That afternoon, Nadine was in the boarding house kitchen.
The small kitchen at the back of the building was empty. There was no one there besides her. Nadine stood in front of the table, taking the ingredients out of the plastic bag she had just brought back from the market.
Several pieces of chicken, shallots, garlic, chilies, sweet soy sauce, and the other seasonings she needed were already on the table.
That afternoon, Nadine planned to make sweet soy chicken.
Not because she was an especially talented cook. She had simply chosen the dish because it was easy enough and didn't require too many ingredients. As long as it wasn't too salty and the chicken was cooked through, Nadine considered the meal a success.
After washing the chicken, Nadine began preparing the seasonings. She peeled the shallots and garlic, then placed them on the cutting board.
She had only peeled a few cloves when her eyes began to sting.
Nadine rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Annoying.”
She went back to work. The knife in her hand began slicing the onions one by one. But before Nadine had been busy with her cooking for long, footsteps sounded from the hallway.
At first, she didn't pay much attention.
Until someone stopped in front of the kitchen door.
“Cooking?”
Nadine turned around.
Rafka stood there.
“Yeah.”
“What are you making?”
Nadine pointed at the ingredients on the table.
“Sweet soy chicken.”
Rafka looked over the table in front of him.
“That’s a lot.”
“It’s nothing special.”
“For yourself?”
Nadine nodded.
Rafka then entered the kitchen and stood a short distance from her. Nadine went back to slicing onions, while he continued looking at the ingredients arranged on the table.
“Can you cook?” he asked.
“A little.”
“Does ‘a little’ mean enough to cook the food through, or just enough to make a mess of the kitchen?”
Nadine stopped moving her hand.
She turned to him.
“Very funny.”
Rafka chuckled.
“I’m kidding.”
Nadine went back to her work. A few moments later, though, she realized Rafka was still standing in the same spot.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
“I was going to the kitchen anyway.”
“What for?”
“To find something to eat.”
Nadine turned to him again.
“There’s no food?”
“There is.”
“Then?”
“Too lazy to cook.”
Nadine nodded as if she understood. But instead of leaving, Rafka stepped closer to the table.
“Can I help?”
Nadine looked at him.
“You know how?”
“I’m decent.”
Nadine gave a small smile.
“Does ‘decent’ mean enough to cook the food through, or just enough to make a mess of the kitchen?”
This time, Rafka fell silent.
Nadine went on,
“Very funny.”
Rafka shook his head with a laugh.
“So, can I or not?”
Nadine looked at the ingredients she still needed to prepare. She could do it herself, really. But she didn't mind Rafka's presence, even though he had done nothing but stand there the whole time.
“Sure.”
Rafka immediately pulled out one of the chairs and sat down beside the table.
“What should I do?”
Nadine took a few cloves of garlic and placed them in front of him.
“Peel these.”
“That’s all?”
“If you want something harder, later.”
Rafka picked up the garlic.
“All right, Chef.”
“Don’t start.”
The kitchen fell silent again.
The only sounds were the knife tapping against the cutting board and the onion skins occasionally dropping onto the table. Nadine continued preparing the seasonings, while Rafka peeled the garlic with surprising seriousness.
Once all the ingredients were ready, Nadine turned on the stove. She poured a little oil into the pan and waited for it to heat up before adding the sliced onions.
The aroma of the sautéing onions gradually filled the kitchen.
“That smells good,” Rafka said.
“It’s just sautéed onions.”
“Yeah, but it still smells good.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
“Why?”
“I’d hate for you to be disappointed.”
Rafka laughed.
“Even if it doesn’t taste good, I’ll still eat it.”
Nadine turned to him.
“Why?”
“I already helped.”
Nadine looked at him for a few moments before turning her attention back to the pan.
“That doesn’t mean I’m inviting you to eat.”
“Huh?”
“I’m kidding.”
“Not funny.”
This time, Nadine was the one to chuckle.
That afternoon, the meal Nadine had originally planned to make just for herself became something else.
In the small kitchen that had previously held only one person, Rafka was now busy peeling garlic beside her.
And somehow, once again, it had all happened just like that.
Without any planning.
As if being in the same place was gradually becoming something more and more ordinary for them.