/ck/ - Food & Cooking

This thread brought up the memory I thought I repressed about a meal with the parents of this girl I was dating in college.
She lived at home, but the house was truly the most depressing place I've ever witnessed. Her parents were hardcore alcoholics: literally calling out of work/leaving work early just so they could drink. A typical day looked like this: mom would shuffle between the living room and kitchen, drink a handle of $8 white rum, and cry while watching the Hallmark Channel or the Buffalo Bills play; dad would lay in bed all day and watch John Wayne movies or listen to Elvis when he wasn't out smoking on the porch. They also had a dog that, despite being three years old, they let shit in the house because "he's just a little puppy." This plays a role later on in the story.
My ex hated her living situation, but was broke and totally codependent on them. I hated going there, but she was always super anxious about not being within five minutes of home "in case her parents needed her" and she refused to drive the ten minutes on the highway to my college and see me because "the interstate is scary." I was a total robot at the time and she was the only person that showed me any affection, so I begrudgingly put up with the situation.
I recall one Sunday evening where, after listening to her parents yell at each other all day long, dinner was served. Her mom was obsessed with her air fryer (so much so that she'd bring it to the casino with her on gambling trips), and somehow made spaghetti and meatballs in the thing. It tasted about what you'd expect. As soon as I sat down at the dinner table, I felt my foot squish into dog shit on the carpet. I excused myself to the bathroom and tried not to leave then and there, but didn't want to come across as rude. By the time I returned maybe two minutes later, her parents were sobbing about her mom's stillborn child from 18 years prior and my ex was in er bedroom burning herself with a lighter.