Our Dining Table

What a lovely story! If I ever find someone I can be in a kitchen with without one of us spontaneously combusting, I'll know I've found the one.

I found Yutaka's semi-phobia of eating with others kind of relatable. I was born with a significant birth defect that took many surgeries to repair (the most recent only a year ago, and I'm nearly 30...). I've never loved eating around other people. At the same time, I've always recognized cooking for someone as a show of great and deep love. I remember years ago waking up at 4 am to make homemade cornbread for my coworkers, and everyone loved it, but I definitely didn't eat any in the clinic!

I also relate to the feeling of missing my great-grandparent's cooking and the serious crisis that happens when you realize you can no longer remember the taste. Even with the same recipe, it just isn't the same. I always spent Christmas with them, and since their passing a long time ago, Christmas has always had a heavy tinge over it, so a lot hit home in this story.

I am not the best cook in the world, but of the few things I can cook well, I hope someday I can cook them for someone with the love akin to that in this story.