In the cheery red and white tiled kitchen, a girl in her mid twenties was digging frantically through the cupboards. Her neatly done up brown hair was rapidly turning into a frizzy mess. “Cody! Where did you put the colander?”

Cody, damp blonde hair escaping from the towel wrapped around her head, peeked in through the door. “You yelled, Melissa?”

“Yes, when you put the dishes away last night, where did you put the colander?” Melissa demanded.

“The what?”

“Noodle strainer,” Melissa clarified irritably.

“Sorry, I didn’t know we’d named the noodle strainer,” Cody said. She pulled it out of the cupboard above the ‘fridge and handed it to her roommate.

“Why is it full of candy?”

Cody shrugged. “The candy dish was full.”

“Of what?” Melissa demanded. She grabbed a plain bowl, dumped the candy in, and strained her noodles over the sink.

“Of butter,” Cody replied.

“Then where is the––Never mind! New rule: you don’t help.”

“Fine!” Cody exclaimed.

Melissa stirred the beef and white sauce into the pasta and covered it. “And keep Mr. Sniffles in the bedroom. We don’t need him eating everything while our backs are turned.”

Cody frowned. “Where is that darn cat, anyway?”

Melissa sighed in annoyance. “Cody! Curtis and Joey are going to be here any minute! Dinner still isn’t done––”

“Fine, fine, I’ll find the cat,” Cody interrupted. She hurried out of the kitchen, calling, “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”

Melissa opened the oven to check on the pumpkin pie. She frowned. “What in the––” She stuck her hand in and frowned even more. “Cody!” She dashed out of the kitchen.

They both hurried back in a few minutes later, Melissa scowling and Cody sighing. They gathered around the stove. Cody tried a few knobs and waited for it to heat. “Yep. Definitely broken.”

“What are we going to do?” Melissa demanded.

“Order out?” Cody suggested.

“Never!”

“Well, what then?”

“We’ve got the salad and the pasta. If I can get a repairman to come and fix it in the next hour, we’ll still have––” She was cut off by the door buzzer.

“Dial,” Cody said, handing her the phone, “I’ll get the door. Maybe it’s a psychic repairman.”

“I wish,” Melissa muttered as she dragged the phone book down and dialed the closest repair shop. “Hello? My stove’s broken. I need someone out here to fix it right away. Uh, yeah,” Melissa read him the model and serial number. “Well, I don’t know! If I knew anything about stoves I wouldn’t be calling, would I?! No, it can’t wait. No. No! I’ve got dinner guests arriving right now! What? Well, put me on with him then! Hello? Yes. It’s not heating. I really need it fixed in the next hour or so. Yes. Thank you! Thank you so much. We’re three blocks away. Uh-huh. No, on 37th. Yep. Yep. Hillside Apartments. Number 307. Okay. God bless you, sir.” Melissa hung up with a sigh of relief. “Cody?” she called. “I found someone to…” she trailed off as Cody ushered a sobbing woman into the kitchen. The resemblance to Cody was unmistakable.

“Melissa, you remember my sister, Brittany.”

Melissa gave the woman a strained smile. “How could I forget last Christmas?”

Brittany sobbed again and collapsed onto the stool. “Everybody hates me!” she wailed.

Cody cleared her throat. “Brit’s having a bit of a crisis,” Cody explained, patting her sister’s shoulder.

“Eric’s cheating on me!” Brittany sobbed.

“Cody, can I talk to you for a minute?” Melissa said.

Cody caught the look Melissa was giving her. “Brit, why don’t you go lay down on the couch,” she suggested.

Brittany nodded and trotted slowly out of the kitchen. As soon as Brit was out of earshot, Melissa whirled on Cody. “She can’t be here. Not tonight!”

“I don’t want her here, either. But I can’t just throw her out. She’s my sister!” Cody lowered her voice. “I know you still blame her for what happened with Mark. But…you know, it takes two to kiss. He wasn’t right for you, anyway.”

“Well, it only takes one to ruin my dinner party.”

“What am I supposed to do? Lock her in the bedroom with Mr. Sniffles?” she shot back.

Melissa shrugged. “Not a bad idea.”

“I was being sarcastic!” Cody exclaimed.

Their conversation was cut short by the door buzzer.

“I hope it’s the repairman,” Melissa muttered, marching out.

Cody sighed and leaned on the counter. Her gaze fell to the noodles next to her. She tried one. “Mmm. Not bad.”

“Cody,” Melissa called, “It’s Joey.”

Cody pulled the towel off her head and hurried out, trying to smooth her hair as much as possible.

After a few minutes, the cupboard under the sink creaked open and a furry black, white, and orange head poked out. Seeing that the coast was clear, Mr. Sniffles leapt up onto the counter and trotted over to the salad bowl. He began to paw at the saran wrap covering it until he could fit his head through. He munched happily until he heard footsteps approaching. Quickly, he leapt back down and disappeared back under the sink, clawing at the door until it was almost closed.

Melissa bustled in and walked over to the food she’d carefully laid out. Seeing the Mr. Sniffles-sized hole in the salad, she bellowed out, “Mr. Sniffles! I’m going to kill you!” She whirled angrily and collided with someone. She looked up into a handsome face with warm brown eyes.

“Uh, hi,” the man said, awkwardly. He held up a toolbox. “I’m here about the stove.”

“Right,” Melissa said. “Sorry. Cat troubles,” Melissa explained.

“Ah,” the man said, “say no more.”

“Well…the stove’s right over here, Mr. uh––”

“Doug. Just Doug.” He smiled winningly and opened the stove.

“Oh, here. Sorry,” Melissa said, pulling out the uncooked pumpkin pie and setting it on top of the stove.

“Well, thanks,” Doug said. “I think I can take it from here. I’ll let you get back to, uh, Mr. Sniffles.”

Melissa thought she caught a grin before his head disappeared into the stove.

“Hey, Melissa…” Cody stopped short as she caught sight of the rear end sticking out of their stove. She cocked her head to one side, admiring the view with a little smile. “Hello.”

Melissa smacked her on the arm. “Did you need something, Cody?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, your boyfriend’s here and he, uh, brought a…friend.”

“Friend?” Melissa asked. “What do you mean ‘friend’?”

Cody winced. “You should see this yourself.”

Frowning, Melissa left the room. Leaving Cody to admire the view.

Melissa stormed back in a minute later, “What kind of a jerk brings a date to his own girlfriend’s dinner party?!” she demanded angrily.

“Maybe it’s not what you think?” Cody suggested.

“Oh no, of course not! She’s his long lost, sluttily-dressed, supermodel sister!”

Just then, the object of their conversation himself strolled in. He looked perfect, as usual, not a blonde hair out of place on his perfectly combed––if somewhat thick––head.

“Hello, Curtis,” Cody said.

He ignored her. “Mel, what’s wrong?” he asked, innocently.

“Oh, I think I hear Brit calling,” Cody remarked, retreating quickly from the kitchen.

Melissa shoved Curtis. “Jerk!”

“What did I do?”

“What did you do?” Melissa exclaimed. “What did you do!? You brought a date to my dinner party!!”

“Date? Julia? No, no, she’s just my secretary.”

“Oh really? That’s what your secretary looks like?” Melissa demanded. “I’ll remember that the next time you work late!” She went to shove him again, but he captured her arms.

“Come on, Mel,” he said. “You know I love you. I just…felt sorry for her. Her mom just died. She’s all alone at her house every night. She’s a really nice girl. I bet you’d like her,” he kissed her, “if you got to know her a little.”

Melissa sighed and smiled. “Okay, okay. Help me set the table.”

“Sure, babe,” Curtis said. “But, uh, first, I was hoping we could talk about that recommendation from your company. It’d really go a long way with the investors.”

Melissa kissed him and handed him a stack of plates. “After dinner,” she said. “Now, come on.”

Doug sat up as they left, breathing a sigh of relief. He tried the oven: still nothing. He grabbed a screwdriver and ducked back into the oven as Cody and Joey entered the kitchen. Joey was the exact opposite of Cody: brown hair and blue eyes to her blonde hair and green eyes. “So,” Joey said, “I finally got to meet someone in your family.”

Cody laughed dryly. “You can see why I was reluctant.”

“Oh come on,” Joey said, “she doesn’t seem that bad. She seems sweet, kind of hysterical at the moment, but sweet.”

“She’s always doing this!” Cody said, jumping up to sit on the counter. “You know why she’s so upset?”

“She thinks her boyfriend’s cheating on her,” Joey said. “She told me.”

“Yeah, and do you know why she thinks that? He didn’t call her tonight. He missed one stupid call!”

“Maybe there’s more to it than that,” Joey suggested.

“No, that’s just it! This is what she does. It’s what she always does. She uses any excuse to make some big drama. Everything has to be about her.”

“Calm down,” Joey soothed. “Have you tried talking to her about this? Maybe she doesn’t realize she’s doing it.”

Cody shook her head. “She’d just turn it into some hysterical fit about how nobody likes her.”

“You might be surprised.”

Cody shook her head and jumped down. “You don’t know her like I do. She’s so…err!”

“Alright, alright,” Joey soothed. “Nothing has to be solved tonight. Let’s go join the others.”

Melissa called in, “Hey, can you two bring out the pasta?”

Joey grabbed the pasta and moved to go. Cody pulled him back and kissed him quickly.

Doug, who had been awkwardly pretending not to listen, crawled out as the couple left. He came face to face with a small, multicolored head. “Mr. Sniffles, I presume,” Doug said.

“Meow,” the cat replied and retreated back into the cupboard.

Just then, Melissa strode in with a wine bottle. She began rummaging noisily through the drawers, muttering. “Darn it, darn it, darn it. Cody, where did you put that cork screw?”

Finally, Doug got up and took the bottle from her. “Here,” he said, prying the cork off with his pliers.

“Thanks,” Melissa said, smiling shyly.

“You’re very welcome,” Doug replied.

They stood awkwardly for a moment.

“Well,” Doug said, clearing his throat, “I better, uh…get back to it.”

“Yeah. Yeah, me too.” She grabbed five wine glasses and left.

Five whole minutes passed in silence before Brittany came storming in. She was closely followed by Joey. Brit huffed and opened the china cabinet. She grabbed a wine glass, slamming it shut.

“Look,” Joey said. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”

“No, she just forgot me!” Brittany shot back.

“Well, she wasn’t expecting you, right?”

“Oh, so it’s my fault?” she demanded.

“No––”

“No, no, everything’s my fault. That’s fine!”

“That’s not what I––”

“You don’t know what it’s like,” she cried. “Everyone ignores me. No one cares about how I feel.”

“That’s not true,” Joey assured her. “Cody cares about you. I care––”

“You care about me?” Brittany asked. She took a step closer.

“Uh, well, sure,” Joey stuttered, stumbling back into the ‘fridge. He cleared his throat. “Listen, you’ve got to try and sympathize with how other people feel.”

“Uh-huh,” Brit said, stepping even closer. Joey jumped as she trailed a finger down his chest. “And how do you feel?” She kissed him.

“Brittany!!” It was Cody’s outraged screech. She dragged her sister away from her boyfriend.

“Oh sure,” Brittany sobbed, “blame everything on me! Everything’s my fa––”

Cody slapped her across the face. “You always do this! Well, not this time. You always set yourself up as the martyr so that you can get the attention. Well guess what, you aren’t the victim. No one feels sorry for you because you do this to yourself!”

“How do you know he didn’t kiss me?” Brittany demanded.

“Because he wouldn’t do that to me,” Cody shot back. “He loves me. Unlike you. All you’ve ever cared about is yourself!”

Brittany burst into tears and fled the room. Cody stormed after her. “Go easy, Cody,” Joey begged, following her.

And then there was silence. In the kitchen, at least. The indistinct screaming from the other room was muffled for the most part. Mr. Sniffles crept out and leapt quietly onto the counter. This time, his prey was the uncooked pumpkin pie sitting unsuspectingly on the stove. He paused as he heard a tremendous crash from the other room. More indistinct yelling followed and Mr. Sniffles went back to his pie.

Curtis and Julia hurried into the kitchen. “Whew!” Curtis remarked. “I love a good cat fight.” The unnoticed Mr. Sniffles looked up for a moment, but went back to eating.

“Let’s go home, baby,” Julia begged, pouting. “I don’t wanna be here anymore.”

“I told you,” he said. “I can’t break up with her until she gets me that recommendation. After that, I’m all yours.” He kissed her. “You didn’t have to come, you know.”

“I like spending time with you,” Julia replied, kissing his neck.

“And that reminds me,” Curtis said, “I told her your mom just died, so act…sad, okay?”

Julia pouted.

“Okay?” Curtis persisted, wrapping his arms around her.

“Okay,” Julia replied. “I’ll try.”

“Good. It won’t be for much longer. I promise.”

Just then, Melissa walked in. She stopped, seeing her boyfriend holding another woman, and gaped.

“Mel, I can explain,” Curtis said quickly. “I-It’s not what it looks like, I swear. It’s just that she was upset and I was trying to make her feel better.”

“That’s all,” Julia added.

“Really, baby, I swear.”

Doug stood up. “Sorry to interrupt, ma’am, but that’s a flat out lie.”

“Stay out of this!” Curtis exclaimed.

Doug ignored him. “He and the girl have been carrying on the whole time they’ve been in here. He said something about leaving you after he got some recommendation”

Curtis glared at Doug and Melissa glared at Curtis.

“You jerk!” Melissa exclaimed. “All this time all you cared about was that stupid recommendation. Well, guess what, YOU’RE NOT GETTING IT!!”

Curtis’s face contorted with rage. He advanced on Melissa. “Oh, I’m getting the recommendation you stupid––”

Doug suddenly decked him in the jaw. Curtis hit the floor with a dull thud. Julia gasped and knelt at his side. “Are you alright, baby?”

Curtis sat up, wiggling his jaw. “You’ll pay for that,” he hissed at Doug, glaring up at him.

“No, he won’t,” Melissa declared. “Now take your bimbo and get out of my house!”

Curtis was suddenly pitiful and contrite. “Mel, I––”

“Now!” Melissa yelled.

“Fine, whatever.” Curtis looked at Julia. “Help me up. We’re leaving.” Julia pulled him up and they trudged toward the door.

“Julia,” Melissa called after her. The woman paused. “He was using me. You should ask yourself, what’s he using you for.”

Julia scoffed and looked down at her tight, low cut dress. “Isn’t it obvious.”

Melissa scoffed. “Fair enough,” she muttered as they left. She turned to Doug.

“Sorry about that,” he said, rubbing his hand.

“Don’t apologize, you just saved me from making a big mistake.” She took his hand and examined it. “You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”

“He’s got a hard head, but I’ll be alright.” Their eyes met and Doug was suddenly aware that she was still holding his hand. “Well,” he said quickly. “I finally got the stove working.” He turned to show her and jumped back as Mr. Sniffles––more orange than usual––leapt out of the empty pie pan and scurried away.

Melissa burst into tears.

“Oh, come on now,” Doug said awkwardly. “Don’t cry.” He looked frantically around. “Here,” he grabbed a dish towel from the rack and held it out to her. Melissa sniffled and looked at it questioningly. “No handkerchief,” he explained.

Melissa laughed softly and wiped her eyes on the towel. “Thanks.” She collapsed onto a stool. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to cry. It’s just, I wanted everything to be perfect. It’s my first dinner party. And we didn’t even eat dinner! The cat ate the salad and the pie, and thanks to Brittany, my pasta’s all over the dining room wall. Three of my dinner guests have stormed out. Granted, two weren’t even invited…” She sniffled again.

“Well, you’ve still got your friend,” Doug reminded her. “And her boyfriend. And a really well fed cat.”

Melissa chuckled in spite of herself. “And one very sweet repairman.”

Doug ducked his head in embarrassment.

Cody and Joey entered then. Cody was grinning. “Did you punch Curtis?” she asked Melissa.

“I did,” Doug confessed.

“Nice shot,” Cody said, sitting down next to Melissa. “Right in the mouth. Maybe he’ll keep it shut for a while.”

“It would cut down on the lying,” Melissa agreed.

“What happened to the pie?” Joey asked, holding up the empty dish.

“Mr. Sniffles,” Melissa replied.

Cody winced. “Sorry, Melissa.”

“No, it’s okay. Dinner was ruined long before that.” Melissa sighed and laid her head down on the counter. I guess I should have given up when the stove broke.”

“No!” Cody exclaimed, jumping up. “Dinner isn’t ruined.” She opened the freezer. “We’ve got…” She rummaged through and produced a green bag. “Frozen peas!! Your all-time favorite. And we’ve got vanilla ice cream, which is my all time favorite.”

“Got any chocolate sauce?” Joey asked.

Cody shook her head. “Chocolate is for the dull.” She pulled out a jar from the ‘fridge. “Salsa is what goes best on vanilla ice cream.”

“You’re an odd duck,” Joey said, kissing her. “Well, we’ve got frozen peas and salsa and ice cream. The makings of a great dinner party.”

“Okay, okay,” Melissa relented.

“I’ll get the bowls,” Cody declared. She looked slyly at Doug. “Will you be staying for dinner?”

“No, no,” Doug said, “I should get going.”

“No, stay!” Melissa exclaimed. “I mean, after all, you did scare my date off.”

Doug grinned. “Okay, then, Mel, wasn’t it?”

Melissa grimaced. “I hate that nickname. Call me Melissa.”

“Melissa, I accept,” Doug said. He sat down. “I’ll have my ice cream without salsa, if you don’t mind.”

Melissa looked up as Mr. Sniffles leapt up onto the counter. She smiled. “Come on, Mr. Sniffles. Have some peas.” The cat meowed happily and Melissa poured him a bowl.

 

The End