“I’m getting that.”
“The local fishermen bring in their haul and sell it at stands at a pier down the coast.It’s up to you as the consumer how you want to prepare it.Do you know how to fillet a fish?”
“No,” he admitted ruefully.
“We’ll switch them.You can chop up the vegetables and bacon.”
“I thought you were making rice and peas.”Barry’s eyebrows pinched together in confusion.
“I am.”
“I’m confused.”
“I’ll walk you through it.”Mac chuckled again.She was so used to the locals and their cooking style here, she forgot not everyone ate this way.“Chop that stuff up and when you’re done, I’ll tell you the next steps.”She’d walk him through it slowly, not that she didn’t think he’d catch on quickly, but it was easier to do it one step at a time so he didn’t miss something.
“Have you always made rice and peas this way?”
“Since moving here, yes.”She didn’t think she could have it any other way now.
“How long have you been living here?”Barry inquired, though his main focus was on cutting the vegetables.
Mac paused in her slicing of the fish to think about it.It felt like forever.“Seven years now.”
“That’s a long time.”
“What can I say, I love it here.”
“Because of the sharks or the weather?”
“Believe me, it’s not always paradise here.When the hurricanes hit and you’re stuck on a tiny island hoping you don’t end up like the fabled city of Atlantis and at the bottom of the ocean, it’s not fun.”
“I never thought about that.”
“Not many tourists do.They just see sandy beaches and sunny skies and don’t think about the rest.”Mac clamped her mouth shut, realizing she sounded cynical.“Sorry, the sharks are what drew me here.The weather is just a bonus.”
“Have you always wanted to be a shark biologist?”
“I’ve loved sharks since I was a kid.I thought it would be cool to have one as a pet.”Mac laughed at the memory.Her family thought she was crazy by the notion.“It wasn’t until middle school that I realized I could turn that passion into a career.When I went to college, I volunteered to be part of a program that came down here to study reef sharks and never looked back.”
“It’s always nice when you can combine your passion with your career.Not all people can do that.”
“Is that what you did?”Mac had told herself to keep some distance between them, but learning about each other’s careers wasn’t that big of a deal.It wasn’t getting too personal.
“I did,” was all he said.
With the fish ready, Mac seasoned it and put it to the side, then got a pan ready for the bacon before getting the rice and peas out of the cabinet.
“What are those?”Barry tipped his chin to the bag of peas in her hand.
“Black-eyed peas,” she replied as if it should be obvious.It had been a while since she had been in the states, but she knew they sold them.“Trust me,” she added to his skeptical look.
“I don’t have much choice.”
“Not unless you want to find your own dinner.This is what we’re having.”He had agreed to it, so this was what they were doing.
“Wow, you’re tough.”
“No, I’m just not making two dinners.”
