.
“What’s with the yellow one? You should probably throw it away.”
Laura picked up the yellow pod with her fingers which surprised Ben because that pod was probably still quite hot. He noticed that his mother did not even react to the heat.
“Actually, the yellow ones are quite nutritious. They are quite special. You should try it.”
“No thanks, mom. I hate those things. They are waxy and weird. “
“No, they are not weird. They are exotic. They are beautiful. They are quite powerful … nutrition-wise. I’ve been eating them all day. I feel great.”
Ben stared at the yellow pod for a bit. It seemed to have a weird glow about it. As a rule, he hated all soy products. He hated steamed soybeans as much as he hated boiled green peas. They just felt weird when you chewed them.
“Ben, you should bring Kelly for dinner this week. We will have an Asian buffet night. Perhaps she would like to east sushi and edamame. Or, perhaps one of your other friends.”
“Mom, do you have like a year supply of this stuff?”
Laura paused and said, “No. I just thought your friends might like to have dinner here.”
Ben sensed his mother’s unusual mood. He didn’t like to see her this way.
“No, thanks man. I gotta go. Kelly is waiting for me. See ya!”
Before Laura could protest, Ben was out the door in a flash. She continued to stare at the yellow pod. It was strangely soft to the touch. She placed the yellow pod on the counter top. Laura considered the oversized yellow edamame for a bit. She ran her finger from end of the pod to the other in a soft caress. In response to her touch, the yellow pod pulsated, its body rising and falling as if taking a breath.
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This is a fun story! I chose this installment because of the tension you got into this scene. You stay very present here - and there's a delicious sense of creepiness. I just love the final image, Laura caressing the pod, it's body rising & falling - terrific!
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