It was four in the afternoon, just an hour more before Carey’s shift was over. Everyone in the production line was moving at the speed of light, trying to finish the job for the day. It was also the weekend. Most people were either going out for fun or just spending another quiet weekend at home, just like Carey.
After a short drive outside of town, Carey arrived at an old ranch home sitting on an acreage surrounded by corn fields and a couple of dairy farms.
Carey loved her home and Zedy, her five-year-old Belgian Malinois, who kept her company when her husband was away. Her home was the only place she would rather be, and Zedy was the only being she would rather be with. But then, there was Paul, her part-time husband.
Carey and Paul have been married for 25 years. They didn’t have kids together; Paul has three adult kids from prior marriages. Carey didn’t have any of her own.
Paul drove semi trucks across the country. He stayed home every two or three weekends to do his laundry, eat a hot meal, and sometimes bed his wife when he got sloppy drunk. Then, back on the road the following morning for his next haul.
Carey knew she needed to make a hearty meal for dinner. She thought of Venison Meatloaf, one of Paul’s favorites. This was the dish she made for dinner the night Paul asked her for forgiveness. She forgave him.
She gathered all the ingredients, took out the ground venison meat that had been thawing in the fridge for three days and started cooking. Their freezer chest in the basement was still half-full of venison and elk meat. Carey has grown accustomed to the taste of wild game meat. She was married to a hunter.
The meatloaf was all prepped and ready to go into the oven. Carey set the timer to 45 minutes to bake the meatloaf. She popped a bottle of unopened Merlot from the wine rack of her china hutch cabinet and filled up a wine glass halfway. Then she started cleaning up the mess on the counters and washing up a few dishes while taking a sip of her favorite red.
She used to adore Paul, especially during the last twenty years. After she caught him running around with a barfly in town five years ago, her affection for him had gone cold.
Everyone in her life had advised her to divorce Paul; once a cheater, always a cheater, as they said. But Carey decided to stay with him, not because of her love for Paul. She forgave him because she wanted to free herself from that love and focus more on loving herself.
A few minutes later, the oven timer went off, and the meatloaf was done. Carey made mashed potatoes and heated up some frozen corn to complete the meal. Everything was ready for dinner, she just needed to sit down, finish her glass of red, and wait for Paul to arrive. She turned the television on and started watching some random shows; she dozed off afterward.
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Six Tastes Kitchen 