Page 34 of Controlled Burn

“I guess. I made a list of possible meals and wrote down what I would need to make them.”

“You don’t sound excited about it. Let me see the list.”

I went to the counter, picked up the list, and handed it over.

He studied it for a minute. “How are you going to store these for the week?”

I sighed and walked over to the cabinet beside my fridge and pulled it open. Then I stepped to the side and gave a dramatic wave down the shelves like I was a game show host showing off a prize. “I ordered all these off Amazon.”

I had divided containers, single-serve containers, aluminum containers you could cook in, and glass containers because I read somewhere it was bad to store your food in plastic.

“I see. Well, at least you have plenty of options.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “True enough.”

He gave the pages I’d handed him a shake. “So these are all pretty complicated. Do you think that maybe we should start with something a little simpler?”

“Maybe?”

“Let’s start with which vegetables you like.” He reached over, grabbed my pen off the counter, and flipped one of the pages over. “Broccoli?” I nodded, and he gave me an approving smile. “Brussel sprouts?” I held up my hand and rocked it back and forth in a so-so motion. “Okay, how about green beans? Fresh, not from a can?” I nodded again. “Potatoes?”

“Yeah, both white and sweet.”

“Awesome. How about squash?” He went through pretty much every vegetable he could think of, and in the end, we had a decent list. Then he did the same thing with meats.

“Okay. Do you have a grill?”

“No, I have an air fryer, though.”

“That’ll do. Maybe next week we’ll do this at my house so we can grill the meats. Now, did you check your calendar to make sure you didn’t have any plans this week?”

“No.” I pulled out my phone and checked it. “I just have book club on Friday night, but I remembered that.”

“Do you need to take anything for your book club?”

“I don’t. Whoever’s hosting that month provides the snacks.”

“Great, so you don’t have to worry about Friday. You have that rotisserie chicken that you can use for Monday and Tuesday for some simple rice bowls. Have you ever had pickled red onions?”

“I haven’t ever tried them.”

“They’re really good in a rice bowl with some avocado and sour cream.”

“That sounds like it would be tasty.”

He laid out some simple ideas he had for the rest of the meals, and I realized he was right. These didn’t just sound good, but they sounded simple to put together. A few minutes later, we had a plan and a list for the grocery store. And for the first time, instead of it feeling like a chore, I was looking forward to meal prepping.

Chapter 13

Caleb

I hurried out to my car to go to Livy’s house for book club. I hoped to get there early, to help her set everything up. Plus, Cole was coming this month, and I wanted to be there when he arrived so he would feel comfortable. We’d texted off and on since our ill-fated date, and I was right. We had a lot in common, and I thought we were going to be good friends.

I tossed the bag with the books for next month’s read in the passenger seat and inserted the key in the ignition. As I checked my phone, I grinned when I saw that I was doing pretty well on time. Go me. I turned the key, but nothing happened, because of course it didn’t. I let out a sigh and shook my head.

Naturally, this would happen today—the one day I felt like I actually had all my shit together. This was exactly why I always left early, but this wasn’t something leaving fifteen minutes early could fix. I knew a lot of things about a lot of things, but when it came to car trouble, I knew basically nothing. I did know when you put the key in the ignition and turned it, the car was supposed to start. Unfortunately, it looked like my car did not get the memo.

I pulled out my phone and considered my options. Livy would be busy setting up for book club. Joey rode a Vespa, and I had no urge to ride bitch on his scooter. Ezra had already mentioned he might be late because of work. And Toby and Jude would be riding together from the far side of town, so my options were limited, to say the least. I pulled up my dad’s contact and pressed Call. It rang a few times, and then he answered, “Hey, Caleb, what’s up?”

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