feast (completed)

42. sun-dried

Months after they moved to their new house, Rj woke up to a different smell in the air. It was both inviting and disgusting at the same time. Almost every morning and particularly on weekends, Rj could almost already tell what breakfast would be as soon as he awoke in the morning. Meng always made it a point to serve a heavier breakfast on weekends so rice and all kinds of breakfast meats became 'standard fare' at the weekend breakfast table.

Familiar to Rj were the smell of garlic especially when Meng made 'sinangag' for breakfast, chocolate when she prepared champorado, the sweet and creamy smell of pancakes, the distinct aroma of fried bacon, and the familiar smell of coffee in the morning. This time however, the smell of coffee seemed to be fighting with this particular strong smell which he couldn't quite figure out.

He stepped into the bathroom to prepare for the day and soon the air was filled with the smell of shampoo, soap, water, and a slight hint of menthol from the toothpaste. Their bedroom smelled of his cologne. He fixed the bed before stepping out of the bedroom where he was greeted again with that strong smell.

"What the heck is that?" Rj complained as he walked to the kitchen where Meng was busy preparing their breakfast.

"Good morning" Meng greeted Rj and kissed him on the cheek. He was peering toward the stove as Meng passed him to put a bowl of food on the table.

"Good morning" Rj replied. "What's that? What's that smell?"

"Ahh...champorado..."

"No, it doesn't smell like champorado..." Rj said as he sat at the table and looked at the food that was there. One thing both he and Meng wanted to instill in the children was that they had to eat what was served and to try things first before deciding they didn't like it.

Meng joined him at the table after giving him his mug of coffee.

"Thanks." Rj replied when he saw the mug beside him. "Why don't you have a bowl?" he said when he noticed that Meng's place setting didn't look like the others on the table which had bowls.

"Ahh, mag-s-sinangag ako..." Meng said as she once again stood up from the table and brought her plate with her.

Rj wondered why Meng did this and noticed that she had gone out to the 'dirty kitchen' behind the kitchen and dining area where he was seated. Meng came back a few minutes later with a plate of piping hot rice and she was using her fingers to pick up the rice and blow at it before putting it in her mouth. He watched as she skillfully pulled at the 'meat' on her plate before adding it to a mound of rice she made with her fingers and feeding herself.

"What's that?" Rj asked again when Meng sat back down at the table.

"...champorado!" Dea shouted as she ran into the kitchen.

"Hmm?" Rj said.

"Oh, good morning Ahtay! Good morning Mama!" Dea said as she kissed and hugged her parents before sitting down at the table.

Soon after, ChiChi and Chuckie toddled into the kitchen with Melay. Melay picked up ChiChi first and strapped her into her highchair followed by Chuckie. Soon, all the kids had their bowls filled with champorado.

"Mama, can I have a little of that please?" Dea pointed to Meng's plate and Meng gave Dea a little of her food. "Sprinkle it here please..." Dea said as she pointed to her bowl.

Rj observed them curiously. After a few seconds, he scooped some rice from Meng's plate and put it in his mouth. He chewed slowly, trying to analyse the flavors in his mouth. Meng watched him in anticipation.

"O ano?" She asked.

"Well...I like the rice...it's not oily and slightly salty..." Rj said.

"Eto, subukan mo." Meng said as she fed him a mound of rice with some 'ulam'.

"Whoa! Why is it saltier?"

"Yan ang tuyo..eto o..." Meng held up a small dried fish.

"Tooh-yow?"

"Naalala mo, nung una tayo nagkakilala?"

"In the office cafeteria...."

"Oo...kumakain kami nina Nanay at Dino ng lunch nung nag-order ka ng lunch mo. Ang sabi mo, gusto mong kumain ng kinakain namin..."

"You looked like you were really enjoying your food" Rj recalled.

"Oo naman. Favorite namin nina Nanay itong tuyo lalo na pag sinasawsaw sa maanghang na suka..."

"Wait...I remember getting curious about tooh-yow..."

"Oo...nagpupumilit kang sumama sa palengke para bumili ng tuyo...."

"...and Yaya Gloria said she couldn't cook tooh-yow in the condo..."

"Oo, kasi masyadong maamoy..."

"...we went to the pah-leng-kay...I got sick..."

"...at sinumpa mong di ka na aapak sa palengke..." Meng giggled.

"Hmm...but this tooh-yow...it's..."

"Maalat at mabaho..."

"Yeah...but even if it's mah-bah-hoe, I like the saltiness..." Rj smiled. He ate some champorado after watching Dea enjoy a spoonful of the porridge with a piece of dried fish sitting atop. "...mmm! This is also good!" Rj exclaimed. He immediately finished his bowl of champorado. "Yaya, can I have some of the fried rice please?" He requested. "Can you teach me how to use my hands?" he turned to Meng who began putting bits of dried fish on Rj's plate.