Returning to the kitchen, I used a faded peach magnet to hang Ward’s note on the avocado-green fridge. At least I thought it was a peach. It could’ve been a flower. Or a butt. I took off my rubber gloves and washed my hands before getting my leftovers from the fridge. When I popped the take-out container into the tiny microwave, I leaned back and closed my eyes.

I relaxed my shoulders, unclenched my jaw, and cleared my busy mind.

I inhaled deeply.

And my eyes snapped open.

The spaghetti and roasted veggies with marinara that I’d had delivered the night before had been fine. Decent, but not great. Veggies would never take the place of meatballs, and they certainly wouldn’t travel well. But they were full of good nutrients and the spaghetti had satisfied my noodle craving, so it’d been a win.

At the heavenly smell that filled my nose, I wondered if maybe the flavor had increased as it sat overnight. It certainly smelled like it had.

Much to my crushing disappointment, it soon became obvious that it wasn’t reheated pasta I smelled. It was something else traveling through the windows I’d cracked to dissipate the harsh cleaning fumes.

Dammit.

I slammed the windows shut before grabbing the plastic dish from the microwave. I poked at the noodles with a fork as I glared down at them.

While the meal had been good enough the night before, it’d somehow turned both too mushy and too dry at the same time.

It didn’t matter that I was starving, I couldn’t force myself to take a bite. My stomach churned and revolted at the idea, like I was about to eat worms in congealed blood sauce. Or worse…

Worms in cherry Jell-O.

Fine, that may not have been worse, but it wasn’t much better.

Maybe it’s the smell. Olfactory contributes to taste, and reheated veggies smell like a gym locker.

I retched at my own thought, though I had a point.

Armed with my unappetizing food, I opened the door and slipped out into the fenced yard. Like I was a bloodhound or a cereal mascot bird, I sniffed the air and followed my nose.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise that it wasn’t the back neighbor or the unknown one on the other side of me. That would’ve been too lucky.

And the universe had more than shown that if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.

The delicious smell came from the direction of Ward’s yard.

I slowed my steps, wondering if I was desperate enough to do what I was considering.

My stomach growled and my mouth watered, proving I was, indeed, desperate enough.

Tucking myself right against the fence, I lowered my ass to the ground. I breathed in whatever savory food was being grilled until I could practically taste the char and smokiness.