"Gotcha, Uncle Russ.  The quote is ‘I don’t ask for things I don’t think I can get.’  From The Little Foxes.

"I was close."

You always tell me, ‘Close but no cigar’."

"I’ve created a monster.  You win."

"Thank you Uncle Russ.  No applause is necessary."

"Next time, the game will be harder."

"I’ll still win," Tina teased.

"We’ll see," Russ called out behind him as he went into his bedroom for his nap.

The toast had not done much to assuage Tina’s hunger.  She looked in the refrigerator and found some cold cuts, but they looked funny when examined.  Tina then rummaged through the kitchen cabinets and found peanut butter, some fancy crackers, and microwave popcorn.  She gave many crackers a thick lawyer of the peanut butter and placed them on a plate while she nuked the popcorn.

Tina knew she shouldn’t, but she examined the medicine bottles that sat next to the sink.  She recognized one, Retrovir, from a paper she had written for journalism elective and knew it was an AIDS drug.  Its presence confirmed what Tina had known.  She grabbed pen and paper from her backpack and wrote down the names of the drugs and their dosages.  She would research them when she got home.

Tina balanced the plate with the crackers, the bowl of popcorn and a glass of water as she walked to and sat on the couch.  She had resorted to water because there were no recognizable beverages in the refrigerator.

Tina flipped through the movie selection, and selected Desk Set, one of the few Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn movies she had not seen.

Forty-five minutes into the movie, there was a knock at the apartment’s door.  Tina, without a bit of the skills to survive in an urban environment, opened the door.

The child who had been knocking was startled to see someone other than Russ and she took a step backwards.  However, her need for help outweighed her discomfort, "Is Russ home?"

"He’s napping.  Is there some way I can help?"

"That’s okay.  Just ask Russ to come across the hall when he wakes up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah.  He was helping me with some cooking.  I’m making dinner for my mother."

"Julia Child?"

"What?"

"On the phone last night, right?" Tina insisted.  "I’m Betty Crocker."

"He didn’t say you were coming to New York."

"It was a surprise," Tina answered vaguely, "but maybe I can help?"

Shane looked at her skeptically, "I don’t know."

"Really, it will be fine.  I do a lot of cooking with my mother and aunts."

Shane hesitated but then nodded.  She led Tina across the hall but stopped just in time, "Pop the lock on that door so that you don’t get locked out," Shane instructed the suburban teen.

Inside Shane’s apartment, Tina surveyed the younger girl’s progress.  "You’ve done a really good job, Julia.  Just watch the timing so that you can serve everything hot.  Make sure to pay attention to the pop up indicator in the turkey.  The turkey will get dry if you cook it too long."

Shane nodded, not revealing the pride she felt at the older girl’s praise.

"Have you ever carved a turkey?"

Shane frowned, "I think my mother has."

"Good.  I am sure my uncle can help with that.  Everything you’re cooking should be ready in about an hour and he’ll be awake by then."

"Okay."

"You can set the table while you’re waiting."

Shane’s confused expression embarrassed Tina.

"My Uncle Russ has boxes all over the place.  I’m sure that he has something we can use to set the table.  I’ll go look and let you know." Tina exited but returned seconds later.  "Dinner for two?"

Shane nodded.

As promised, Tina opened a dozen of her uncle’s unpacked boxes and assembled a tablecloth, napkins, glassware, plates, serving dishes, and tableware.  She added two candlesticks and candles.  She even located a carver set.  Tina carried them to the apartment across the hall, and worked with Shane to set the table.

"Looks good, Julia!" Tina announced.

Shane agreed.