The Soup

I came home from my evening class a few nights ago and my husband met
me at the door, "I did something today and as soon as I did it I felt bad. It
was kind of stupid and I realized as soon as I did it, I shouldn't have. I
considered not telling you but decided no to go that route." Of course, my
mind immediately started to run though the possibilities... "You bought
something expensive on ebay?" was my first inquiry. "No" he replied.
"You invited somebody to come stay with us for 2 weeks?" I asked.
"No, I put this in the soup" he responded, holding up a very small carton
in his right hand. I leaned forward to read the writing on the box--chicken
broth. "Oh". "I made a pot of butternut squash soup and used 2 cartons
of vegetable broth, a carton of heavy cream, then added this without
thinking". "Oh" I repeated.
He had made one of my favorite homemade soups, cream of butternut squash.
He had chopped up two large squash, onion, garlic, 1/2 a jalapeno pepper,
cooked it all then run it though the blender. The huge pot was still on the stove,
a beautiful shade of baby-plooey orange.
Vegetarianism is, by definition, a protocol of rules, an adherence to boundaries,
a self-imposed regulation. However, it need not be an obsession. We need not
be Pharisees, placing the rules themselves above the substance behind them.
I ate the soup, and kissed my husband for being sweet enough make it, and
thoughtful enough to tell me the truth.