sullenness, he didn’t acknowledge it.
The sound of the bell ringing above the door caught all of our attention, and we all turned to see who was arriving. I could only hope it was karma – and she was coming to give Derrick a good swift kick in the ass.
Instead it was my conscience coming to give me a bitter dose of reality in the form of my mother. She was heading straight towards us.
“Good morning,” Eliot greeted her amiably.
“Good morning,” my mom said stiffly. I noticed that my grandfather had come out into the main room from the kitchen. He slipped into the booth at the far end of the table and was eating his morning breakfast. My grandfather was a big guy – and he loved his food. “Good morning, grandpa,” I greeted him.
“Morning, Dolly,” he said.
My grandfather calls all of his granddaughters Dolly. I have no idea why.
“Who is your friend?”
I introduced Eliot. My grandfather hadn’t had a chance to meet him the night before. My mom had slid into the middle section of the booth and was sitting next to Derrick. She picked a piece of toast off his plate and started nibbling on it. Derrick gave her a dirty look. “Do you want your own breakfast?”
“No,” she sighed. “I’ll just have this piece of toast.”
“Maybe I wanted that piece of toast,” Derrick countered.
“You’ve had enough,” she responded.
I pursed my lips and smirked at Derrick. When he was sure my mom wasn’t looking, he shot me the finger.
My grandfather was still staring at Eliot thoughtfully. “Is he your boyfriend?”
I cast a sideways glance at Eliot. We really hadn’t defined that.
“Yes, sir,” Eliot answered for me.
“You are?” I was surprised at how quickly he had answered the question.
Eliot ignored me.
“Shouldn’t you have decided that before last night?” Derrick asked.
If my legs were long enough to reach him, I would have kicked him. “Eat your breakfast,” I admonished him.
My mom was fixing her icy glare on me again. Great.
“So, I figured we would all go over to Sally’s now.” What? I can divert, too.
“What did you do last night?” My mom’s tone was no-nonsense.
“Should we all leave now?” I ignored her question.
“What did you do last night?” She’s like a dog with a bone, I swear.
“We slept.” That’s not a lie. We did sleep. After.
“In separate rooms?”
“Yes,” I lied.
I could see Eliot shaking his head out of the corner of his eye. He was absolutely no help.
“She’s lying,” Derrick supplied. I really hate him sometimes.
“Are you lying?” My mom’s voice had risen an octave.
“Who are you going to believe?” That was a loaded question.
“Just leave her alone,” my grandfather chimed in. “She’s an adult. At least we know she’s not a lesbian now – even if that fellow does have some mighty long hair for a boy.”
Eliot ran his fingers through his hair self-consciously. I moved to push him out of the booth. “We’ll meet you over at Sally’s.”
My grandfather got up from the table. “I’m going to run upstairs and go to the bathroom and then I’ll meet you over there.”
That was code. He really means he’s going to sit on the toilet upstairs until he’s sure we’re all gone and then get caught up in some work task that conveniently keeps him from helping us.
He disappeared into the kitchen. He really wouldn’t be a lot of help anyway. He would probably be more of a hindrance, barking out orders and directing everyone else to do things until everything resulted in a really large clusterfuck.
My mom was still regarding Eliot and I suspiciously. “What?” I turned to her in exasperation.
“Nothing,” she pursed her lips.
“Just let it go,” I grumbled.
“You let it go,” she countered.
The whole family devolves into middle school comebacks sometimes. Luckily for us, things didn’t have a chance to sink to any new lows because there were raised voices emanating from the kitchen.
The other
The sound of the bell ringing above the door caught all of our attention, and we all turned to see who was arriving. I could only hope it was karma – and she was coming to give Derrick a good swift kick in the ass.
Instead it was my conscience coming to give me a bitter dose of reality in the form of my mother. She was heading straight towards us.
“Good morning,” Eliot greeted her amiably.
“Good morning,” my mom said stiffly. I noticed that my grandfather had come out into the main room from the kitchen. He slipped into the booth at the far end of the table and was eating his morning breakfast. My grandfather was a big guy – and he loved his food. “Good morning, grandpa,” I greeted him.
“Morning, Dolly,” he said.
My grandfather calls all of his granddaughters Dolly. I have no idea why.
“Who is your friend?”
I introduced Eliot. My grandfather hadn’t had a chance to meet him the night before. My mom had slid into the middle section of the booth and was sitting next to Derrick. She picked a piece of toast off his plate and started nibbling on it. Derrick gave her a dirty look. “Do you want your own breakfast?”
“No,” she sighed. “I’ll just have this piece of toast.”
“Maybe I wanted that piece of toast,” Derrick countered.
“You’ve had enough,” she responded.
I pursed my lips and smirked at Derrick. When he was sure my mom wasn’t looking, he shot me the finger.
My grandfather was still staring at Eliot thoughtfully. “Is he your boyfriend?”
I cast a sideways glance at Eliot. We really hadn’t defined that.
“Yes, sir,” Eliot answered for me.
“You are?” I was surprised at how quickly he had answered the question.
Eliot ignored me.
“Shouldn’t you have decided that before last night?” Derrick asked.
If my legs were long enough to reach him, I would have kicked him. “Eat your breakfast,” I admonished him.
My mom was fixing her icy glare on me again. Great.
“So, I figured we would all go over to Sally’s now.” What? I can divert, too.
“What did you do last night?” My mom’s tone was no-nonsense.
“Should we all leave now?” I ignored her question.
“What did you do last night?” She’s like a dog with a bone, I swear.
“We slept.” That’s not a lie. We did sleep. After.
“In separate rooms?”
“Yes,” I lied.
I could see Eliot shaking his head out of the corner of his eye. He was absolutely no help.
“She’s lying,” Derrick supplied. I really hate him sometimes.
“Are you lying?” My mom’s voice had risen an octave.
“Who are you going to believe?” That was a loaded question.
“Just leave her alone,” my grandfather chimed in. “She’s an adult. At least we know she’s not a lesbian now – even if that fellow does have some mighty long hair for a boy.”
Eliot ran his fingers through his hair self-consciously. I moved to push him out of the booth. “We’ll meet you over at Sally’s.”
My grandfather got up from the table. “I’m going to run upstairs and go to the bathroom and then I’ll meet you over there.”
That was code. He really means he’s going to sit on the toilet upstairs until he’s sure we’re all gone and then get caught up in some work task that conveniently keeps him from helping us.
He disappeared into the kitchen. He really wouldn’t be a lot of help anyway. He would probably be more of a hindrance, barking out orders and directing everyone else to do things until everything resulted in a really large clusterfuck.
My mom was still regarding Eliot and I suspiciously. “What?” I turned to her in exasperation.
“Nothing,” she pursed her lips.
“Just let it go,” I grumbled.
“You let it go,” she countered.
The whole family devolves into middle school comebacks sometimes. Luckily for us, things didn’t have a chance to sink to any new lows because there were raised voices emanating from the kitchen.
The other
Similar Books
