The way to make a perfect 

risotto

. Well there were many ways. You could use wine. You didn't need to. You could begin with butter or olive oil. You could add in vegetables like peas later. But one thing Peter never wavered on was the usage of an enamel 

cast iron

pot. He had a trusty 

Le Creuset

that was two decades old. It was one of the only cookware that he still had from his old days. Everything else had been bought new since and were of higher quality. A set of frying pans that were over $750. A German knife that cost $300. The Le Creuset was no KitchenAid or T-Fal product. But it was one of the remnants of his thrifty days.

His post college girlfriend had found it at a thrift shop. "What's so special about that?" Peter had said uninterested. "You don't understand, Petey. This is such a nice pot. They must not know how nice it is. Otherwise they would not be selling this for 12 dollars."

Peter provided further uninterested replies. But his girlfriend kept going on about how good of a find this was.

"This is the kind of pot that can last you your whole life."

And now here he was. Cooking risotto for another woman. Seemingly several lifetimes after those days.

"What are you thinking about?" Mari asked.

"College."

"What about it?"

"I had a girlfriend. After college I mean. Not college. But I stuck around the same town after graduating."

"I wish I got to go to college."

"It wasn't that special. You had a more interesting life I think. I wish I got to go to space."

"That's what everyone says."

"Mm. I never thought of that. But you're probably right." Pete scooped another half spoon of risotto into his mouth. "Is that annoying? That everyone assumes that space is so cool?"

"Yes. It can be."

"I'm sorry."

"Not you. It's okay. It's not even that it's annoying. It's that it causes me to doubt myself. Like I was up in space. So my life is supposed to be this super interesting thing now."

Peter could relate. He never wanted people to know that his family was wealthy. It made them assume things about him. It was annoying. He didn't even want to tell Mari.