“Steak and potatoes,” Harvey said, never looking up. Eilene stood at the hot stove with a cast iron skillet warming on the front burner. The ritual began.
“Again?” She asked. ”That’s what you’ve wanted every night now for a solid week. Don’t you ever want anything different?” She scooped a spoonful of lard out of the can and dropped it into the skillet.
“Nope. That’s what I want.” His tone was steady and certain. He picked up the knife and fork on either side of his plate and began to sharpen them against one another. His thick gray mustache twitched a bit with the sound of the grating metal but he kept it up nonetheless.
“Will you stop that racket?” Eilene demanded, plopping a piece of meat in the hot pan. You know, you haven’t asked me what I want.” She paused, took a backwards glance at the man sitting at the table and turned back to her cooking.
“Okay, Ellie — what do you want?” She knew he was teasing when he called her Ellie but she played along.
“Come to think of it — I would like a fish platter with white beans and hushpuppies. Maybe some onion slices on the side and a baked potato.”
Harvey suppressed a laugh. Eilene wasn’t quite finished.
“Then for dessert a big bowl of shortcake with sun-warmed strawberries just out of the field, and covered on top with cream.”
Harvey didn’t try to suppress his laughter this time. In fact, his tall, skinny frame shook so hard his chair rattled against the floor. Eilene put her hands to her hips. ”Don’t go laughing at me, Harvey Taylor Wilson. At least I have some imagination. All you want is plain steak and potatoes.”
The room fell silent except for the sizzling coming from the skillet. Harvey stiffened in his chair after Eilene called him by his full name. He didn’t mean to get her riled, but he couldn’t help but laugh at her nonsense, especially when the smell of reality penetrated his nostrils.
Before long, though, fifty-two years of marriage let them ease any tension between them. Harvey relaxed into an easy posture. Eilene focused again on her cooking, gently applying her years of expertise to the food before her. Harvey told her a long time ago she could make a skunk have a sweet savor if she put her mind to it. He made her believe it was true.
She fixed Harvey’s plate first, then her own. They sat across from one another, passing a gentle look between them. Harvey blessed the meal.
“Hope your fish dinner is fine and fresh dear,” Harvey said. Eilene gave him a knowing smile. With that, they each cut into their Spam and took a bite.
Sheila R. Pierson is a stay-at-home mom of two boys; she is happily married and enjoys writing as often as she can. She has always written because she loves writing and has only recently began to pursue being published. She has decided to take a few chances in life.
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25 Responses to “STEAK AND POTATOES • by Sheila R. Pierson”
Comments
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September 14th, 2009 at 3:18 am
Waht are hushpuppies? They’re shoes here… Somehow I knew neither of them was having steak! Made me smile
September 14th, 2009 at 3:39 am
I loved it. Big smile over my morning coffee.
September 14th, 2009 at 4:24 am
Loved it! They were well adjusted to the reality.
September 14th, 2009 at 5:19 am
I enjoyed Steak & Potatoes. The quick read was a great way to start the morning! I have been married 52 years so I could relate to this story. It made me smile.
September 14th, 2009 at 5:57 am
Not bad, the ending was nice. But I felt this was more of a character sketch than a story.
September 14th, 2009 at 7:03 am
What a lovely slice of life.
September 14th, 2009 at 7:40 am
I liked this story, though I feel a little sad for them that they’re only eating spam.
Oonah, hush puppies are a type of fried corn dough, according to Google.
September 14th, 2009 at 8:20 am
“the smell of reality penetrated his nostrils” This sentence jumped out for me. Yes, reality bites. I enjoyed the underlying tenderness between the husband and wife.
September 14th, 2009 at 9:16 am
OMG…hushpuppies are a yummy southern food kind of like fried cornbread! This was funny and I liked the twist at the end!
September 14th, 2009 at 9:27 am
I’ve been married for 59 years. Maybe that’s why I thoughth this was such a beautiful little story. Or maybe it’s just because it is–beautiful, that is.
September 14th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Fantastic! Having eaten Spam many nights on a limited budget, we had our kids thinking it WAS steak!…Great Story.
September 14th, 2009 at 11:34 am
I like how you’ve showed the relationship between them.
September 14th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Thanks for the info, Angela!
September 14th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Aww! This is a cute story, and well written too.
September 14th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I also loved the line: “the smell of reality penetrated his nostrils”.
A fun read, and a re-read shows you did an excellent job of letting the reader know what was coming, with subtle hints of reality.
September 14th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Great job. Well done
September 14th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
You guys were kidding about hush puppies, right? Blackened trout, hush puppies, maybe collared greens… I love the South.
I really enjoyed this story. Liked the little surprise at the end. Reminds me of my pantry. I tried to give it 4 stars, but I’m always voting after midnight, and I don’t think that gets counted.
September 15th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Christopher, votes always get counted, even weeks and months after the story is first published. The rating that you see is an average of all the ratings given to the story, so your one vote may not visibly change it all that much unless you’re one of the first few to vote.
September 15th, 2009 at 1:20 am
Sorry, but this doesn’t do it for me. It’s not a story, but a character drawing, and although beautifully written and you get a real sense of the characters, I found it rather ‘twee’. (Is that a really English word? – overly cutesy, maybe).
September 15th, 2009 at 5:11 am
I so appreciate the positive comments and always welcome feedback. Thank you everybody! This has been a great experience for me and I am humbled that people I don’t even know would read something I wrote.
September 15th, 2009 at 6:41 am
Christopher Floyd Says: “maybe collared greens”
I’m sorry, I didn’t know they were ordaining vegetables nowadays. I can’t help it, I just get this mental image of a stalk of broccoli with a black and white clerical collar. Hmmm … maybe there’s a story idea in there somewhere …
I believe the word you want is “collard.”
September 15th, 2009 at 11:05 am
A nicely written and entertaining short story. I also enjoyed the ending. It reminded me once again of the blessings so many of us possess, and not appreciate, and how many less fortunate, find their own blessings in more humble ways.
Good Job Sheila!
papa john
September 15th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Methinks this story could have been better served with some flavor in the scene: a taste of their poverty perhaps to season the ending. For me, it was okay.
–John
September 15th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
When I read this story it makes me smile and think back when you were a little girl. Spam was actually fried and served at our house (even though I don’t recall you eating any). Great job, we are looking forward to reading your next story.
Mom
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:43 am
The story had me interested until the end the first time I read it through. The second read through was even more delightful because I found how you kept the story consistent, but didn’t actually give anything away. Awesome!