PART 1
“Has that man finally stopped his scrubbing? I cannot stand how the entire living room smells like a roadside tavern right now.”
I heard those words the instant I stepped over the threshold of my own house, my heavy suitcase suddenly feeling even heavier than it had when I dragged it through the airport. I had returned much sooner than planned from my extended business trip to Salt Lake City, where I had spent nearly a month closing a major logistics contract for the technology company where I work as a senior project director.
I was supposed to be gone for two full months, but since the project had moved ahead far faster than anyone expected, I decided to come home without warning and surprise my husband, Kyle. I never imagined that I would be the one left with my heart broken.
From the silent foyer of my home in the wealthy suburban edge of Scottsdale, I saw a scene that broke something inside me. My father, Norman, a man who had spent sixty-seven years working the land on a small farm in rural Nebraska, was down on his hands and knees on my polished hardwood floor.
He was desperately trying to clean up a huge spill of thick savory stew that had leaked out from a woven basket he had carried in, using only a worn-out kitchen rag. Around his knees were several broken eggs, a pile of flour tortillas wrapped in paper, and the remains of a shattered glass jar filled with his famous homemade preserves.
Relaxing on the velvet sofa as though they were watching some tacky reality program were my mother-in-law, Susan, and my sister-in-law, Heather. They were casually eating from a bowl of overpriced grapes while the morning news played on my television.
“Make sure you scrub that properly, Norman,” Heather remarked with a mocking, crooked grin. “Because Chloe tends to get incredibly pretentious and throws a fit if the house even hints at smelling like a farm.”
My mother-in-law gave a sharp, scornful laugh that sliced through the quiet of the room.
“I honestly told Kyle, why does his father have to keep dragging these ridiculous things over here? We do not need farm-fresh produce in a house like this. This kitchen has a fully stocked refrigerator and we certainly do not need those disgusting earthy smells lingering in the hallway.”
Read more on the next page >>
To see the complete cooking instructions, go to the next page or click the Open (>) button and don't forget to SHARE it with your friends on Facebook.
