"ARE we celebrating something?" Hanna asked when she noticed the food in front of us. She then turned to me.

I dragged her to the kitchen to let her taste the food I cooked this afternoon. 

I shook my head as I looked at the plate of truffle mushroom pasta on the table.

"Nah. I just wanted to cook." 

The truth is, I was kind of nervous with my job interview scheduled for the next day. So I distracted myself by cooking one of my favorite pasta dishes. It was a habit of mine--cooking whenever I'm feeling nervous.

Two days ago, I walked past a local bookstore on the next...