modern, domestic
They’re chatting in the kitchen as they slice fruit. Charlie brought home a box of mangoes— a favorite, especially towards the end of summer— and they’re just a smidgen past ripe.
“Well, obviously this means we have to make a night of it. Freeze half the batch and eat some now?” Thandi hefts one of the fruits in her palm, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “We can try a mango salsa…”
“Doesn’t that just make it a fruit salad?” Charlie tosses another slice of skin aside, trying desperately to cut a nice dice without crushing the soft flesh. His hands are horrifically sticky and gods as much as he loves to eat it, preparing it is another thing entirely.
“Well, yes and no. We can put other things in there, like beans! Onion… cilantro?”
“To be honest, I’m not entirely certain what would go in a mango salsa. Aside from… mango. Of course.” He pushes aside a seed, grabs another mango. “I notice you aren’t cutting, dearest. Is this a scheme to make me do all the hard work while you luxuriate in the, ah, golden fruits of my labor?”
Thandi snorts and cracks up laughing, putting down the mango she’d been contemplating. “Really, darling?” She reaches over his work space and picks up the seed he set aside. “I’m here to make sure that you don’t waste any. Look at all the fruit left here! I can eat it like an apple.”
She bites into it, taking off a sizable chunk of edible fruit. Charlie groans, but Thandi hums with delight. Juice dribbles down her chin and she holds her other hand under her to catch it, licking it off her fingers. “Thandi, it’s not corn on the cob, you don’t just—”
She sticks her tongue out at him and takes another bite. It’s juicy and he watches it drip onto her chest. “Mmf! This is a new shirt, ah, Charlie! Would you mind— oh!”
He licks it off her chest and winks at her. Thandi can only laugh, but he shrugs. “I want some, too, so it’s only fair.”
“I don’t know, maybe I should feed you all the mango that way?” They stare at each other for a beat before they both crack up laughing. “So, mango salsa?”