Triple Dip Part 2

As she opened the door she saw Amos lying on the couch almost looking at her entrance, yet diverting his eyes away from hers at the same time. "Hey Amos. I'm home. Excited about tonight's dinner? Come here Amos, I'm home." The dog did not budge and his lack of response indicated to Tina that he had been up to no good while she had been away. Within seconds she could see the dastardly deed from a distance. Amos had helped himself not only to the garbage, which was his normal occasional misdeed, but he had also done the unthinkable. He had gotten her box of Virgin Oil Crackers off the table, ripped away the packaging and consumed the entire contents that she had carefully planned as the vehicle to carry the acquisition of that evening. The crackers had cost her two days of salary and she had protected them, horded them for tonight, and now, her plan was destroyed.

"Bad Amos. No treat for you. Bad dog. Bad damn dog. Mommy has no more money and you've spoiled the evening." Amos sat, pretending not to hear her, constantly looking away. "Amos you are so very lucky that I bought curd crackers and some bread or I would have had to use you to dip." She proceeded to set the groceries on the table and began to unload the small bag. A smile came across her face as she unloaded the crackers and bread. How lucky she had been to pick these items up by chance. With the rest of the groceries unloaded, she proceeded to open the crackers and dip.

She took a plate from the cupboard and as she spread each cracker with Triple Dip, sat it carefully onto the plate until every cracker from the trial size box had been covered. "Spread it on your cracker, Have some on a chip..." She sang aloud as worked. She licked a bit of the dip off her index finger, and when she did, she stopped. She didn't move, she didn't sing, she just stopped. She had never tasted anything like this before in her entire existence. Strangely salty, slightly sweet, it was a flavor that she had never before experienced. She held up the small jar to read the ingredients but the only words in English were Triple Dip, Exotic ingredients from three continents, and the company logo. It was repeated all the way around the container I different languages and symbols that she had never seen before.

"Damn Amos, the Virgin Olive Oil Crackers that you ate, would have been perfect. The Curd crackers are okay, but the Olive Oil ones would have been just right."

She began to empty the plate of its contents, inexpensive or not, the curd crackers were delectable with the dip. With all of the contents of the plate gone but one small cracker, she looked at Amos, dear sweet Amos. She could empathize with his need to consume. "Here Amos, you can have one." Amos sniffed and turned away, almost riddled with guilt from his transgression and totally filled to the brim already with contraband crackers. "Had too much already, eh buddy? Well, you do look a little green around the gills. More for me. Anyway, you're being punished." With that she took the cracker that the dog had sniffed and popped it into her mouth.

The phone rang and Tina decided to let the answering machine monitor it. It was Leslie on her cell phone. Tina could always tell when Leslie was on that antique of a phone. A hum would begin the conversation and only every third or forth word would be audible. Why she didn't buy a new one was beyond Tina's imagination. "Tina, watch it...crackers...Triple Dip...tonight...news...third world....children."

Tina didn't like the direction of Leslie's conversation and chose not to pick up. It was too difficult to understand her, and now the message seemed to be one of social injustice. If she knew what it was about, she would have to cease eating her delicacy.

"Damn her. What a spoiler she can be. So worried about people that she knows nothing about. So what if children are making either my crackers or my dip, at least they are given some money, it is better than letting them starve. Amos, either you or I are guilty of making poor children labor. How ironic, you have always snubbed children, and now you may have eaten an entire package of crackers made by children."

With still a few spoonfuls of dip left she opened the bread and spread on the Triple Dip, layering it thickly. This was an even more exotic taste combination, even better than the curd crackers. The final bit of dip was removed as she ran her finger around the edge of the container and suctioned it off in her mouth. Satisfied, she removed any evidence that there had been any food on the table, and washed the utensils used to create her banquet. As the last knife was rinsed and put in the drainer the phone rang again. The caller ID reported that Leslie was now at home and on her dependable landline. "Hello Leslie...Yes, I got your message but it was way too broken up to understand...Okay...now... channel 50...Got it"

Tina turned on the small television and flipped through the stations to 50, as Leslie had instructed. On the screen was a scene of a dirty warehouse with pots, assembly lines, and tanks for cooking and in front of these was a petite blond with a hand microphone. Tina winced a bit at the area but she shook off her uneasiness and listened to the dialogue of the reporter.

"...ended in this warehouse. We knew that the sale of children from third world countries was occurring. We thought that these children were being used as slave labor by the Regimore Corporation for their production of Triple Dip, their new gourmet product. Our staffing has delved deeply into this injustice, only to find more."

Tina shook her head and spoke aloud to the television. "Hurry up already so I can feel guilty and move on." Not knowing that what she was about to hear would change her life forever.

"It seems that the Regimore Corporation's secrets are more sinister than we thought. We confirmed the rumor of children being sold by the hundreds and the charges of child labor. But more than the horror of that oppression is that fact that Triple Dip is not only made by children, its secret ingredient is children."

Realizing with horror why the taste was so unique, Tina turned off both the light and television and continued to sit in the dark. Amos lifted his head, gave her one last accusing look, and then, went back to sleep.