He had an eye for good quality. He enjoyed frequenting independent grocery stores as opposed to going out of town and giving his hard earned money to chains and corporations. This allowed him to support local businesses and keep their community thriving. He was insistent on doing his part.
He’d stock up on fresh vegetables and organic meats and return home to prepare a meal for his family, a large one.
With Dave’s parents and sister living just down the street, it was often that they all ate together. This was both a blessing and a curse. He loved his parents quite a lot but June and August were a handful. Harmony, his sister, wasn’t much better. Dave always played the peacekeeper between his overbearing parents and his eccentric twin. But when Georgie and Samantha were thrown into the mix, the dynamic completely changed. Over the years they’d all learned to co-exist; well, they could now get through a meal without someone bursting into tears, throwing a glass, storming out or demanding emancipation.
Tonight’s dinner was Scottish salmon with fresh dill and garlic, a side of couscous and some brilliantly green asparagus and peas. Dave loved the time he spent in the kitchen. It allowed him to create—a thing he was not predisposed to doing. It wasn’t until he met Georgette that his palate and cooking skills significantly improved.
Throughout his youth, Dave’s parents fed their children what everyone else did: white bread, milk, plenty of canned goods and whatever meat happened to be on sale that week. He grew up with very little, as June and August dedicated most of their time to the church instead of steadily working and providing for their twins.
Still, there was always a meal—even if it wasn’t hot, it was never taken for granted.
Growing up in Repo Ridge and living there his entire life allowed Dave to appreciate his recently found wealth in ways that he could not imagine. Georgette, being the free spirit that she was, had absolutely no issue with moving to Repo to be close to Dave’s somewhat needy family. In fact, she was thrilled for a new project—to buy a new house and redesign and decorate to her heart’s desire. Not only that, but she went above and beyond and bought a beautiful home just down the road for his parents. There was even a guesthouse for his sister to live in, when she wasn’t in the hospital.
Dave couldn’t believe how generous Georgette was as he insisted that it was entirely too much. But she wouldn’t be deterred. She said it would be wonderful, perfect to be so close to the people who’d raised the love of her life. In Georgie’s eyes, they deserved all the wealth and happiness in the world. Being raised by nannies and ignored by her egomaniac father for all of her life, she wanted as much family surrounding her as possible.
His parents quickly accepted their new daughter-in-law’s offer and made themselves comfortable, too comfortable. And over the years things had become strained at times. His parents and Georgie did not always see eye-to-eye, mainly on things such as morality and eternal souls. His parents had been under the preconceived notion that because Georgie was Southern that meant she was a devout Christian, conservative and morally sound. His glorious wife was none of these things. She was a raging liberal atheist with a heart of gold and had more good will and charity in her heart than every church in the county combined together. But morally... she drank quite a bit, smoked often, was very outspoken and swore like a sailor when she sensed injustice. She never shirked from a well-researched and firmly opinionated belief. She went head-to-head with his parents more times than he could count. No one could debate quite like his wife, not even Schworst. Georgie always had the final say.