My Happy Ending

Epilogue (Last Chapter )

                Too bright sunlight awoke me too early. I forced my eyes open with a groan. I scowled at the sun seeping through the window but my bad mood didn’t last long. I glanced at Noah’s naked figure asleep beside me and the corner of my mouth twitched up. Only lately had I realized how lucky I really was.

                I yawned and swung my feet over the side of the bed. I didn’t cover my yawn with my hand as I dragged my feet across the cold hardwood floor. I barely remember opening the door and walking downstairs.

                I was suddenly hungry. I realized very early in life that I couldn’t cook very many things without screwing up so I decided to go with a simple easy-bake bowl of mac-and-cheese. All I had to do was put it in the microwave then add the cheese thing once it was done. It couldn’t have been easier.

                Making a point to take the metal fork out of the small bowl, I pushed it into the microwave and set the timer for three minutes. Just last month I had almost burned the apartment down because I left the fork in my cold cup of coffee while I heated it up. I never expected it to burst into flames.

                You know, maybe I put Noah through too much. He has always has to deal with the random bursts of fire whenever I attempt to cook. As I nice girlfriend, I should share my snack with him, but at the same time, I was starving. Noah had been excited about something all week and changed the subject whenever I asked, so I took a peek at his calendar and today’s date was circled about twenty times in a horrible orange marker. He obviously didn’t want to forget today. The least I could do is start off his day with breakfast in bed.

                I sighed and watched the bowl spin around and around. I started to drum my fingers on the counter top. Microwave minutes are twice as long as any normal minute. It had to be at least five minutes since I put it in but the timer said there was still forty-five seconds left. But then again, time could seem to be going slower because I’m watching something heat up in the microwave with nothing else to do.

                Finally, the timer went off and I opened the door. Clouds of smoke exploded into my face making me cough and swipe my hands at the air around me. The smoke wasn’t thick enough to be from a huge fire, but it was still smoke. I grabbed the mac and cheese bowl, from which the smoke seemed to be coming from, but flinched back when the paper burned my fingers.

                The fire alarm went off and I groaned. Just what I needed. Soon enough I heard Noah’s running footsteps coming down the hall. He sped into the kitchen and sighed.

                “Again?” He asked with a sigh. I nodded and pointed at the smoking bowl of mac and cheese. He reached to pull it out but muttered a curse and sprang back when it burned his fingers as it did mine. I guess I should have warned him about that…

                He covered his hand with a towel he’d picked up off the counter and picked up the bowl. Instead of being yellow, the mac-and-cheese inside took a horrible black color.

                “You do know you’re supposed to add water to these things before you heat it up right?” Noah asked, sounding amused. I sighed and crossed my arms.

                “Anyone could have made the same mistake,” I said stubbornly. He chuckled and tossed it into the trash.

                “What am I going to do with you? You are a walking fire hazard,” He sighed. I glared at him.

                “I was making your breakfast!” I retorted, leaving out the part about how I planned to eat most of it myself.