"How do I know when it's done?"
"Bite one. If it's chalky in the center, it needs more time."
"That's very imprecise."
"Cooking is imprecise."
"Everything should have error codes," Devin mutters, and I smile in the empty garage because that's exactly what he'd say.
The pasta conversation continues. Jason walks Devin through a simple sauce, garlic, butter, parmesan, pasta water. Robin keeps trying to add things. Jason keeps vetoing. Devin mediates with the calm authority of someone who manages Robin professionally.
"What about basil?" Robin asks.
"No."
"A little lemon zest?"
"No."
"Just a —"
"Robin, the man has never cooked a meal in his life. We're doing cacio e pepe. Four ingredients. No lemon zest."
"Cacio e pepe has three ingredients."
"I'm adding garlic because I'm not an animal."
"The Italians would disagree."
"The Italians can fight me."
I hear Devin laugh. Not the quiet, careful laugh he does in public. The real one, the full one, the one I first heard on the couch when I read to him. The laugh that means he's comfortable enough to not monitor the volume.
He's comfortable with them. Without me in the room.
My lion settles deeper into the quiet. Not jealous. Satisfied. The pride is doing what prides do. Taking in someone new. Making them part of the structure not because I brought him in but because he belongs.
I put the wrench down. Pick up my book. Read in the garage while the sounds of Devin's first cooking lesson drift through the door.
"Now you toss the pasta in the sauce. Use the tongs."
"Like this?"
"Faster. You want the starch water to emulsify with the butter and cheese."
"That's a very fancy word for pasta."
"Food IS fancy, Devin. Food is the most important thing humans do besides breathe. Every culture in history has defineditself by what and how it cooks. You're not making dinner. You're participating in the fundamental act of civilization."
Pause. Then Robin: "Jason gets like this about food."
"I'm passionate."
"You're insufferable."
"Those aren't mutually exclusive."
"The pasta's sticking together," Devin says.