Much as I want to stretch out summer as long as I can, even I have to face the fact that we are nearing the end of weekend rides in the convertible, sleeping on the sleeping porch, and all the incredible fresh fruits and vegetables we can handle. This is the seasonal transition time that my mind turns to soup and Ben’s mind turns to running a scam.
We give Ben a weekly allowance with the stipulation that he can only have one restaurant lunch a week. Under this program, he should have plenty of cash for that plus bowling and pizza with friends, occasional ice cream, and various other things that come up. We are trying to support a balance of healthy choices, budgeting, and socializing. Everyone on his team knows the parameters and the guiding principles behind the plan, but even so, every now and then, he slips one past the goalie.
Last week, Ben had clipped a Wendy’s coupon and kept placing it around the house, so that I would have to move it to complete whatever task I was engaging in. Every morning, it magically showed up at my spot on the kitchen table. In the evening, it was where I sit on the couch. We told him he could use it with one of his companions for lunch sometime. That was phase one. On the first day of the week, he enjoyed his allotted lunch out at Filippo’s, where he spent most of his cash. Phase two. By Friday, he was out of money, so he packed a lunch, but still managed to convince his companion (who was filling in for his regular companion) that they should utilize the Wendy’s coupon. No money? No problem for Ben. It was a two for one deal, so she did the buying and his half was “free.” Scam complete.
This is only one of many, many food related scams he attempts to run, but this one was particularly brazen. The long con. He even knew that our discovery of his packed lunch in the fridge would not cancel our Friday dinner out because that hurts us as much as it does him. He knew he would not be cast out from the garden of eatin’ but he would need to show some measure of contrition. When he ordered the halloumi bao buns at Barrel 135, Kelly was surprised and wanted to be sure he knew that the dish did not contain meat. He shrugged and took his lumps. May we all be so lucky as to have our self-imposed penance involve bao buns. Plus, he needed to let the dust settle before lobbying for Lions Club fries at Lyco’s Saturday football game.
As you surely know, Ben resents soup when it is the meal. Considering The Fall, I thought that pasta e fagioli would be the perfect soup to make with Ben this week. My version involves bacon, so again, silver linings…
We used our recipe from a few years back found in our recipe index or below.
Though I consider a good bowl of soup the cure for almost anything, I don’t delude myself that it has cured Ben of his scamming ways. Sure, he might wait awhile (like a sleeper cell) before attempting another long con, but he plays a mean three-card monte, where he switches out the cards in his agenda chart from “pack lunch” to “lunch out” at just the right moment as his companion arrives in the morning. Or he may go old school with his original distraction techniques that rival the best pickpockets in Paris and leave you saying, “Wait. What? We’re having steak again? Where’s my wallet?”