“Peter?” Mitzy eases down the pot cover.
“Yes, babe.” Peter drops the Sunday Gleaner in the living-room sofa and jumps up. He joins Mitzy in the kitchen, by the stove.
“What is this?” Mitzy points to the pot that’s bubbling and popping on the front burner.
“Cornmeal porridge,” he answers like it’s a stupid question.
Mitzy looks perplexed. “Don’t cornmeal porridge supposed to yellow?”
“Says who?”
“Ahhm, says most people.” Mitzy peeps inside the pot again. “What exactly did you put in here?”
“Well,” Peter grins, “Cornmeal.”
“ . . . Right.”
“Nutmeg.”
“ . . . Right.”
“Vanilla.”
“ . . . Uh-huh.”
“Cinnamon leaf.”
“ . . . Okay.”
“Coconut milk.”
“ . . . Okay.”
“Salt.”
“ . . . Right.”
Peter shrugs. He usually shrugs when he’s doesn’t quite feel like explaining anymore or doesn’t have an explanation.
Mitzy puts her arms akimbo and widens her eyes at him.
“Oh! Pepper sauce.”
Mitzy knots her eyebrows.
“To give it a kick.”
“ . . . A hear you. What else?”
“Tin corn.”
” . . . And?” She gesticulates for him to hurry up.
“Oats.”
Mitzy exhales loudly and pushes out her mouth at him.
“ . . . Ohhh! Cho! Molasses.”
“That explains the colour.”
He shoots her a toothy smile.
“Hon?”
“Yes, babes.”
“Why yuh make so much?”
“For you, me and the kids.”
“Peter.” She holds her side and laughs like joke pop up in her head and sweet her. “ You know seh is you and me alone eating this today.”
©Dionne Brown 2016
Notes:
- In Jamaica, when something “sweet you”, it means it has made you very happy, over the moon with gladness, bubble over with laughter.
Acknowledgement:
Image “Brown Bowl with Spoon on Wooden Background” courtesy of bugtiger at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Snapshots of Jamaican Living 