Sue's Hot and Spicy Week

Sue’s Hot and Spicy Week.

One sunny morning, Sue was sitting at her dining table in her quiet unit, eating her breakfast. Sue was on a week’s holiday from work and she was wondering what she would do to enjoy the break. She watched Pepper, her pet cat running around the room and climbing up the frame. After 10 minutes Pepper lay down on her cat bed and fell asleep, and Sue looked at him fondly. He had been her companion for a number of years and helped her recover from a very difficult time in her life after suffering abuse at the hands of an ex- partner. When Sue was not working and visiting friends she would sit quietly at home with Pepper who often snuggled up to her on the lounge.

Sue received a phone call from Angie, her vivacious friend, that evening. She invited Sue to come to her house for lunch, the next day. Angie loved to cook, and Sue knew it would be a delicious meal. She immediately told Angie she would love to come for a visit and thanked her for the invitation. As she drove up to Angie’s house she heard Fido, her dog, barking loudly. Every time she visited, it would bark, and try to jump up on her. Angie would laugh but Sue did not see the funny side. This was the only negative aspect of visiting Angie. Luckily Angie’s husband, Fred, sensed her nervousness and took Fido outside before he went back to work. Fred was very different to Angie and he was very relaxed and sensitive to his surroundings.

Sue and Angie went into the kitchen and Sue saw the ingredients for lunch lined up on the bench. Angie told her, “We are going to have Chicken Curry Laksa for lunch. I always order it at the Tai restaurant. Like all Tai food it is hot and spicy and it will tingle your taste buds and burn your mouth but I know you will love it.” Angie named all the ingredients on the bench. There was chicken, Laksa Paste, Coconut Milk, Fink Sauce, Tofu, Spices and a number of different vegetables including carrots which had been sliced, ready to be cooked with the other ingredients. Sue hadn’t read a Chicken Curry Laksa and she was waiting to see how Angie cooked it. Angie combined the ingredients and poured the sauce into the pan where it simmered. Then she poured it on the cooked rice, put the chicken on top and put some into two bowls. The meal was ready. Angie had continued to talk to Sue as she prepared lunch. She was excited to explain each step in preparing the Chicken Laksa and she wanted Sue to be able to cook the meal for herself. Sue tried to concentrate but at times she lost track of the instructions. She would have to get a written recipe if she wanted to prepare it in the future.

Sue and Angie sat down at the kitchen table and started eating the meal. Angie said, “Bon Appetite”. Sue found that the Laksa was very hot and it did burn her mouth. She didn’t want to disappoint Angie and she managed to finish the meal drinking lots of water in between mouthfuls. The meal fitted perfectly with Angie’s spicy character. After the meal Sue loaded the dishwasher and then they sat down in the lounge room. Sue looked at the walls filled with artwork depicting scenes of people participating in active sports. Angie told her that she had recently gone skydiving which was exciting and intense. She showed Sue a video on her phone of a skydiver jumping from the plane, flying through the air and landing on the ground. Sue imagined herself doing this extreme sport with panic and total anxiety. Before she left, Angie invited her to a music festival where they could listen to the performers and join in the dancing. Sue would have the opportunity to meet some of Angie’s friends.

A week later Angie drove Sue to the Music Festival. She parked the car, and they walked into the Community Hall. Sue and Angie sat down near the stage with Angie’s friends. Sue was sitting next to a couple and they started a conversation. Sue found out that they had lived in the same suburb, near the centre of Adelaide, where she had resided with her ex- partner. They had moved to Wollongong when John had been transferred there for work. They agreed that it was a small world. Donna told Sue that she missed Adelaide and her family and friends but the move was necessary for John to keep his job. Donna was in the process of looking for work and they wanted to purchase a house and move out of the small unit they were renting. Sue enjoyed meeting the couple and the other friends. Socializing was good therapy for Sue and helped her realize that there were a lot of good people in the community.

The musicians started playing and the singer, standing in front of the band began raising his voice in song. As the concert went on, the music became louder and livier and the audience was invited to come to the front of the stage and dance to the music. Angie stood up and hurried towards the band. She began to dance with the other people from the audience. Keeping with her personality she swayed quickly to the music and began waving her arms. As she increased the pace the band cheered, and the audience followed in unison. Angie was setting the whole hall alight with merriment and Sue would never forget this evening spent with her friend.

Sue had had a Hot and Spicy Week with a combination of a loud energetic dog jumping on her, a hot spicy meal, a view of a skydiving activity and watching Angie entertaining everyone with her vivacious dance moves. This was far removed from her usual calm sedentary routine with Pepper. She realised that Angie and herself had very different personalities, but they could still be close friends.