Thanks for the Meal

The sounds of a sharp click of polished heels could be heard echoing through the otherwise silent halls of the maximum-security prison. A young woman could be seen walking through the hallway. Eventually, she reached a steel door guarded by one man.

“Jennifer Rhodil. Here under government contract.”

The guard stepped aside and gestured toward the door. Jennifer approached it, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

Contrasting the oppressive atmosphere outside, what awaited her within was a cozy living room with a nice flowery smell. The room’s sole occupant, a gentlemanly-looking man, wearing a black and white suit, sat comfortably on the couch with a warm smile on his face.

His name was Matthew, also known as the ‘Virtuoso’. It had been 5 years since he turned himself in to the authorities. And despite years of investigation, remarkably little was ever uncovered about him. They knew only what the public knew, he was a serial killer who transformed his victims into works of ‘art’, leaving them on display for the world to see.

As his notoriety spread, he gained a large following of admirers. And before long, admiration became obsession, and that obsession led to a cult named “Gallery”. He and his cult stirred chaos within the country. And his influence was only growing stronger by the day.

And yet, the man responsible for it all now sat before her without a care in the world, as if today wasn’t the day of his execution.

The moment Matthew saw Jennifer, his eyes lit up. “Welcome back honey, I missed you so very much,” he said as he opened up his arms as if he was expecting a warm embrace.

Jennifer clenched her fist for one moment. Then she flashed a bright smile.

“Hi darling, I am back!” she said as she forced herself to run up to Matthew and enter his embrace.

A while later, the pair sat on the couch, with Matthew resting his head on Jennifer’s lap.

“Oh, how dreadful these past few years had been, my dear Jenny, I had to be cooped up in this boring place, with nothing to do and the only thing keeping me sane through it all was the thought of how happy I would be once you returned to me,” he said as he lovingly caressed Jennifer’s cheeks.

Jennifer’s eyes twitched ever so slightly. “You poor man. Well don’t worry, I’m here now. And I’ll make sure to reward that patience of yours with the best meal you’ve ever had.”

Jennifer twitched her legs. But Matthew simply settled even more comfortably in her lap. “Aww c’mon dear Jenny, no need to rush.”

His smile remained. “After all, only one of us has something good to look forward to after your meal.”

Jennifer glared at Matthew viciously, before switching to a pretty smile. “Oh, alright. Then tell me darling, what would you like to do now?”

Matthew pondered for a moment. “Darling hmm? That word feels so empty right now. Tell me dear... would it hurt to call me by name?”

“Matthew...”

“Good. I was afraid you’d forgotten,” Matthew said with a smile. “Now then... remind me, what am I to you?”

“...”

“Yes?”

“... my husband.”

Matthew went silent for a moment. And then…

”Ha...Hahaha...!” Matthew laughed until tears welled in his eyes.

“Oh. Jenny... that was adorable.”

He let out a small sigh.

“People always say money can’t buy love” He glanced up at Jennifer. “Turns out forty million dollars is enough to rent it though.”

Matthew nonchalantly got up from Jennifer’s lap. “Oh well, I was getting tired of this charade anyway. You can drop the act now.”

“What? But... the contract…"

"The contract was made on my terms, and I insisted that this dinner is to be absolutely private, meaning whatever happens here stays between us," said Matthew. "So, don’t worry, just be yourself.”

“Okay then. One meal... then I am free to go right?” Jennifer asked, eyes fixed on him.

“Correction, a ‘full-course’ meal. Appetizer, main course, and dessert,” Matthew corrected.

Jennifer glared at Matthew. He merely smiled back.

“Don’t look at me like that. This is my last meal after all. I’d want it to feel as fulfilling as possible.”

Jennifer sighed. “Where’s the kitchen?”

“Right over there.”

Jennifer headed to the kitchen and started to cook.

Fifteen minutes later, Jennifer placed a bowl of guacamole and a bowl of tortilla chips on the dining table.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“Now where do you think you are going? A meal is never complete without good company to go with it. Please, sit down and talk with me, there are two chairs for a reason after all.”

Jennifer slowly took a seat across Matthew.

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Oh? There’s nothing about me that you wish to know about?”

Silence lingered as Matthew picked up a tortilla chip, scooped up a generous helping of guacamole onto it, then took a slow bite. He chewed thoughtfully, intending to savor each bite.

“Not talkative today, are you? That’s a shame, I remembered you being a lot more talkative back in high school.”

Jennifer stared at him. “And how would you know that?”

Matthew smiled as he scooped up another helping of guacamole onto a tortilla chip and stared at it. "You know, I always viewed a proper three course meal as the perfect metaphor for life."

He took a bite and chewed with precision.

"The appetizer is our 'childhood'. It's light, fresh, and pleasant. Just enough to awaken your curiosity about what life has to offer."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Patience, dear. All in due time." Matthew's face lit up as he remembered something. "Aah, I just remembered, I have something that I think you would really want to see."

Jennifer could only stare in confusion as Matthew took out a CD case. He inserted the disk into the CD player, picked up a remote and pressed play.

The CD showed a scene taking place during the night in an empty factory building where two people, Jennifer and Matthew, could be seen intimately kissing. As their lips parted, Jennifer was revealed to be wearing only a towel. Matthew smiled at her and gave her a nod. She gave back an earnest smile as she reached for her towel and then...

"Aaah!!!" Jennifer yelled as she fell to her knees, clutching her head.

Matthew, amused, pressed the pause button on the remote. "Well, did that answer your question?"

"What... are you talking about?" Jennifer muttered.

"You asked how I knew what you were like in high school." Matthew took out the CD. "Based on the contents of this CD, I'd say we knew each other pretty well."

Jennifer snapped. "I'd never willingly associate with a parasite like you!"

"Why, thank you."

"For what?"

Matthew scooped another helping of guacamole. "I was thinking that the guacamole lacked a little something.”

He looked up at Jennifer “Your words gave it the ‘spice’ it so desperately needed.” Matthew then ate it and chewed contently.

“You’re a monster.”

“I get that a lot. Anyway...” Matthew looked down at the nearly empty bowl of guacamole. “Thinking back on it, much like this bowl, my childhood was rather empty.”

Matthew absentmindedly stirred the remaining guacamole. “Spent much of it scavenging for whatever crumbs of joy I could find. A struggle I am sure you’ve never had to face.”

Jennifer glared at him. “What do you mean?”

Matthew smiled. “Put simply, dear... you were loved.” He counted off on his fingers. “Parents, classmates, teachers. Everywhere you went, affection and praise followed.”

Matthew stared at one final crumb of guacamole in his bowl. “Except for one.”

Jennifer’s expression stiffened.

“There was one person who refused to give you that same love.”

Matthew scooped up the last bit of the guacamole with his final tortilla chip. “You built your self-worth on other’s admiration. Because of that... you hated rejection, very badly.”

Matthew held the final chip between his fingers. “So... you’ve wanted to be rid of him,” he said as he threw the last chip into an open trash can.

The moment the chip fell to the trash can, something snapped inside Jennifer’s mind.

An abandoned warehouse.

Matthew’s applause echoing through the room.

Jennifer herself, arms covered in blood... bowing before him as she presented her ‘art’ to him.

A body.

What had been done to it was a blur to her, but what wasn’t a blur was the expression she wore that day.

Pure.

Unbridled.

Joy.

Jennifer stumbled backward and fell down while clutching her head. “I didn’t do anything!!!” She screamed.

Matthew watched her with a quiet amusement. “Well, I’d say that concludes the appetizer.” He smiled. “That guacamole was very delicious, honey.”

He knelt down and kissed her on the cheek.

“But before we continue, I believe you deserve a reward.”

Matthew showed her the CD containing their ‘intimate’ moment.

Crack.

He then split the CD in two.

“This memory should only be shared between the two of us, wouldn’t you agree?” He said, patting Jennifer’s head.

“That’s enough reminiscing. Childhood had run its course.”

Matthew stood up.

“Let’s see what your main course has to offer, shall we?” Matthew said as he offered his hand to Jennifer.

Jennifer slapped his hand away and stood up. Without another word, she turned toward the kitchen and started preparing the main course. She refused to allow Matthew the joy of seeing her break any further.

One hour later, Jennifer placed a plate of chicken fried steak in front of Matthew before taking her seat.

“So? What words of wisdom will you share with this lost sheep now, O great virtuoso?”

“Ooh...” Matthew’s eyes lit up. “You have expectations of me now, I’m honored,” he said with a pleased smile.

Matthew looked down at the steak, then picked up his knife and fork with elegance.

“How fitting actually,” he said as he cut into the steak. “Because the main course is our... ‘adulthood’.”

He lifted the first bite.

“And if there’s one word that defines adulthood...” He smiled. “It’s expectations.”

He then took his first bite and gestured to his knife and fork.

“When you reached adulthood, people expect you to hold your knife and fork the ‘correct’ way, and heaven forbid you find a way that suits you better.”

Matthew carved the steak into perfectly even pieces.

“And that’s merely one example. Dreams, careers, marriage, and children. One expectation after another,” he said as his fork drifted from one piece to the next.

“People always tell you that adulthood is about carving your own path.”

He gestured at his plate. “But to me, it looked more like being handed a plate filled with unwanted burdens and then expected to finish everything, whether you want to or not,” he said as he ate another piece.

Jennifer let out a dry laugh. “So, what? You couldn’t live up to those expectations, so you turned to murder and cults?”

Matthew smiled as he continued eating.

“An understandable interpretation, I simply prefer another. That I chose to pursue what brought joy to my previously empty life”

Matthew lifted another piece of steak and pointed it at Jennifer. “What about you? I may have abandoned society’s expectations. But you abandoned yourself to fulfill them.” Matthew's eyes met Jennifer’s as he ate.

Jennifer glared. “... You’re wrong.”

Matthew smirked. “Years after graduation, you became the owner of a rather large logistics company, a remarkable achievement.”

Matthew gave a round of applause.

“Then the economy declined. Your company began to sink. Desperate for funding, you married the owner of a trading company. A man who conveniently waited until after you were in too deep to reveal that he committed many illegal dealings.”

Jennifer sighed in defeat. “Not even going to ask how you know all of this. If your cult has enough influence to pressure the government into paying a civilian forty million dollars to endanger herself by getting near you. Digging up some dirt on me must have been child’s play.

Jennifer looked at Matthew. “So, if you were so happy... why surrender?”

“That’s a talk reserved for desserts. Speaking of which...”

Matthew gently placed his utensils down. “It seems the main course, and by extension, ‘adulthood’, is finished.”

Matthew stared at his empty plate “A shame, I was so engrossed in our conversation... that I never actually got to enjoy it.”

He smiled to himself. “How fitting.”

Matthew clapped his hands. “Now, time for another reward,” he said as he turned on the TV before sliding the remote across the table towards Jennifer.

The television displayed a live feed of Jennifer’s husband, shouting obscenities as he sat bound to a chair with a bomb strapped around his neck.

“May I direct your attention to the blue and red buttons on the remote?” Matthew said.

“I am sure you can guess what the two buttons are for.”

With little to no hesitation, Jennifer pressed the red button.

And then…

A flash of crimson engulfed the screen.

“Wow, instantly? He really has been awful to you, hasn’t he?”

Matthew shrugged. “Oh well, I suppose ending up as a messy sketch befits someone like him.”

He then looked at Jennifer. “Doesn’t matter who you are, you don’t take what’s already on someone else’s plate.”

Jennifer paid him no mind. Her attention was completely fixed on the memories erupting in her mind the moment she witnessed the explosion.

An amphitheater.

She and Matthew danced in perfect unison amid bursts of crimson.

Screams echoed around them.

Deafening at first. Then one by one, they fell silent.

And when the screams finally faded... she and Matthew shared a passionate kiss.

Jennifer jolted back to reality, her head throbbed violently. But to her surprise, the pain was becoming easier to accept.

Matthew observed as much. “Getting used to the memories, I take it?”

Jennifer slowly pushed herself to her feet. “I’ll... start making your dessert.”

Matthew nodded.

“It’s almost over, huh?” he muttered as he watched Jennifer cook.

Thirty minutes later, a single slice of chocolate lava cake was placed before Matthew.

Matthew picked up his fork and cut into the cake, warm chocolate flowed onto the plate.

“Aah dessert. The ‘final stage' of life.”

Jennifer looked at Matthew with uncertainty. “Matthew… who… am I?”

Matthew stared at the chocolate spreading on his plate. “For once, you stop thinking about the future. Instead, you start to look back and reflect on your life as a whole.“

Jennifer's breathing grew ragged. “These memories… the deaths… destruction… are they real?”

Matthew took a small bite and chewed slowly.

“You’d ask yourself. How do you feel? Was it all worth it? Did you satisfy your ego?”

Jennifer pressed her trembling hand against her temple. “Even now... memories of the things I ‘ve... done with you... kept popping up.”

Matthew looked up at the ceiling. “In my case, I’d say that I am pretty satisfied with my life, I’ve done what I set out to do and carved my art into the eyes of the world. And even when I am gone, Gallery will continue where I left off.”

With a joyful smile, he took another bite.

“Take your husband for example, they were the ones who made art out of him. Though I have to say, their work was rather... derivative of mine. Oh well, I can only hope they improve in the years to come,” he said as he slowly took another bite.

Jennifer sank to her knees, and she looked up at Matthew in desperation. “Please, tell me, was I... a part of Gallery?”

Matthew watched with a smile as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

Then, without warning, he cupped her face, looked into her eyes, and kissed her.

“Every time your pieces impressed me, I would kiss you just like this,” he whispered in her ear.

Jennifer’s expression crumbled, as she looked down on the ground.

Matthew took the final piece of chocolate, glanced at it for a moment, sighed, then ate it before setting his fork down.

He looked at Jennifer.

“So... do you remember everything now?”

Jennifer remained motionless.

Suddenly, her eyes began moving up until they met Matthew’s. Then... a familiar beaming smile appeared on her face.

“Hello... darling... I am back,” she said as she wrapped her arms around Matthew.

“Aah, that word finally feels warm again,” he said as he returned the hug.

“Now then, I believe it’s time for my final reward.”

Matthew took out a stainless-steel folding knife, then placed it in Jennifer’s hand.

Jennifer’s fingers traced the handle fondly. “Ah, the very knife you used to turn your father into your very first art piece. It’s been well taken care of”

Matthew smiled. “I find some tools to be too... important to simply replace.”

Jennifer chuckled softly. “So... is it really time?”

Matthew nodded. “The well started to run dry. Barely anything inspires me anymore.”

“That’s why you turned yourself in?” Jennifer asked.

Matthew shrugged. “I’ve had my fun, figured I might as well go out as a martyr for my Gallery.”

Jennifer glanced around the room. “Then… I am guessing the ‘last meal’ thing was only an excuse to bring me here.”

“What makes you so sure I didn’t simply want to enjoy my beloved’s cooking one last time?” Matthew asked with a playful smile.

Jennifer stared at the empty plates. “Darling... you’ve had ageusia since birth, you couldn’t taste a single thing I made.”

Matthew laughed. “Right... I forgot you knew.”

Matthew cleared his throat. “So then… my final art piece, will you help me complete it, honey?” he said as he gently held Jennifer’s hand.

Jennifer sighed, then smiled. “You know I’d do anything for you.”

Jennifer wrapped her arms around him, their lips met.

Then she rested her forehead against his and slowly raised her knife behind his back.

“Honey?”

“Yes, darling?”

Matthew closed his eyes in contentment.

“Thanks for the meal.”