Written by Sarah, Song
(The princess and the frog)
When Tiana walks into the kitchen, she finds Lottie sobbing on a stool. Her first impulse is to look for the missing finger.
Lottie has been dead set on learning how to cook for the past week, and her refusal to accept anyone’s help has been a headache.
Luckily, there’s no blood anywhere. (Just a big pile of half-chopped onions)
“Those onions smell getting in your eyes?” Tiana asks lightly, resting a hand on Lottie’s shoulder.
Those tears sure don’t look like the result of chopping, but Lottie will talk about it when she’s ready.
Lottie sniffles, but at least doesn’t wipe her eyes on her apron. Tiana would have had to say something, because she can’t help but run a clean kitchen, even when it’s not her own.
“I don’t think I’m cut out for this whole lifestyle,” Lottie mourns, sweeping some onion peels to the side so that Tiana has a place to rest her elbows. Tiana, of course, picks up the knife and begins chopping.
“There are lots of different lifestyles,” Tiana says firmly. “There’s no shame in not being cut out for one, so long as you work hard with what you’ve got.” And then, because she’s learned a thing or two since she met prince Naveen, or maybe just remembered what her daddy taught.
“And make sure you’ve got love, but honey, everybody loves you already. “That earns her a watery smile. “Aren’t you sweet? I swear, Tiana, you better not run off to rule a country, because I’d be nothing without you.”
Tiana smiles back, indicating the freshly chopped onions with a wave of her hand. “What were you planning on making?
I wouldn’t be opposed to rolling up my sleeves and lending a hand.” She’s all dolled up in yellow for some sort of diplomatic function Naveen has to attend to, but she’s got years of experience in not making a mess of herself while cooking.
“I wanted to make shrimp Etouffee,” Lottie says, pulling a scrap of paper from her bosom and waving it around. “I got everything on this list our cook gave me, and then gave him the day off. I went and bought it all by myself, and I just want to do this one nice thing for Big Daddy.
Lottie’s views have more to do with the latest fashions than the politics that accompany them, but Tiana’s known her for long to underestimate her. Lottie’s got brains in her head. It’s just that those brains mostly concentrate on things like clothes and princes.
Tiana scans the list, clucking her tongue at some of the directions. “Your cook must have been lying when he said he’s from around here.
That’s not nearly enough hot sauce. Why don’t you get started washing those tomatoes? That’s a nice job you’ve done chopping the celery and peppers.
They’ll taste so nice that your daddy will hardly be able to stand it.”
Lottie is boiling the shrimp stock under Tiana’s watchful eye. Tiana refrains from offering all kinds of advice, like why to buy shrimp in the shell and how to extract the maximum amount of flavor from thyme.
Lottie is doing fine as is, and what she’s making will make a good meal, if not a restaurant caliber one. She remembers the slow and steady way her daddy passed on his gift, gentle little tidbits that left an imprint on the heart as well as the mind. It’s the least she can do to share his secrets as sweetly as he did.
While they’re waiting for the shrimp to finish, Lottie drags her record player into the kitchen, sending the saxophone wail of jazz clear to the other side of the house.
“Couldn’t you just die happy listening to this music?” she asks, twirling around. Her apron, which is of course pink, flares out with the movement. “It’s real nice,” Tiana says, and gets her a glass of water.
She only has time for a sip before Lottie pulls her out on the kitchen floor, intent on teaching her the latest dance steps. “Ooh, girl, Naveen’s been dancing with you!” Lottie said.
She was delighted when she discovers that she doesn’t have to teach Tiana after all. That’s one of the things Tiana loves about her. She doesn’t begrudge anybody she loves the slightest thing.
They dance around the kitchen as the shrimp boils, laughing all the while, and Tiana can’t think of anything better than having a good time with someone she loves while something hot simmers on the stove. Home, he heart beating out in time with the trumpets.
When Tiana smells that the shrimp stock is ready for the next step, she’s all business once more.
There’s a good time, and then there’s food. Lottie is a good sport about letting Tiana delegate all the tasks. “It’s been years since I’ve had this,” Lottie says, after a bit.
She’s moved on to sautéing the peppers, celery, and shrimp stock, along with a dash of flour.
"My mama, may she rest, just loved her some shrimp etouffee, and Big Daddy just couldn’t bear eating it for the longest time.”
“My mama’s got dishes like that,” Tiana says softly, leaving out that she has dishes like that herself.
A few months after he died, she made the mistake of trying out his extra special red beans and rice recipe on her own. Until she tasted the well-done result, she didn’t know was that what she really wanted was her daddy back in the kitchen, cooking up a storm, and there wasn’t a recipe for that particular meal.
Lottie gives her a brief squeeze around the shoulders, then runs back to keep stirring, though Tiana’s told her a dozen times that it doesn’t need constant poking.
Tiana’s also told her to stop sampling every 10 seconds, but it’s hard to resist the lure of the first dish you’ve cooked all by yourself.
“Now that’s going to be an entree and a half,” Tiana tells Lottie when the last of the ingredients have been added, and only the last bit of simmering is left for the cooking. “Your daddy will be real happy.” “I’m just too happy to pay my respects to Mama, may she rest,” Lottie says, untying her apron. “She never cooked, but I’m liberating’ myself from depending on others!”
“Uh-huh,” Tiana says, but she knows that Lottie means it. It’s then that she notices the time, and gasps. “I am so late! Naveen is going to--well, he’s pretty used to it, actually, but I feel so bad!”
Lottie stared. “That man of yours will forgive you if you tell him you were having a good time with a friend. Stop by more often, Tiana, I miss you.” “Well, you are going to have to tell me all about how your daddy couldn’t get enough of your cooking.”
"Sure, thing!”
Tiana’s in a hurry, but she takes her time hugging Lottie before she leaves.
