perfect recipe (4)

Damien blinked. “Uh, okay. What do you need?” She handed him a handwritten list: a loaf of crusty bread, a bottle of olive oil (“the good kind”), a wedge of Parmesan, and fresh basil. “You don’t already have basil?” Damien asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I like it fresh, not from some sad little jar,” she replied. “Now shoo!” With a resigned sigh, Damien grabbed his keys and headed to the nearest grocery store. He spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out which olive oil qualified as “the good kind” before eventually picking one that cost more than he was comfortable admitting.

When he returned, Grandma Lucille was waiting on the porch. “Perfect,” she said, inspecting the groceries. “Now, before we start cooking, my garden could use some weeding.” Damien froze. “Weeding? Grandma, I came here to cook.”