Finally it seemed like my workout routine was normalized, as long as I head to the gym three times a week for about 4 hours of a good workout, I should be fine. At least, that’s what gluttony told me. It’s almost somewhat bothersome at this point that I can’t really return the favor to the sins, I’ve tried getting perfume for Lust, some souvenirs for Pride, some snacks for Gluttony, and even a voodoo doll for Envy, but in the end I would always get scolded, primarily by Greed for wasting money. They would always accept the gifts, but it was in a way a parent would accept a poor drawing from their child. With Gluttony it was more so because I bought low quality ingredients it seems. Since it was the weekend I was quite curious as to how he prepares all of my meals.
“Oh hello Joseph, are you staying home today?”
“Oh yeah Gluttony, most of the other coworkers are busy and we thought it would be rude to plan something without the rest. But I do have a date with Tiffany tomorrow, so I’m relaxing today.”
“What about your exercises?”
“I still have a few more hours until that.” Curious, it almost seems like he doesn’t want me around. “But anyways, I wanted to give my thanks for that diet you and Lust came up with, it really helped me with my self-confidence.”
“Oh really? That’s wonderful, I guess that at this point you know I did a little more than sprinkle in some stamina boosts.”
“Yeah, I was also a little confused as to how I got such a better figure in such a short amount of time, even though I wasn’t aware I’m glad you did it. Thanks.” The mood wasn’t terrible but the silence wasn’t great either. A few moments passed as gluttony was preparing lunch, the sizzling of some ham on the stove, the scrape of the spatual across the pan, it was almost deafening in comparison. I decide to ask something I feel I’ll regret.
“So what’s it like for you to go shopping?” This seemed to have piqued his interest as he almost jumped at the question.
“Ah, I’d love to show you, could you wait until after lunch?”
“Sure, I look forward to it.” While I wait for lunch I play a bit on my phone, some classic minesweeper to help keep the mind busy. It was a short wait, lunch was yet another 5 star yet cozy meal, cooked ham slices with some sort of mixed herb seasoning and rich gravy, a baked potato with sour cream, chives, shredded cheddar, and bacon, a light salad with cucumbers, baby tomatoes and a raspberry vinaigrette. Feeling full and somewhat refreshed, Gluttony waved me over to the bedside with the book on it.
“Take my hand and close your eyes for a moment Joseph.” Taking his oversized hand in mine and closing my eyes, I felt a pleasant breeze. “Alright now open your eyes.”
A wonderful sight lay before my eyes, rolling hills of green, some grazing sheep, lush fields of ripened crops, and a small village at the base of the hill we were standing on. “Quite a ‘feast’ for the eyes eh sonny? C’mon let’s enter the market, you can meet my main supplier for basic vegetables.” Keeping my distance from the sheep I followed behind Gluttony as he gave me a questionable glance but didn’t ask about it.
We arrive at stone and wood house near the outskirts of the village and Gluttony knocks on the door. From the other side I hear some foreign grumbling, the door bursts open and a gruff looking man with a bulky figure scowls at us before recognizing Gluttony’s smiling face. He breaks out into what sounds like German with a friendly manner, with a bear hug ensnaring us both. Recognizing the extra size the man pulls away and questions Gluttony, probably about who I was, who surprisingly responds with some sort of greeting for me in his language as I wave with an awkward smile. “I didn’t know you could speak multiple languages.”
“Well we’ve lived quite a long time, it would be ignorant of us to not know them, but some of the african dialects are a little difficult for me. Lust even knows how to speak in whistles, isn’t that something? She said something about them having a way with their mouths because of it.” Well I guess even sins do anything for love. “Anyways, this is Elias. He provides me with various vegetables and lamb.” Gluttony gestures towards Elias and he asks another question for gluttony, who responds in kind and with his fingers as well, I’m guessing it’s for how much of each produce he needs. Elias then goes back into his house and after a few minutes comes back with a burlap sack filled to the brim with goods. Gluttony hands him some coins and we head off after another bear hug for a goodbye.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“So what’d you get?”
“5 pounds of potatoes, 1 pound each of wheat and barley, 2 pounds of carrots, 2 pounds of cabbage, half a pound each of onions and radishes, and 3 shanks of lamb, I was thinking of making some German dishes for the next few days. That’s fine with you I assume?”
“If it’s anything near as good as all of your meals have been so far, I’d be grateful for this as well.”
“Wonderful, well now that shopping is done would you like to see some of my other suppliers.”
“Sure, the day’s still young, and it’s been a while since I’ve gone sightseeing.”
“Alright, then take hold of my hand and close your eyes again.”
I do as he tells me to and suddenly a salty gale whips across my face. I open my eyes to a bustling waterside market with rampant workers and shoppers hustling goods to and fro, arguing prices and begrudgingly agreeing over the results. “Here’s my little secret spot in Indonesia, I get most of my seafood from the merchants here, the haggling process is rather fun but I’ve been told that I’m a bit lenient” he admits with an embarrassed chuckle. “Alright, off to the next. Let’s go!"
Before even opening my eyes my nose is assaulted by thousands of various herbs and spices, I already have a good guess where we’re at. “Welcome to India, this here is one of my favorite spice markets in the country, it’s always a neat thrill seeing the scales weighing the spices move up and down with the weights. A nice and fair business but the heat is a little troublesome.” Now that he’s said that, it does feel rather hot around here. “One moment, I forgot I need to get some spices here.” He dashes away from me with a giddy smile, fascinated with the scales that he’s likely seen thousands of times by now. Pacing back towards with a skip in his step he holds onto a bag filled with smaller bags full of spice. “Alright ready to head back home?”
“Wait what about the more basic meats like chicken, pork, and beef?”
“Ah I’d rather you not see that, maybe another time sonny.” Uttering with a smile and a furrowed brow I decided not to ask further. “Alright, let’s head back Joseph.”
Upon returning home I notice sloth resting on my bed, turned over on the side , Greed at the table, seemingly waiting for Gluttony to come back. “Well how much did you spend?”
“About $90, I’ve got enough food to last about five days.”
“Good, I’m guessing you got a slight discount again from Elias?”
“Yup, it took a bit more time with him than previous suppliers but I think me and him are on friendly terms by now.”
“Good, well I’ll let you get to dinner. Kid make sure to get some shut-eye after dinner, I’ll get Lust to wake up the big ol’ lug.”
"Oh yeah, before you get to work, what happened to shopping at the grocery store?" I asked.
"Well you don't really get the same flavour as when you get it straight from the source, also getting to know the delaers often leads to both more friends and some discounts. It took a bit for me to find some new suppliers."
"Ah, alright, I guess that makes sense." Despite seeing him do it multiple times already, watching Gluttony in the kitchen is still a sight to behold. Dicing up the potato into chunks along with the carrots and cabbage, he also took out some leftover peas and tossed them all into a pot filled with leftover gravy. Then carefully taking out a lamb shank and grilling it he also ground up the wheat and barley into a fine flour and made some dough, then placed the mass into the oven after placing it into several bowl and lid-like molds. After the lamb was done grilling he got up close to the oven and the bread seemed to cook almost instantly. He pulled out the now cooked bread bowls and lids and let them cool. Turning his attention towards the lamb he cut it up into several small but thick strips and began placing most of the lamb into the pot along with some flour and turned up the heat. After about ten minutes of stirring and simmering he took off the pot and slowly scooped out its contents into the bread bowls and placed the lids on top of each one, 6 in total.
“Well these are some bread bowls with a lamb chowder innard, I hope you enjoy.” The taste was beyond description and somehow reminded me of the overloof of the small village we visited, somehow almost making me homesick for a land thousands of miles away from my actual home.
“Thank you, it’s wonderful. I feel like I could have this all day!”
“That’s wonderful for you to say, but tomorrow morning I’m going to make you something healthier so you can keep up your figure. I hope you’ll enjoy that as well.”
“If it’s made by you I’m sure that I will.” Gluttony then gives a big cheeky smile and I can’t help but smile as well, it feels like I’m back at home in my childhood. After finishing up another bread bowl, I thank Gluttony for the meal and lie down to bed, seems like Lust got Sloth off of it while I was enjoying the meal. I drift into a deep sleep reminiscing about the past.