Michael

by Jobe

Chapter 7

Church was great. I really enjoy it. Of course I see Michael out of the corner of my eye and when I look in his direction he's gone.

Nohr did a great job at this morning's service. His grand parents stopped and talked to aunty. I stood by aunty as they talked. His grandfather asked me how the crabbing was doing. While aunty and his grandmother talked, "The crabbing was good. I didn't get a chance to catch any fish for today but I did get a good haul of crabs. So if I don't miss my guess, today's lunch will be crabs."

"Those crabs are good to eat. Nohr brought home fish so we'll have fried fish. I shouldn't eat too much fried food but fried fish is one of my favorite. I got the taste when I was in England. I was attached to our Embassy there and I really developed a taste for fried fish. Mother makes an excellent battered fried fish. One of these days I'll ask Nohr to bring you over for dinner. You can judge for yourself."

"Thank you sir, I'd like that very much."

"Come along Father if you want lunch we better get going."

"Good bye sir, I'll see that you get a good load of fish next week."

"What are you talking about, I'm the one that does all of the hard work."

"Yes, but I know the secret to getting a good catch."

Laughing we said good bye. "Nohr's grandparents seem like a nice couple. I've been invited for a lunch of fried fish. I think his grandfather has fallen in love with the English fish and chips."

"What are chips, certainly not potato chips."

"Chips means french fries and crisps means potato chips. I had a boy in my class from England and he told us about some of the food they eat."

"How are we going to fix those crabs? I never cooked them before."

"I'll check when we go home, but I think you can boil them or put them in the oven."

When we got home, I looked up the preparation of crabs in a few cook books. The simplest way was to boil them but a tasty way was to bake them in a sauce. I suggested that to aunty, she read the recipe and off she went. I began doing my homework until dinner was ready.

When they were cooked, I checked the book again to see how to eat them. They showed a picture of a man lifting the back shell and pulling meat from the cavity. I took one and tried it, the shell moved easily and sure enough you could see the crab meat. I took some with a fork and it was very tasty. I watch aunty try it, "This is very good."

Crab was now on the menu. I finished my homework, and started to look through the cook book for other recipes involving crab. Couldn't find too many and some of the crabs pictured weren't the ones we caught. "The next time we see Nohr's grandparents we need to ask them how they cook the crabs. I never tasted them in the States so I have no idea how to prepare them except for the way we did. Maybe we should try steaming them next time."

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