Episode 15: A Kitchen Proposal with Spaghetti — 5,000 Core English Words

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Chapter fifteen. A question in the kitchen.

It has been more than a year since the night at The Sage Garden. For the last ten days, Ryan has carried a small box in his jacket. He planned a fancy restaurant, with flowers and classical music. Then he changed his mind. Tonight they are simply cooking dinner at home.

Listen to the language of cooking together, and to a very important question.

Emma: What are we making tonight?

Ryan: Spaghetti, with my grandmother's sauce. It's a traditional recipe. Simple ingredients, but you can't hurry it.

Emma: What can I do?

Ryan: Can you chop the onions? The knife is in that drawer, and the board is behind you.

Emma: Sure. How do you want them? Thick or thin?

Ryan: Thin, please. And when you're done, could you pass me the garlic?

Emma: Here you go. How much salt goes in the water?

Ryan: Plenty. It should taste like the sea. Wait until it boils, and then put the pasta in.

Emma: Where did you get these tomatoes? They're beautiful.

Ryan: From the farmer at the Saturday market. The one in the last row, who talks to everybody. He recommended them specially for sauce. He said the flavor is sweet, with a little sour at the end.

Emma: And what's this?

Ryan: Cream, from the dairy stand. Just a little. It makes the sauce soft. And a few nuts for the salad. I took them out of the shell this morning.

Emma: You did all that this morning? Who are you?

Ryan: A man who wanted a nice dinner. Can you stir this for me? Gently. It's delicate.

Emma: Like this?

Ryan: Perfect. Now taste it. Does it need anything?

Emma: Oh my goodness. The flavour is wonderful. Maybe a little pepper.

Ryan: I'll add some. Don't let the bottom burn. That would spoil everything.

Emma: Is the pasta done?

Ryan: Nearly. Two more minutes. It should be a little tough when you bite it. Could you set the table? The wine glasses are on the top shelf.

Emma: Wine glasses? On a Wednesday?

Ryan: Why not? I made a small cocktail too. It's in the fridge.

Emma: You're being strange. Are you drunk already?

Ryan: No! I'm just in a good mood.

Emma: Why do you stare at the wall like that? That's three times. And you're standing on my toe.

Ryan: Sorry. Sorry. Here, take the bread and wrap it in this cloth. It's crisp. I made it myself, and for once it isn't a disaster.

Emma: Ryan, did something happen at work? Did the corporate people say something? Is it the convention next month?

Ryan: Nothing happened at work. For goodness' sake, sit down. Let me bring the food. A big portion or a small one?

Emma: Big. Always.

Ryan: Spread the napkin. Here it comes.

Emma: This is truly the best thing you've ever cooked. I can't resist a second plate.

Ryan: Emma, before you take more, I have to say something. I've been a prisoner of my own nerves for a week, and I can't wait another hour.

Emma: Okay. Now I'm worried.

Ryan: Don't be. I had a plan. A formal one. A restaurant, a professional photographer hiding behind a plant, all of it. And then I thought, that's not us. We are this. A kitchen, a pot, and you telling me I'm standing on your foot.

Emma: Ryan.

Ryan: I recall the first night I met you. You got the wrong plate, and you smiled. And gradually, steadily, over all these months, you became the person I want to tell everything to. You're supportive when I'm wrong. You're honest when I'm boring. You never let me be dishonest with myself.

Emma: You're not boring. You never bore me.

Ryan: Let me finish, or I'll never do it. I love you so much that I'm afraid of your answer. But my desire to ask is bigger than my fear. So.

Ryan gets down on one knee, beside the kitchen table, and quietly opens the small box.

Ryan: Emma Carter, will you marry me?

Emma: Yes. Yes! Of course, yes! The whole building can hear me, and I don't care. Get up, you silly man. Come here.

Ryan: Really?

Emma: Really. I've wanted to say yes whenever you looked at me like that. Is this the ring? It's so beautiful.

Ryan: It was my grandmother's. She gave it to me after she met you. Essentially, she chose you before I did.

Emma: I'm going to cry into the spaghetti.

Ryan: Please don't. It took three hours.

Emma: We have to call people. My aunt first. No, your mother. No. I can't decide.

Ryan: Let's call mine. She will blame me forever if she isn't first.

Mom: Hello? Ryan? Is everything all right? It's late.

Ryan: Everything's fine, Mom. Emma and I have some news. We're engaged.

Mom: Oh! Oh, Frank, wake up! They're engaged! Congratulations, my dears! I want to congratulate you both properly. When is the ceremony?

Emma: We don't know yet, Helen. It happened ten minutes ago.

Mom: Something small? Something big? I don't want to be excluded from anything. I'll be devoted to this, I promise.

Ryan: Mom, slowly. We'll involve everybody. There's no contest.

Mom: I have no concern at all. I just have ideas. Emma, I'll introduce you to my friend from the dance association. She was a dancer, and she now does flowers for weddings. No publicity, no mass production. Everything by hand.

Emma: That sounds lovely. Thank you.

Mom: And Ryan, don't let your father's junior partner take the photographs. His photography is offensive. I disapprove.

Ryan: We have an agreement, Mom. Good night. We love you.

Emma: She's wonderful. That interaction was shorter than I expected.

Ryan: Wait until tomorrow. She'll distribute the news to the whole street, and the upcoming weeks will be loud. Sadly, there's no barrier that can stop her.

Emma: I don't want one. I like the way your family interacts. It's loyalty, with a lot of noise.

Ryan: One request, as your future husband. No construction of a giant wedding. No charity dinner for four hundred. I don't want to engage a backer.

Emma: Something small. With good food. I read in a magazine that one should think of oneself first, and of society second.

Ryan: The ultimate advice. Now eat. It sucks when pasta gets cold, and I won't let a single grain of this dinner disgust you.

That is the end of chapter fifteen. They made a sauce, set the table, and Ryan asked the biggest question of his life. She said yes.

Keep these with you: "Can you pass me the knife?" "Does it need anything?" "Could you set the table?" "Will you marry me?" "We're engaged."

In the next chapter, time moves on. Ryan and Emma are married now, they have a house of their own, and a new day is beginning.

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