Minnesota. The 32nd state is often seen as the very definition of a Midwestern state. Winter coats, snow, thick accents, Fargo, and nice attitudes, the state can be weird to anyone unaware of its culture.

One part of Minnesota's culture people find baffling is her food, particularly lutefisk. Known to be eaten in parts of Norway, Sweden, and Finland, lutefisk consists of whitefish soaked in lye. To those who don't know what lye is, it's a chemical where one of its uses is curing foods (other applications include drain cleaners and soap making). Lye is a dangerous chemical when handled incorrectly can burn through human tissue if spilled onto flesh. Surely it's a good idea to marinate fish with this stuff!

The famous dish is not only dangerous to make, but its taste is also very peculiar. It's the reason the other States regard Minnesota like a lutefisk. Unique and bizarre.

☆☆☆☆☆

Christmas for the States of America is a special holiday full of winter delight and heartwarming celebration. Unlike Thanksgiving, the gatherings are much smaller, usually grouped by region where one State among group becomes the host of their respective gathering. The reason for this is mainly to spare everyone from buying over fifty gifts to spend time and money on, much to the relief of States with low incomes. Also, it gives the States much more freedom to celebrate their own version of the winter holiday, allowing their creativity and culture to flourish in preparation for this time of year.

During one year, it was Minnesota's turn to host the Christmas celebration. She usually hangs out with Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, North Dakota, and South Dakota; sometimes a State or two from the Midwest may decide to celebrate with them. However, Minnie is having a special guest who's not from the Midwest, leaving her quite nervous on how they're going to react to her traditional Christmas feast.

For Texas, this was her first time visiting Minnesota for the holiday season. Her visit isn't that unusual considering some States like New York travel to warmer climates to escape the harsh winter. But considering the Texan isn't a fan of cold weather, her visit comes as a rare surprise. Still, she couldn't refuse Minnie's invitation to her Christmas feast, especially after she attended her outdoor barbecue earlier that year. Thus, Tex arrived in the Midwest on a freezing morning, defrosting herself in the warm family room while Minnie and the Dakotas prepare the food in the kitchen. Altogether, they waited for the rest of the guests to come over.

"Game! The Winner is...Meta Knight!" the announcer on the widescreen TV declared as the screen panned to Meta Knight striking an impressive pose in front of Ice Climbers.

Sitting underneath two layers of beige, faux fur blankets on the brown, leather sofa, Texas, wearing a light-up sweater in the colors of her state flag and a pair of navy blue jeans, gave off loud hoots while North Dakota, wearing a Christmas tree sweater and brown cargo pants, sat adjacent to her, groaning to another loss.

"I don't feel like playing anymore..." he grumbled.

"Aw, come on, Forest! Let's go again!" she laughed.

"Nuh-uh! I'll only play if you don't pick Meta Knight."

Tex rolled her eyes. "Right," she scoffed.

"I'm serious! Meta Knight is OP. At least pick a new character instead of Meta Knight every time."

Tex sighed. "Fine, loser. I'll pick," Tex scrolled through the character screen, "... Solid Snake for this next game. Happy now?"

Although iffy about Tex's choice, North Dakota picked up his controller and chose his own character. He picked Ice Climbers again, earning Tex's stink eye. He was quick to notice.

"I really like Ice Climbers, okay."

"Uh-huh. And I like Meta Knight, but nooooo. You won't let me."

While Tex was going through the various stages they had yet to play on, South Dakota from the nearby kitchen pranced into the living room. The young girl wore a pair of navy blue jeans and a cherry red, wool sweater with a snowman taking up her front body. She proceeded to plop herself down between Tex and her brother with one arm over each of their shoulders.

"Who's winning?" she curiously asked.

Tex chuckled. "Me."

North Dakota frowned. "That's because she chose the most OP character in the game."

"Then why don't you choose Meta Knight?" South Dakota pointed out.

Her brother's cheeks turned a shade of scarlet. "T-That's because it wouldn't be fun. Besides, this isn't a competition. We're just doing this for fun while you and Minnie are cooking."

"Speaking of cooking," Tex chose Mario Circuit, "I'm starving! Is the food anywhere close to being finished yet?"

South Dakota shook her head. "Not even close."

Tex groaned at her response.

Before she could go on a rant, Minnie appeared in the living room. Matching the others, she wore a dark green sweater that had a brown reindeer leaping over snowy hills in the front. She also wore a Santa apron that went down to the knees of her black sweat pants. Her yellowish blonde hair not only sported pigtails, but also a red bow band as well in the spirit of the holidays.

Her teal eyes turned to South Dakota. "Flora, I need your help with the Christmas ham," she said.

"Oh, alright." South Dakota hopped off the sofa and scrambled off into the kitchen.

Just as Minnie was about to leave, Tex's stomach rumbled a long growl, the twelfth time that afternoon.

"Minnie! I'm starving! Can I at least have a sample, pretty please?" Tex pleaded with the Minnesotan.

She sighed. "I'm so sorry, Tex. You just need to wait a little longer."

Tex made a disappointed moan. "But Minnie~"

"Only three more hours until the Christmas feast is ready. I'm sure you can wait just a little more. In the meantime, you and North Dakota can watch TV or play some games."

Minnie went back into the kitchen before Tex could argue with her. Reluctantly, Tex got up from the warm confines of the couch, and went after Minnie.

"I can help you know," Tex offered, sneakily peaking into the kitchen. Before she could get a glance, Minnie pushed her away from seeing what was going on behind the kitchen door.

"You're not going to help by snacking on tater tots and ruining your appetite," she said, dragging Tex back all the way to the toasty living room.

"I always have an appetite," Tex whined in disappointment, setting herself down on the couch before wrapping herself in a layer of thick blankets.

"Good. By the time I'm finished, you'll eat half the table after you're done," she boasted with pride.

Knowing Tex, she can eat about almost anything.

"Where are the others?" Tex asked, referring to Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio.

"They're probably stuck in the snow and ice." Minnesota pondered. "Don't worry. They've been through this many times. Plus, we can always wait until they get here."

"They better be here or else I'm going to eat without them," she grumbled in a childish pout.

Minnie giggled. "I'll be in the kitchen, so be sure to greet them for me when they arrive."

Minnie went back into the kitchen.

"No problemo." Tex got her Wii remote off the wooden coffee table.

Before she could press a button, the screen roared, "Game!"

"And the winner is...Ice Climbers!"

Tex turned her head to North Dakota who fist pumped to his first victory. When he turned his attention to Tex, her eyes were forming daggers.

"What? The timer was running."

Tex scowled. "I'm changing back to Meta Knight."

"No way!"

"Yes way, you cheat!"

"I'm no cheat! You were distracted!"

The two continued to argue and play a few more matches on Super Smash Bros. Brawl until the others show up which by then the Christmas would be ready to serve in all its splendid galore.

~

"Good to see you, Tex! I thought you were celebrating Christmas with New Mexico and the others down there." Wisconsin took off her white, winter coat as Tex offer to take her coat and place it on a coat rack.

"Minnie invited me, so I had to come. Also, what in the world took y'all so long? I'm starving!"

"Blame the driver," Ohio grumbled as he took off his orange, nylon jacket, "Her reckless driving nearly got us killed."

"Blame the navigator," Michigan retorted while taking off her winter boots, "His stupid sense of direction nearly drove us into the middle of nowhere."

"I simply told you to turn left, but that dumb forehead of yours thought a detour to Canada would be nice."

"Oh, shove it where the sun don't shine! If it weren't for your constant mix-up of your lefts and rights I would've been here two hours ago!"

The two mortal enemies were nearly eye to eye with each other, creating an electric current of tension between them. They were ready to beat each other to a pulp when Wisconsin interfered in their squander.

"Come on, you two," Wisconsin pushed the two apart. "Minnie is waiting for us, so let's properly greet her and eat a nice dinner before you start pummeling each other's brains out."

She made a smile that was both sincere and sadistic, causing Tex to take a step back from her strange aura.

Not wanting to get on Wisconsin's bad side, Michigan and Ohio reluctantly shake on a truce. "Fine," they agreed simultaneously in bitter grumbles.

After the three got rid of their heavy clothing, Tex proceeded to guide them to the dining room where the Christmas feast was being held.

Entering the dining room, the four States were impressed by what sat in front of them. The mahogany table was decorated properly in holiday fashion. Scarlet, clothed napkins sat neatly folded on each of the seven mistletoe printed plates on top of crimson, circular place mats. Each one of the plates was had polished silverware on both sides of the plate. At the upper left corner of the plates were smaller plates with butter knives sat across. While in the upper right corner of the plates sat carmine, glass goblets. At the center of the massive table was a gigantic centerpiece full of dark green pine branches, medium-sized pine cones, small, glittery, red apples, plastic holly berries, and four white, cylinder candles that lit the atmosphere with a frosty, evergreen aroma.

The Dakotas came in and out of the dining room, carrying some of the Christmas dishes from the kitchen and placing them on the empty spaces of the table. South Dakota took a moment to set down the braised venison before going over to greet the recent newcomers.

"What's up, my dudes! Merry Christmas!" she giggled, embracing Wisconsin first.

"Merry Christmas to you, too!" Wisconsin greeted.

North Dakota set the tater tot hotdish down on the table before greeting his friends. "Merry Christmas! Thought you guys would arrive early."

"We would have if it weren't for someone's stupid driving. Ow!" Ohio received a nasty elbow on his right side.

Michigan paid no attention to his pain before greeting both Dakotas. "Merry Christmas. Didn't get into any trouble, did you? Don't want to be on Santa's naughty list."

The two shook their heads. "Nope," they both said at once. "Besides the fireworks fiasco on the Fourth of July and the corn maze prank on Iowa, we've been fairly good this year," said South Dakota with a big smile on her face.

"You forgot to mention the fake turd prank we did on April Fools' Day," North Dakota mentioned.

"Oh yeah! That, too!"

Not long after the entire room greeted each other, Minnesota arrived in the dining room carrying a platter of mashed rutabaga in both her red oven mitten hands. "H-Hey, everyone!" She placed the mashed rutabaga at the table before hurrying over to the three arrivals. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," the three greeted with every one of them giving her a big hug.

Minnie softly smiled. "Sorry for not greeting you earlier. I've been busy cooking and-"

A nearby beeping sound echoed behind the kitchen doorway.

"Oh! Looks like the roast ham is done. Flora, can you help me carry the honey-glazed ham out?" She hurried back into the kitchen.

South Dakota jumped to her feet, going in after Minnie. "Go ahead and set yourselves down while we get the last of the dishes out. Shouldn't be long," she said before disappearing behind the kitchen door.

While waiting for the rest of the food to come out, the rest of the States picked their seats around the table. On the right side of the table, Michigan sat close to the front. Wisconsin sat next to her, serving as a barrier to Ohio who sat on her right. On the left side, Tex, as the guest of honor, sat close to Minnie's seat. The other two seats on her side were saved for the Dakotas who were busy serving the rest of the Christmas dishes.

"Careful now," Minnie warned as she and South Dakota carried a large plate that held the glazed Christmas ham.

Everyone in the dining room marveled at the glistening ham, admiring its savory aroma that had Tex drooling onto her empty plate.

"Oh my God. That looks so good. I could just make out with it." Tex's mouth watered.

Michigan made an awry face at the Texan. "If you do, we're never inviting you to our Christmas parties ever again."

"Do ya have any idea how long I've waited to eat this stuff? I've waited over twelve hours since arriving at the airport and all I had was a blueberry muffin the size of a golf ball."

Minnie giggled. "Well, no need to wait any longer. Let me and Flora get the seven-layered salad and wild rice before we start the feast."

As the two went back inside the kitchen, coming out was North Dakota carrying two plates, one in each hand. Carefully, he placed one plate at the front left corner of the table. That platter was full of golden fried nuggets that were still warm from the deep fryer. Going over to the front right side by Tex, he placed a platter full of translucent, gel-like fillets that gave the opposite odor of the fried nuggets. He then hurried back to the kitchen, leaving Tex to analyze the strange, buttery, white, fish fillets.

"Do not eat the lutefisk," Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio whispered at the same time.

The Texan looked up at the three staring dangerously at her. She second-guessed it was someone else's scary voice, but there was no else in the room. Thinking they were spooking her as a joke, Tex ignored and continued to poke one fo the fillets with her fork

"Are you deaf?" Ohio hissed.

This time, Tex heard him. "What?"

"Whatever you do, do not eat the lutefisk," Michigan warned again.

"Lutefisk? Is that what this white thing is?" Tex, who had never heard of lutefisk before, was oblivious to the Nordic dish.

"It's best you don't eat it," Wisconsin suggested.

Tex cocked her head. "Why? Does it taste bad?"

Before she could get an answer, Minnesota and the Dakotas arrived with the rest of the food, ready to start the Christmas feast. After saying their prayers and grateful blessings, Minnie started the feast off by slicing into the ham perfectly, giving each plate a single slice of ham before allowing everyone to pass the numerous dishes around.

"No matter where I go, Minnie's tater dishes are always the best!" Michigan delightfully hummed before taking another bite ouf of the hotdish.

"I say the Swedish meatballs are the best out of everything on the table. They're just so good." Wisconsin took a large bite out of the meatball.

"Did you try the roast turkey yet, Brother?" South Dakota asked.

North Dakota shook his head. "Not yet. I'm still eating my prime rib."

"Strangely enough, I'm beginning to like this Jell-O salad," Ohio took a bite out of the green jello, red berries, and mayonnaise combination.

Michigan gave him a weird look. "You like that? No offense, Minnie, but that looks disgusting."

"None taken." Minnie smiled unfazed. "How about you, Tex? Which one is your favorite?"

"I think everything is good," Tex muffled with a mouthful of food.

"Manners, Tex." Ohio rolled his eyes.

"And don't keep all the fried cheese curds to yourself. I want some too," said Wisconsin.

Tex gulped down her food. "Of course, Cheesehead," she said sarcastically.

"I still have a Bundt Cake and Christmas cookies cooking in the oven. Make sure not to get too full on the food here," Minnesota reminded the table.

As everyone continued eating their fill, most of them had yet to notice one dish that sat undisturbed next to a woven basket of lefse between Minnie and Tex. Minnie noticed the lonely plate of lutefisk, looking saddened for some unknown reason. She proceeded to scoop one of the lutefisk fillets onto her plate, looking to the others and asking if they wanted any lutefisk. However, her soft voice went unnoticed among the chattering conversations around the table.

Texas gave a giant burp into her napkin. "Excuse me." She blushed slightly red.

"So...full... I just want a frosted Christmas cookie before passing out for tomorrow," North Dakota groaned, ready to explode at any moment now.

"Full already?! I'm still eating like a truck!" South Dakota shouted with a mouthful of ham, earning herself a scolding from Ohio.

"Is the Bundt Cake ready yet? I'm waiting for a slice." Wisconsin purred, rubbing her tummy full of fatty goodness.

"The timer should be going off by now." Minnie looked to the wooden clock at the back wall. "I'm going to see how it's doing. Has anyone tried the lutefisk yet?" She held the plate up for everyone to see.

Ohio quickly shook his head seeing the notorious lyed fish on the white, ceramic plate. "Oh man! I surely couldn't eat another bite!" he exaggerated his fullness.

Michigan covered her mouth with her hand, almost acting like she's going to puke. "Oh no! I don't want to waste all that good food by eating another bite." She shook her head, politely smiling.

Wisconsin awkwardly chuckled. "Sorry, Minnie. I wanted to eat that delicious lutefisk of yours, but it looks like my stomach won't let me eat another bite," she apologized.

Minnie turned her attention to Tex, expecting something out of the cowgirl. Hearing everyone else's response, Tex wasn't sure what to say to Minnie. Honestly, she can eat a little more thanks to the massive pit in her gut. However, half the table's warnings about the lutefisk made her doubt her words. Even so, she was Minnie's special guest. She didn't want to disappoint her. After all, she did her fiery chili many considered to be inedible for their tastes. Then again, she did end up puking in the toilet after drinking two gallons of milk. Still, Texas was thrilled to see Minnie try what she loved as food.

Before Tex could say a word, the timer in the kitchen went off. Minnie made a crestfallen sigh, placing the platter of lutefisk down onto the same spot of the table.

"Pardon me. I gotta get the dessert out of the oven before it gets burnt. I'll be right back in a second," she excused herself from the table, holding a disappointed expression when she left.

Once she left, Michigan got a lefse out of the basket and started munching on the Norwegian flat bread. "Whew! I still can't believe Minnie cooked this entire dinner."

"I agree. She may be a little odd, but thank God she knows how to cook." Wisconsin nodded.

"Tex, what are you doing?" Ohio interrupt the whole table.

Everyone in the room turned their eyes to the Tex, gaping in shock seeing the Southerner place a fillet of lutefisk onto her plate. Tex looked up at all of them, baffled by their horrified expressions.

"Oh come on, y'all! It couldn't be that bad!"

"Shh!" Wisconsin shushed the loud Texan, "Minnie will hear," she whispered.

Tex rolled her eyes. "Did ya see Minnie? She looked sadder than an abandoned puppy." 

South Dakota waved the comment off. "Don't worry about her. This isn't the first time someone denied to try her lutefisk. She'll get over it."

"Get over it? Even I'll be disappointed if someone refused to try my chili!" Tex raised her voice, angered by their heartless response.

"To be fair, your chili is way too spicy. Almost burned my tongue off." North Dakota shivered, recalling traumatic memories.

"First off, your chili doesn't compare to lutefisk. Lutefisk is on a whole different level compared to your hell pot." He trembled, remembering how miserable he felt when he ate Tex's famed chili. As always, Cincinnati chili is the best!

"For once, I agree with Ohio. You basically served molten lava in a bowl. Nearly sent Utah to the hospital." Michigan shuddered.

"Okay. First off, fuck y'all. My chili is the best!. Y'all just can't take a little heat," she huffed. "Second, this lutefisk smells funny, but overall it looks plain and decent. What's so bad about it?" Tex poked the white fillet with her fork.

Wisconsin sighed, trying to find the right word to describe her first taste of lutefisk. "Lutefisk is...unique. Bizarre...but unique. You know?"

South Dakota made a nod. "Yeah! It tastes...unique..." She lost her train of thought trying to describe the exotic dish.

Tex gave them the 'WTF' look. "Explain. Because whatever you're saying is complete bullshit. Especially toward Minnie's feelings."

"I know. I know," South Dakota agreed. "My brother and I have tried some lutefisk in the past and we find the dish okay with the right seasoning. If you can get past the weird smell and unusual texture, I think you might find lutefisk okay to an extent."

"I mean," Ohio interrupt, "I think lutefisk is the worst thing I've ever tasted. Minnie's is no exception. It's jellier(?) than the Jell-O salad, and it's blander than Michigan's hot dogs! Ouch! Where that wrench come from?" Ohio glared at Michigan as a swollen red lump grew at the top of his head.

"To be fair, Minnie did try to improve her lutefisk by adding more butter and seasoning. Still, everyone who has tasted lutefisk so far always say nasty things about the dish, leaving Minnie disappointed every time," Michigan mumbled feeling slightly guilty on the matter. "We do care for Minnie. Which is why we do our best to avoid getting her feelings down, especially when it comes to her food."

"Yeah. I always love her food, but lutefisk is one of those foods I simply had to...hold off... You know?" said North Dakota.

"Still, she really looked hurt when no one volunteered to eat her lutefisk," she sadly muttered. "I mean, lutefisk couldn't be that awful. It's basically a white fish, right?" She took a chunk off the fillet with a fork, observing the bite by its jelly appearance and fishy smell.

The atmosphere darkened around the room.

"You're not wrong," South Dakota muttered. "However, the fish is prepared in a special way that's as risky as cutting a puffer fish."

"How so?"

North Dakota took a moment to find a proper way to explain the famed lutefisk. "Lutefisk usually consists of a whitefish that is then soaked into lye."

"Lye? You mean-" Tex gasped, dropping her fork onto her plate in a loud clink.

Wisconsin nodded, confirming the fact the fish is basically soaked in poison. "Yep. It's still safe to eat after careful preparation, but be wary that even after proper cooking the fish is a bit off to some." She shrugged. "I mean, out of all the lutefisk dishes I ate I come to appreciate Minnie's as the best. Still, the fish is a little funky in my opinion."

Tex picked up her fork, lifting the lutefisk off her plate. "So... I can eat this without choking on my vomit?"

"Sure," Tex was about to take a bite of her lutefisk, "but, say anything awful about it in front of Minnie's face, we might have to kill you."

The piece of lutefisk fell off Tex's fork. "Wha-What?"

South Dakota giggled. "She's only joking, Tex. Come on! Take a joke!" she laughed, however, there was an evil glint in her forest green eyes.

"But seriously. If you make Minnie cry, we'll make you cry," Michigan chortled, yet her expression was serious.

"Remember that time during Thanksgiving I wore a cast saying I fell down the stairs?" Ohio mentioned. "Around that time, it was my first time trying Minnie's lutefisk. I may have said a few awful things about it in front of Minnie's face. Not long after telling her this, someone pushed me down the stairs." He glared at Michigan who whistled nonchalantly about the "accident".

"Um... Just be considerate of Minnie's feelings when you try it," said North Dakota whose advice was the most tamed compared to the other's.

However, his advice was overshadowed by the rest of the room's threats going on in Tex's mind. Before she could ask for more information, the kitchen door opened. Minnie popped out, holding two plates: one holding a medium sized Bundt cake and the other holding around a dozen Christmas cookies. The sweetened, baked aroma overfilled the room, leaving everyone's once serious discussion to be quelled by the extra room in their stomach.

"Sorry to keep everyone ready! The Bundt Cake is ready to be served now!" Minnesota called, putting both trays down on the table.

"Yum!" Michigan wafted in the Bundt cake's scent. "Dibs on the first slice!" she hollered.

"Smells so good. My appetite had suddenly came back to me." Ohio smacked his lips, eyeing for a slice.

"One small slice of Bundt cake for me please!" Wisconsin giggled.

Minnie nodded and smiled. "Okay, okay. Give me a minute to slice this cake and-" 

Just as Minnie was about to cut into the Bundt cake, Tex abruptly stood up from her  chair. "Minnie! I think your food is genuinely one of the best things I've ever tasted!" Her voice rang across the table, almost deafening everyone's ear drums.

"Calm down, Tex. At least say it with an inside voice," Ohio scolded her.

Minnie softly smiled. "That's great you feel that way. It's been an honor to have you here."

"I know," Tex agreed. "Which is why I'll eat your lutefisk." 

Just about everyone gasped hearing her daring feat.

"No way. You're kidding right?" Michigan questioned the dumb Texan with a dubious look.

"I won't just eat lutefisk," she stated before lifting the whole platter of lutefisk. "I'll eat a whole plate of it. Every single morsel into my mouth. And that's a promise." 

Whether it was for Minnie's feelings or her ego, Tex truly looked like she wasn't bluffing.

Minnie tried to convince her to back down on her claim. "Thank you, Tex, but I don't think it's a good idea for anyone to eat a whole platter of lutefisk. I'm sure eating that much will give you a stomachache."

Tex stubbornly shook her head. "Minnie. Because you tried every single dish from my home, it's time I do the same." Tex proceeded to pick up her fork. Rather than poke at the bite-sized piece she made earlier, instead she stabbed a whole fillet. "Even if this thing is soaked in deadly poison, knowing this was made by you, I will surely love it," Tex triumphantly declared holding the fillet up like a trident.

"Texas." Minnie blushed, awed by Tex's willingness to eat one of her favorite foods.

While she was able to easily impress Minnie, Tex failed to convince everyone else she was capable of eating a giant platter of lyed fish. On the contrary, they were more eager to see her fail.

"As much we don't want you to throw up on Christmas Eve, please go ahead and prove you can eat a whole platter of lutefisk fillets. In fact, I bet twenty dollars you won't finish the whole platter." Michigan smacked a twenty dollar bill on the dining table.

"Make that forty!" Ohio placed another twenty dollars on the table.

"Fifty!" South Dakota dropped fifty dollars onto the pile of money.

"Come on, you guys. Let's be mature here," North Dakota sighed. shaking his head. "Make that two hundred!" He slammed a bunch of dollar bills onto the table, earning a bunch of laughs from everyone except a confused Minnesotan and a disgruntled Texan.

"Remember to savor every single bite." Wisconsin smiled.

Seeing all that money on the table, Tex was more than determined to prove them wrong. "Then, I will!" she huffed proudly.

Without hesitating for another moment, Tex stuffed the whole fish fillet into her big mouth. Everyone watched in anticipation as they waited to see how the Texan would react. Not a word was said. The only sound that was there was Tex's chewing and the Dakota's munching on Christmas cookies. With every chewing motion she made, Tex's face left no kind of expression, neither looking amused or disgusted. It was almost like she was wearing a poker-face. Not a sign of emotion gave off what she was thinking.

'I can't tell if she hates it or loves it.' Ohio stared, unsure what she was thinking.

'Hopefully she doesn't break Minnie's feelings. She did work hard to make it after all." Wisconsin wondered while watching Tex eat the lutefisk.

'Please throw up. Please throw up. Not on me. Or the food. Or anyone. Except for Ohio. Throw up on him, and this will be the best Christmas ever!' Michigan held her hands together under the table while smiling to herself.

'I wonder if I should tell her lutefisk is supposed to be eaten with lefse. Oh well. Too late I guess.' South Dakota shrugged her shoulders.

'Please hate it or not finish it. I bet big money as a joke, so please don't take my money for my plane ticket out of here.' North Dakota subconsciously bit his nails in anticipation of Tex's response.

'Does she like it? I hope she finds it okay. I mean, I put lots of butter and seasoning to make sure it tastes delicious. Lutefisk is very good after all.' Minnesota waited to hear Tex's critique.

After swallowing the fillet in a single gulp, everyone held their breath awaiting the Texan's thoughts. She still held a blank expression, refusing to say anything immediately since gulping down the fish filet.

"How is it, Tex?" Minnesota cautiously asked, slightly afraid to hear her thoughts. She was use to the criticism, but for some reason if Texas were to say lutefisk was horrible it would really extinguish her holiday cheer.

Tex peered up to meet Minnie's teal eyes. She still didn't say anything. Instead, her hand picked up the fork. She stabbed another fish fillet off the platter. Without hesitating whatsoever, she took a huge bit out of the lutefisk. Her actions alone were enough to describe her feelings about dish. Yet, her blank face and quiet behavior left everyone agape, bewildered on what they were seeing.

"Oh, Tex! I knew you were a lutefisk lover the moment I met you!" Minnie joyfully hugged the Texan who continued to eat more lutefisk fillets

"So...good...can't...get...enough..." Tex muffled her voice with more morsels of lyed fish, her voice sounding unexcited and monotone with every bite.

Everyone else had their jaws glued to the floor, unable to find the right words to describe the ridiculousness of the situation they were seeing.

'Bullshit! Texas a lutefisk lover. I would be more convinced if Ohio admitted to sucking ass than Texas loving lutefisk,' Michigan denied the sight she saw.

'She had to be faking it, right? Spare Minnesota's feelings and sucking it up like a boss, right? Lutefisk can't be that good, right?' Ohio shook his head disturbed.

'The Texan sure has guts. I give her credit for that,' Wisconsin watched while slicing the Bundt cake to serve for herself and everyone else while Tex and Minnie shared the platter of lutefisk together.

'Still forgot to eat it with lefse. Sigh...' South Dakota munched on a gingerbread cookie.

'NOOOOO! My plane ticket!' North Dakota got up out of his seat and left the room seeing Tex swallow her fourth lutefisk fillet.

Whether Tex truly likes lutefisk or not, it's obvious the friendship she and Minnie had was genuine. Minnie couldn't be any happier to see the Texan eat every last morsel of lutefisk she had cooked. Even though Tex threw up later that night, Minnie would admit the amount of lutefisk she ate was too much for anyone, especially after eating and trying every dish in her cookbook. Overall, she was really thankful Tex would try and eat the stuff when she thought no one would give the dish a chance.

For Texas, it was truly a Christmas miracle she ate all that lutefisk that Christmas Eve. Whenever someone were to ask Tex about lutefisk, she would always say, "It's an exotic delicacy."

☆☆☆☆☆

+ Lutefisk is a traditional seafood dish originating from the Nordic countries. It was brought over to the United States by Scandinavian immigrants, and it had since became a part of Scandinavian American culture, typically eaten around the Christmas season. It also became prominent in Minnesota to where Madison, Minnesota dubbed itself as 'lutefisk capital of the world'.

- From what I read on the Internet, lutefisk requires an acquired taste for a person to like the unique dish. Certainly, I won't give the dish a try if I were to come across it. Although, I admit how the dish is prepared and cooked doesn't make the dish sound appetizing. Nevertheless, I'm willing to give the dish a chance.

+ By the way, I included Texas in this chapter was a nod of acknowledgement to a couple of ships I've seen involving Texas and Minnesota. Personally, I don't ship characters in any fandom whatsoever. Still, I find such pairings cute and gave it a mention in this chapter.

~

Feel free to vote or comment any thoughts on Minnesota or the chapter here.