Nan plonked the bowls down on the table.
‘What is it?’ Flora asked.
Nan sighed like she did every Wednesday. ‘Spaghetti.’
‘Again?’
‘Again.’ She watched Flora push strips of Kraft cheese single into the sauce. Flaccid worms curled through a brown swamp, swirling with radioactive orange. She hated cooking.
‘What’s this?’ Flora held up a blob pierced by a fork tine.
‘Nothing,’ said Nan. ‘Just eat it.’
‘I think it’s an insect.’
‘It’s not an insect.’
Later, scraping the left-overs into the bin, Nan pretended not to see the pairs of tiny pincers, hooked legs and cooked eyes staring up at her.
***
You can blame the picture this week on Doug MacIlroy and the choice of it on Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Click here to read more Friday Fictioneers stories, and here to join in.
***
This week, Our Endless Numbered Days has been picked as one of Isabel Costello’s thirteen Hot Fiction Picks 2015. If you visit her website you can enter a competition to win your choice of one the books listed. (UK postage only.)
Claire Fuller 
Dear Claire,
The Kraft singles made me cringe even more than the bug. I’m certain there’s more nutrition in the latter. Your description of the spaghetti is delightfully disgusting. And your writing? Just plain delightful.
I’ll heartily share the blame for the photo and offer no apologies. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks! This week the picture and my writing turned my stomach.
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Dear Claire,
Protein. It’s does a body good.
Your story is electric, as is the news about your novel. Is it available for purchase yet? Details please.
Aloha,
Doug
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I don’t know why the thought of eating insects is so abhorrent when we eat prawns, which don’t look so different. Thanks for the picture it was a hard one to work with and deserves some gruesome stories.
My novel isn’t out until 17th March in the US, but you can pre-order if you want: http://www.amazon.com/Our-Endless-Numbered-Days-Novel/dp/1941040012/
Thanks,
Claire
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Eeewww!
Great story but I am totally grossed out…. which means the story is well done!
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Thank you. Me too!
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And I had just had lunch… fortunately not spaghetti.. but your story made me cringe with disgust… Next time I get Carbonara for lunch, I will look carefully if the bacon has pincers attached…
As usually very well told.
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Yes, definitely check it carefully. Thanks for reading and commenting Bjorn.
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And I was just about to get lunch… I can wait. The description of the toxic meal was just too good. Great story.
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Thanks Sandra. Sorry to put you off your lunch.
Claire
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No spaghetti for me for supper tonight….
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Me neither! Thanks for reading Susan, and tweeting it!
Claire
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Yuck! I am seriously considering boycotting this week’s FF!
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I am a little afraid to read the rest of the stories.
Claire
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AnElephant likes spaghetti.
AnElephant liked spaghetti.
Cool writing.
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Hah! Sorry about that AnElephant.
Claire
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Remind me to be washing my hair next time Flora invites me round for supper.
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Can I join you?
Claire
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I’m with Rochelle on that Kraft Cheese “food” although I am not much on bugs either. lol
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I was reading a forum about food people’s mothers used to make when they were children and Kraft Cheese singles on spaghetti came up surprisingly often.
Claire
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Hay caramba! Nan must be an awful cook to ruin spaghetti. Of course, the kitchen infestation isn’t helping her at all. Thanks for sharing an appropriately cringe-worthy story with us this week, Claire.
All my best,
Marie Gail
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I think she needs to get the pest control people in.
Thanks for reading.
Claire
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Flaccid worms curled through a brown swamp, Yikes! That and bug parts DO NOT a meal make. Great dialogue in this.
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Thanks! Glad you liked it.
Claire
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Laughed out loud – possibly because it rang very true for me (my wife has no faith in my cooking skills if I stray beyond the barbeque).
Great work.
KT
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I hope though you’d be better than Nan at keeping the insects out!
Claire
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Dear Ms. Fuller,
It is with deep regret that I will not be able to attend Wednesday’s spaghetti dinner. I thank you though for thinking of me and wish you a pleasurable dining experience..
Randy
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Hang on… I’m not going to that dinner on my own! I don’t think I can make it either…
Claire
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Urgh, yuck 🙂 Adds a bit of substance to the meal, I suppose. (I’m talking about the Kraft singles!)
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Ah yes, Kraft singles. Call that cheese??
Claire
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Wonderfully ugh. Make me realise the regular appearance of caterpillars on our home-grown veg in childhood was relatively benign.
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I remember boiling some broccoli a while ago, and three catapillars floating to the surface. It took me a long time before I could eat the stuff again.
Claire
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I don’t which description made me cringe more – the meal or the bug. Well told.
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Both of them disgusting!
Claire
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Yecchh. A crunchy little story. Nobody seems to be asking for the recipe, I see. Terrible to have to cook if you don’t enjoy it.
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Food tastes bad when there’s no joy in the cooking of it.
Claire
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“Flaccid worms curled through a brown swamp, swirling with radioactive orange.”
There’s so much here that needs explanation as to what nan put in, with this concoction …and I’m going to ask.
Might as well call the story ‘Inedible.’
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I’m thinking the worms are the spaghetti, the brown swamp is the meat sauce and the radioactive orange are the Kraft singles. Definitely inedible.
Claire
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Ewww! I’ll never look at any of these foods the same way again….
I guess that says it…
Ellespeth
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Ewww indeed! Thanks for reading and commenting.
Claire
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good recipe for a thought
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Not a recipe I intend trying!
Claire
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Claire, visceral writing that made me cringe. There’s no way I could eat spaghetti today, now! Huge congratulations on the book’s recognition! Can’t wait ’til it’s out!!
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Thanks Dawn, for the comment and the book encouragement!
Claire
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Just saw your name in my notifications, and got a strange craving for spaghetti… 😉
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This is the sort of lack of attention to detail that makes me cringe when I think about eating at an new restaurant 🙂
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Or eating at one that can’t be bothered any more…
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Claire
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I could see where this was heading as soon as I started reading this. Well done! And beware of those crunchy bits. You never know what it could be!
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The pincers get caught in my teeth. The story got stuck in my craw.
Super-duper writing, Claire!
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Totally made me laugh this morning! I can’t get excited about spaghetti, either, and I sympathize with her “Yeah, whatever. Eat it anyway” attitude. (Four kids over here, and never a meal that pleases all!) Great piece!
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Claire, This week’s photo is worse than the grapevine ooze. I can hardly wait to see what pops up in future when we’re not expecting it. Good story even though it was a bit icky. :0 — Suzanne
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What do you expect when eating wormacelli…..
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141014-time-to-put-bugs-on-the-menu
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