Cornucopia

Mike lit down in front of the Westside apartment building. Some Cobra Lords nearby were giving him the evil eye. He ignored them for the moment.

Mike rang the doorbell for the third floor.  A woman  on the first floor peered out between a pair of ratty yellow curtains at him. He smiled a waved. She retreated.

The tall young man answered the door. “Hi,” he said, giving Mike a small smile.

“Hey,” Mike said.  “Is now a good time?”

“I was just doing some cleaning up,” said Teddy, letting Mike in. “Dad’s gone to work. Come on up.” Teddy lead the way up to the third floor. Mike avoided the dust bunnies and minor bits of trash and papers scattered on the stairs. He got to the third floor, and he opened the door to the apartment.

The apartment smelled of Lysol and cigarettes and stale beer. The door opened to a kitchenette, an old 50’s set of table and chairs. The chairs , with white plastic over their vinyl puffy backs, oozed stuffing through tears in the plastic and vinyl. The seat of the chairs were flat, obviously repaired from their original vinyl.

The walls were bare of any pictures, spice racks, or any kitchen decoration. The counters were cluttered with clean dishes, pots and pans. Teddy rushed over to the counter and put a stack of frying pans in the cupboard below.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“For what?”

“It’s a mess.”

Mike noted the soapy water in the sink, more clean dishes in the drainer. Mike smiled. “I’ve lived in much worse. We need to get the fridge out.”

“Move the fridge?” They glanced at the refrigerator, easily top of the line in 1970. It made a loud humming noise and when it stopped, the whole thing shuddered like it was cold.

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” said Mike. It might fall apart, being that the counter on its left and the wall on its right holding it together. “Let me see if I can get around back.” He looked at the crowded counter.

Teddy started to take the items off the counter and put them on the kitchen table. Mike waited, looking around. The place needed a woman’s touch. Through the kitchen was a living area, the curtains closed on a bay window that opened to the eastern side of the house to catch the morning sun. Again, there were no wall decorations except a few 8×10 pictures scattered like Mike would throw bones for divination.

“All set,” said Teddy.

Mike nodded. He climbed on the counter and squeezed his arm between the wall and the fridge. He couldn’t see in the dark, so he summoned up a wizard light behind there.

Among the exposed coils and insulation, was a flat surface he could draw his rune on. He pulled out his ever-present Sharpie and drew the rune. The fridge shuddered again as he ducked back out from the back, squashing the wizard light.

“Here’s how it works. Just say what you want, put your hand on the handle. Then give it a minute and open the door. Like this.” Mike put his hand on the handle. “Hot chocolate.”

He opened the door. A steaming white mug of hot chocolate in a mug sat on the empty shelf. “Do you like hot chocolate?”

Teddy’s jaw had dropped to the floor. Mike laughed, reached over and closed Teddy’s mouth with a tap of his hand on Teddy’s lower jaw. “That’s…”

“Amazing? Stupendous? Original?  Yeah, I know.”

Teddy blinked, and put his hand on the refrigerator handle. “T-bone steak.” He opened the door. A big, raw T-bone appeared. “Oh, wow.”

“So, no worries.” Mike patted Teddy’s shoulder. “Don’t make too much, because you can’t use this fridge to keep food anymore. Just make enough to use for a day.”

“Does it know how much?”

“Oh, sure, it measures your BMI.” He chuckled at Teddy’s look. “Just kidding. It does know, but don’t ask me how.”

“I…I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you?”

“Well, yeah.  Yeah, thank you.” He blushed slightly. Mike smiled at him. He was cute. But even though 16 was the age of consent in Michigan, Mike didn’t want to scare the 17 year old. He wasn’t looking for that kind of thing, anyway.

“Okay. I’ll let you go. Did Fold contact you?”

“I’m supposed to see him later.”

“Good. He’ll give you a training regimen, I’m sure. He’s big into training.”

“i’ll let you out.” Teddy escorted him downstairs. “Thank you. This is a big help.”

“Anytime, Teddy. That’s what we’re here for.” He saw the Cobra Lords, now multiplied to six from the two that were there before. “Excuse me,” he said, and proceeded to wipe the floor with them.