The kitchen was on fire not literally, but close enough.
Spaghetti sauce was boiling violently on the stove, splattering red on the white tiles. The blender had just exploded mid-spin due to overheating, sending chunks of banana and protein powder across the counter. Meanwhile, Tayo stood frozen in the middle of everything happening he just froze., holding a raw egg like a ticking bomb. Confused about what was going on couldn't even do anything anymore.
He had promised his girlfriend he’d make dinner for their first anniversary. Something special. Something home-cooked. Something that wasn’t Indomie noodles and boiled egg, for once he tried to be a better man but everything doesn’t come easy it was his first time cooking.
Big mistake.
“This was supposed to be romantic,” he said to himself, lifting the egg and staring at it like it had personally betrayed him.
From the doorway, his younger brother Dimeji leaned in with a half-smile, earbuds dangling from one ear. “What… in the name of God is going on here?”
Tayo glared at him. “Get out. I’m serious.” He doesn't want his brother to see all the disaster happening in the kitchen
“I can see that,” Dimeji said, he had already been walking in anyway and was stepping over a puddle of something sticky on the floor. “Is that… peanut butter in the blender?” He said!
“Banana smoothie,” Tayo snapped. “It was for dessert.”
Dimeji raised both eyebrows. “Looks more like a war crime.”
“Just go, abeg.” he pleaded feeling embarrassed.
But Dimeji didn’t leave. Instead, he grabbed a rag and began wiping the counter. “You’ve got like what twenty minutes before she comes, right?”
Tayo came back to his senses he checked the wall clock and sighed. “Fifteen minutes left.” That's good.
Silence for a moment, broken only by the ticking clock and the slow drip of sauce from a cabinet handle. Then, softly, Dimeji said, “Bro. Don’t sweat it.”
Tayo paused, egg still in hand. Wondering what he was trying to say.
“You’re trying way too hard. If she likes you, she’ll appreciate the effort you put in. Even if the dinner turns out like… this.”
He sighed at first and then replied. “I’m trying to show her I can be serious. Responsible. Not just some guy who cracks jokes and forgets birthdays.”
“Man, being serious doesn’t mean being perfect,” Dimeji said, rinsing out a bowl. “You’re trying, and that counts. Honestly, half the time, people just want to see that you care.”
Tayo frowned, then cracked the egg into the pan. “I care. That’s the whole point.”
“And she’ll know,” Dimeji said. “You don’t need Michelin star vibes. Just be present. Just be real.”
That part hit a little different. Tayo lowered the heat on the stove, then turned off the blender completely what was left of it, anyway. For a minute, he let the stress drain from his shoulders.
He thought about what Dimeji had said!. Maybe Dimeji was right.
Maybe the best kind of impression wasn’t a perfect one but at least I tried as a human even tho it was my first time cooking. But it turned out worse he then turned and asked Demeji.
“You think I should order takeout?”
Dimeji grinned. “Smartest thing you’ve said all day.”
They both laughed, and the tension finally broke. While Tayo cleaned up the worst of the mess, Dimeji pulled out his phone and ordered food from the local Restaurant Iya Sidi placed her favorite order. Just in time.
When Adaeze arrived twenty minutes later, the apartment smelled like lemongrass and fried rice. Tayo had swapped his stained t-shirt for something clean and wiped down the table. A small candle flickered in the middle of two plates.
She smiled when she walked in. “Wow… you cooked?”
Tayo hesitated, then smiled. “I tried. Long story. Don’t sweat it.”
Adaeze looked amused. “That bad, huh?”
“Let’s just say… I almost made peanut butter fire-soup but it didn't turn out well.”
She laughed, the kind of laugh that filled the room and reminded Tayo why he liked her in the first place.
“Lucky for you,” she said, sitting down, “I like Iya Sidi's food.”
They clinked glasses, and the evening began not perfect, but real.
And somehow, that was better than serving burnt food to her to eat.
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