The Stew

             I was hungry with a capital G! So I rummaged through the fridge, again.

             It was the end of the budget and the fridge was sparse of any easy food; most of it was left overs and the crumbs of depleted packages. I mouthed the last of the ham slices, slugged out the rest of the OJ and peeked into some of the tinfoil bowls in the back, but nothing looked good to me.

              I closed the fridge and looked into the cupboard and saw one solitary can of  beef  chunks with gravy,  oh baby! A light turned on over my head complete with the dinging sound.  I was going to make "Leftover's" stew! I opened the can and poured the contents into a pot. I took a moment and  breathed in the hearty flavors of beef and savoriness of the gravy. I revisited the dinners in the fridge and found potatoes from one night and braised carrots from another. "What the heck"  I said as I threw in bits and peaces of every dinner.

               It didn't take long for the flavors to marry and for the stew to warm up. I plated myself a large helping and thanked the lord for making me so smart and started shoveling the master piece into my mouth. my wife walked into the kitchen and smiled at me.

             "I just invented dinner heaven you should try some" I Invited in between bites. She looked at the mess I made on the counter, and looked back at me. "I'll clean it later you need to try this." she smiled and shook her head. As she picked up the mess for me she said "Thanks for feeding the pup"

             "ummmmm" I moaned as I took another bite.

            "Honey? " she said, I looked at her. "Thanks for feeding the puppy"

            "What are you talking about?" I said with a mouth full. She showed me the beef can "Why would I feed the dog beef stew?" gesturing to my delicious stew."

            She stared hard at me "Because... this is dog food" she said.

            I stopped eating. "What?' I said in non belief  "What are you talking about?" she showed me the can.

           "See? you didn't think this was stew did you?"

           "It's stew!" I yelled in a panic

           "Baby, its gravy train!" she said in disbelief

           "But it says beef! It said tasty chunks in gravy! not dog beef!"

           "She came over to show me the label...and at the bottom in red...the same color as the gravy, it said...for dogs and puppy's...

            I looked at my stew and frowned, I looked up at my wife who was now trying her hardest not to smile or laugh. "I..." I started to say "I ate so much..."  She couldn't hold it any more and started laughing so hard she fell on the floor.

           The door bell rang as my stomach started to rebel. It was my brother coming to borrow my camera. "Whats up bro? Whats up with her?" He said as my wife excused herself from the room. "I don't know" I said shrugging sadly "She's nut's, I'll go get the camera"

           He went into the kitchen for a drink and notices the stew "this smells great you guys have extras" My eye's lite up, "Dude! you can have the rest, let me get it for you!" I rushed and threw away the can as I excitedly got him a plate and served it up for him.

          The world was right again.