Under the Willow Tree

Chapter 5 Lizzy

Trigger Warning- Panic attack and deceased father

After walking in the door I saw that the house was a mess. There were toys everywhere and clothes scattered all over the floor. Going into my room and after setting my bag down, I changed into a big T-shirt and a pair of my dad's old gym shorts. I walked into the living room and turned the TV on, leaving it on the channel it was already on for some background noise. I picked up all the toys and put them in the wicker basket my mom kept in the living room.

I put all the clothes in a laundry hamper and walked to the laundry room. Then started a load of the clothes that had just been picked up and some from the basket that was sitting there waiting to be washed. I took the cleaned dried clothes out of the dryer and walked over to the living room. Sitting on the couch and absentmindedly watching the TV I folded the clothes, a cartoon that I wasn't familiar with was playing. Asher had probably been the one watching TV last night. When I had finished I put the clothes back in the basket and set it on the couch to be put away later.

I walked to the kitchen and saw the mountain of dishes that needed to be done and the counters full of clutter. Mom had set out everything to make lasagna over by the stove. She was probably planning on making it for dinner but had to run and pick up Willow from dance practice and Asher from his afterschool soccer club. I walked over to the kitchen cabinet next to the fridge and filled it with water. After setting it on the biggest burner on the stove, I turned the knob and listened for the clicking that signaled the flame had come on. I salted the water and set a lid on top of the pot for it to warm up faster.

Turning to the sink and putting the clean dishes in their respective cabinets. I pulled out the blue dish soap from under the sink took the tattered pink scrub mommy sponge and added some soap. I moved all of the dishes from the left side of the sink out and onto the counter so I could wash the dishes on the right side. Once I was done with that side the drying rack was full so I turned to the pot of water on the stove to let the dishes dry out.

At this point, the water was starting to boil so I put the lasagna noodles in the water and put the lid back on. Before opening the fridge to get the package of ground beef I took a deep pan out of the cabinet I had gotten the pot from and set it on the burner across from the pot. I turned it on and grabbed the small glass bottle of olive oil my mom kept on a rack along with all of the spices on the kitchen counter. I grabbed an onion and three cloves of garlic from the pantry, minced them, and added them to the pan. Once they were translucent I took the ground beef out of the fridge and added it to the pan. I waited for it to cook a little before adding salt, pepper, dried parsley, paprika, and a little bit of Lawry's low-sodium seasoning. I mixed it around and drained the grease into a ceramic bowl, saving it for later.

After it was done cooking I checked on the noodles before turning back around to the dishes behind me. After putting all of the clean dishes away and continuing to wash the ones left on the countertop I had set aside earlier. While those dried in the rack I turned around to work on the cluttered countertops. There was a stack of bills and packages to be put away, more toys, and even a few of my mother's crystal wine glasses. Setting the wine glasses in the kitchen sink carefully, I washed them and dried them with the special cloth my mom kept in the wine glass cupboard. I set them down neatly in rows and closed the small door. Turning around to the bills and saw that they were already opened so I assumed my mother had already seen them. Looking through them and picking out the ones due the soonest, I pinned them to the microwave with the little pink glittery magnets we kept on the door of the fridge. I gathered the packages and set them in a corner of the counter where they would not be in the way.

I turned the oven on and proceeded to drain the noodles in a plastic colander and took the jar of tomato sauce on the counter to open it before starting to assemble the lasagna, placing it in a rectangle glass dish. Adding a layer of noodles, ground beef, tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, and shredded cheese. Only three sets of layers were able to fit in the dish before it was full. I then covered it with aluminum foil so the shredded cheese on top wouldn't get too brown and placed it in the oven.