Broken Noodles

She told me that she never had real spaghetti before. Of course she's had spaghetti before but not in the sense that made it worthwhile. When I asked why she replied that it didn't feel real. That in a sense it was pasta. She always broke the noodles when she made it. She developed a fear that everything would boil over and catch fire. That part of the noodles would be too crunchy. All of it would never fit in the pot. Her mother always broke the noodles so it just became habit. In the same breath. She told me at least once, That she'd like to twirl the noodles around the fork. The complete taste and feel of what makes it spaghetti. The cheese blending into the sauce. The big ball of noodles just wrapping around the fork waiting to be bit. When I asked about the meatballs she laughed, She was vegetarian