The Potato Peeler

David was the quieter of the twins. He stayed home more, often time spending whole days in his room. At some point when the rest of the household was sleeping, he would get up and make himself food. I know this because i would find neat piles of dishes in a corner of the counter, with a note saying that they would be washed by midnight. The first time I saw this, I was confused. Pamela, the energetic twin, had been out late the night before. For a second, I thought the dishes could be hers. Then I remember that her cooking skills were very limited, and there's no way she could have fried something. When I was washing the breakfast dishes that morning, I washed what David had left. When he appeared after lunch, he seemed disappointed that his dishes were clean.
 
"I like washing dishes, Libby," he said. At 16, his voice had changed, and he didn't remind me at all of the little boy I babysat so many years ago. "It's the least I can do when you're letting Pam and I stay here all summer."

"Davey, you know you and your sister are always welcome here. We have the space, and we don't go on quite as many last minute trips as your parents," I said with a laugh.

My sister had always been the social butterfly, and this had changed very little since she got married and had kids. Due to her husband's job, they had moved around the country while the kids were growing up, and they'd moved back here last year. And now, Jane and Oliver had taken off for the summer. The twins were invited, but both wanted to stay home. I had enough rooms in my house, and I was glad to finally be putting them to use. David took no time before settling in with his computer, sound system, and gadgets. Pamela, on the other hand, only brought clothes, but I guessed that was because she was always making plans to go out and hardly ever home.

Now, I was preparing a salad to go with supper. It was the middle of July, hot and humid outside, but bearable in the kitchen with a fan.

"Do you need help with anything?" Davey asked, walking in from outside.

"Not right now. I'll let you know when the table needs setting. It might be a few hours still," I replied. "Josh said he'll be home around 5. With Pam helping, he said the afternoons are shorter than they used to be." Since the twins had moved in with us, Josh had suggested several activities to keep them from being bored. The only one that stuck was going to work with him. He was part of the lunch crew at a local bistro, and would do his share of the food preparation for the dinner crowd. I was very surprised when Pam said that she wouldn't mind going and seeing what it was like. She didn't like spending time in the kitchen, even if it was just to hang out and talk. What was even more surprising, was the she liked helping at the bistro. Of course, she wasn't allowed to do much yet, but Josh said she was quickly learning where to find the kitchenware. From everything that Jane had told me about Pam, she seemed to be happiest out with friends, preferably in an air conditioned mall. The kitchen at the bistro wasn't air conditioned, but it was filled with industrial grade stainless steel, meaning that it kept cool during the summer.

"You'll never guess what I got to do today!" Pam exclaimed, skidding into the kitchen in her socks. Her hair was coming out of its elastic, and looked very knotted, but that didn't take away from the sparkle in Pam's eyes.

"Let's see... did you wash potatoes?" I asked.

"No, no, I bet she had to wash grapes," Davey countered.

"Maybe she spun lettuce," I suggested.

"You two are so mean!" Pam protested. "I got to make salad. Well, not all of the salad. Just the carrots. They're so beautiful!"

"Carrots are beautiful?"

"Yes, yes they are. When they're bright orange ribbons, they are," she said. "There's this tool, I don't remember what Josh called it, but he said you had one as well Libby, although we never have carrot ribbons in our salads, so I'm not sure I believe him, because if you had one, I'd think that you would use it. Anyway, there's this tool that takes off a thin layer of carrot, and then you can easily curl it and make a ribbon."

"I think I've heard of something like that, it sounds familiar. Maybe Josh bought me one when he started working at the bistro," I said, trying to keep the humour out of my voice. Before I could suggest looking for it, Pam had already opened all the drawers in the kitchen and had started emptying them onto the counter.

"Will you be able to recognize it?" David asked.

"Yes! And I even took a picture in case I couldn't find one here," Pamela said.  "Ah hah! I found it!"

David and I glanced at each other, both trying not to laugh. David spoke first.

"Pam, I know you're my sister and I'm supposed to love you, but sometimes you're just too funny," he said, cracking up by the end of his sentence.

Pam looked puzzled. "Why?" she asked.

"That's a potato peeler. We use it every time we have mashed potatoes," Davey said.

She shook her head. "I don't believe you. It's a vegetable ribbon maker and that's final. I don't see how it could possible peel a potato."

Davey and I looked at each other. Pam was nothing if not stubborn.

"Next time we have mashed potatoes, I'll show you," I promised.