Dinner at the Cox-Rogers House: November 16, 2014.
The Cox-Rogers House: Sarah, Barrett, and Oliver the Cat.
Location: Indian Hills, North Little Rock, Arkansas.
Menu: Healthy Corn Chowder (and some kind of bread that was good). Recipe here.
When I walk into the house, I hear Barrett say to Sarah—from the living room to the kitchen—“I don’t think Guy’s going to mind if your napkins don’t match.”
“It’s true, I won’t,” I tell her.
Barrett sits on the couch with the football game on. Oliver is planted firmly in his lap. Sarah is setting the table, walking back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room table. When I take a seat on the couch, Oliver steps curiously toward me. He seems to have eyed the strings on my hoodie. He stands on my chest and bats at them for a minute. He sniffs my facial hair, then walks into the kitchen. I follow him.
At the table, Barrett passes me a bowl full of jalapenos and suggests I add them to the chowder.
Barrett and Sarah talk about how early they wake up to go to the gym together. They get up before 5 a.m. They see the same people every day and seeing those same people holds them accountable, even if they rarely speak to them. They have nicknames for them. They know which retirees they can’t exercise beside because the smell of cologne is overpowering.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to take a shower before I go to the gym,” Barrett says.
Barrett and I get seconds and we use the bread to sop up what remains at the bottom of our bowls.
After dinner, we all take seats on the couch, Barrett and I watch the football game while Sarah sips at her white wine and uses her phone to keep us updated on the threatening winter weather.
“What color is the other team?” She asks as a way to remind us how unimportant football actually is. She decides to root for the blue team, the Colts. And then she picks out a DVD from a basket on the entertainment center and takes Oliver to the bedroom to watch a movie with her.
Just before halftime, Barrett shows me the radar and I decide to head back across the river before the snow gets to us.
No matter where you are, if you want to invite me to dinner, I’d love to come. In return, I’ll do my best to be a good conversationalist and document a small piece of your everyday life. I’m a fun dinner guest, people. Kids love me. I’ll give your pets a lot of attention. If you want to invite your newly divorced, mildly attractive friend over for dinner, too, so she can practice flirting with a single dude, I don’t care! I can do that for you.
I live in Little Rock, Arkansas, but I’ll keep a list and when I’m traveling in your area, I’d love to meet you and your family/roommates/cat and enjoy a home-cooked meal. Email me at gchoate17 (at) outlook [dot] com with the subject line: Dinner at Our House.
