“Holy – ! That was fast. I think you might have set the
record for the fastest mac and cheese on the planet.”
Emily stared at the plate as Dani handed it over. There were
cuts of cheese melted into rectangular pieces on the plate. At
least ten of them. “Um…what is this?” she asked, trying not to
smile.
Dani grinned. “It’s mac and cheese minus the mac.”
Emily couldn’t take it. She burst into a fit of giggles and had
to collapse on the couch to keep herself from falling over and
dropping the plate.
Dani passed over a fork. “I knew that would make you
laugh, but more importantly, it’s good. Try it. You don’t need
the mac or bread or any of that. Just good old melted cheese.
It’s the best around the edges, where it got really fried and
crispy.”
Emily dug her fork under a piece and brought it to her
mouth. The cheese was warm and gooey and came up in long
strands. She closed her mouth around it and chewed. It was
kind of gummy at first, but the taste, she had to admit, was a
ten. It was especially good around the edges, on the crisper
bits. Was anything better than aged cheese, all sharp and tangy
and greasy? If this is what it meant to eat your feelings, Emily
was definitely down.
“Oh wow.” She set the fork down and gave Dani a thumbs-
up. “This is amazing.”
Dani winked. “I know.”
“Hey, I had a thought earlier, before all the crazy stuff
happened.”
“Tell me,” Dani pressed, seeming intrigued, like she really
wanted to know. Emily wasn’t used to seeing people so eager