Raymundo rang DJ’s doorbell. Penny, his wife, opened the door, head half turned, "Looks like Dada," she looked at Raymundo. "Oh. It's you." She sighed. "So DJ isn't with you?"
"Not this time." Raymundo said.
"Well, then." She put one hand on her hip, the other still holding the door. "What do you want?" Chris gurgled from somewhere in the house and Penny instinctively turned back.
"Can I..." The gurgle turned into a scream.
"Come in." Penny turned and walked quickly towards the kitchen. "I'm coming Chris!" Raymundo closed the door behind him and ambled after Penny. "Oh cack!" Raymundo stood in the kitchen doorway and watched as Penny picked up her son from the high chair, with poop on his legs, up his back, and on the high chair.
"Listen, my parents are coming for dinner, and if I have to listen to my mother tell me one more time how she managed to work full time, raise four kids, and have dinner on the table by seven every single night, I am going to go crazy." Penny's blond hair started falling from her bun when she whipped her head towards Raymundo. "So, wash your hands and get chopping."
Without another word Penny carried the sniffling baby Chris out of the kitchen.
"I owe you one." Penny returned, bouncing a clean and happy Chris on her hip. "Or maybe this is you owing me one for all the late nights DJ has been spending with you."
"The latter." Raymundo picked up the cutting board, diced celery in a pile and looked at Penny. She pointed to the large pot on the stove.
"So... What have you and DJ been doing?" Raymundo watched the tiny pieces of celery join other vegetables in the pot, taking the opportunity to stir it with a ladle.
"Oh, nothing crazy." Raymundo shrugged.
Penny put a hand on Raymundo's shoulder and spun him around. Brown eyes narrowed, her posture stiff, she stared up at him while Chris gurgled in his high chair.
"Tell me the truth." Penny used her judge voice, the most authoritative tone she had. Raymundo may have been the one loosely holding a knife and cutting board in one hand, but he was the one scared.
Raymundo swallowed. "You know, guy stuff." She raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. "Keeping me company through my quarter life crisis." He blurted.
"Oh." Penny sighed. "Well, if that's all, why don't you let me set you up with Becky?"
"Uh," Raymundo blinked. "Does she like science fiction?"
Penny groaned. "Is it you who sent my husband on a spiral to see every single alien invasion movie ever made?"
"Not on purpose."
"Good." Penny relaxed and took the cutting board and knife from him. "Stay for dinner. I'll give you Becky's number after."
"Okay." There was no use arguing with Penny, especially as she had the knife back in her hand and was chopping onions like a professional chef.
Word count: 493
