delivery after a failed attempt at something homemade.
Kori got out a saucepan, butter, garlic, zucchini, arugula and onions. She would stick to simple sautéed veggies to keep her cooking tonight to a minimum.
When she’d gotten into a routine at the stove, she turned to Gale who was now staring into a pot full of boiling water and cooking spaghetti, and asked, “So what brought you by tonight? I usually only see you Monday and Wednesday morning.”
Gale paused, like she was trying to figure out which words to carefully choose to share with Kori. “I’ll be going away for a little while.”
The way she said it, Kori could only imagine bad news following that. But she waited for Gale to continue and didn’t jump to conclusion. Out loud anyway. In her mind, she asked, Like, to jail?
“I’ve signed up for an art retreat.”
Now Kori had to laugh. She held up one hand and apologized. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. But I thought your cooking was a good representation of your artistic skills. And enjoyment of it.”
“I know. That’s why I waited until the last minute to tell you. I didn’t want to hear about my complete lack of talent for weeks. But I leave tomorrow for two weeks.”
Kori straightened up and got more serious, stemming the oncoming tide of more giggles. “Where are you going?”
“Well, I’ll be meeting someone in Italy and we’re going to the retreat together. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Meeting someone, like a guy?” Kori asked, the ammo only growing. The last date her mom had gone on was with Mayor Devlin. That relationship had lasted one night because he had “too many girlfriends,” Gale had told her. And Kori had seen that it was true the following morning when he’d shown up in The Early Bird Café with a blonde bimbo for brunch.
Gale returned to staring into the pot. “Actually yes.”
Kori nodded. “That’s … great.” It was, wasn’t it? Her mom was entitled to meet men. Kori could be happy for her. She just didn’t want to hear details.
“I met him online.”
But that got Kori going again. To the best of Kori’s knowledge, her mother barely knew how to send an email, so the thought of her meeting a guy online was way beyond what she could comprehend. “Online?” she asked between hiccupping laughs.
“Yes. He was a friend in high school and—”
Kori interrupted. “Okay, so not really online. You knew him in the past from the non-cyber world.”
“Yes. But we just reconnected. Through—what’s that virtual yearbook thing? Facebook?”
“Yeah, Facebook. That’s great, Mom.” But the most surprising thing to Kori was that her mom was meeting a guy— any guy. She had convinced Kori years ago that women were better off independent, ever since Kori’s dad had died and Gale had been left alone. Though in that case, Gale was better off alone. Kori’s dad had been anything but a positive addition to their lives.
Kori grabbed a wooden spoon and placed it over the pot of boiling spaghetti before it boiled over. She didn’t know why, but a wooden spoon prevented any pot from boiling over. It was one of her favorite kitchen hacks.
“Well, then let’s celebrate,” Kori suggested. “Wine?”
Gale nodded and grabbed t wo wine glasses from the cupboard and Kori got a bottle of wine—her last she noticed—from the pantry. It wasn’t the best place to keep it, but she had limited space in her above-the-café apartment and made do with what she had.
***
It was after ten when Kori was finally alone with a cleaned kitchen. That was one of her pet peeves—going to bed with a mess in the kitchen. She would have loved to get to bed fifteen minutes earlier, but facing a disaster either first thing in the morning or right after working all day in the café was something she tried to avoid.
She was disappointed she had barely seen Zach since their night together, so before going to bed she sent him an invitation to spend tomorrow
Kori got out a saucepan, butter, garlic, zucchini, arugula and onions. She would stick to simple sautéed veggies to keep her cooking tonight to a minimum.
When she’d gotten into a routine at the stove, she turned to Gale who was now staring into a pot full of boiling water and cooking spaghetti, and asked, “So what brought you by tonight? I usually only see you Monday and Wednesday morning.”
Gale paused, like she was trying to figure out which words to carefully choose to share with Kori. “I’ll be going away for a little while.”
The way she said it, Kori could only imagine bad news following that. But she waited for Gale to continue and didn’t jump to conclusion. Out loud anyway. In her mind, she asked, Like, to jail?
“I’ve signed up for an art retreat.”
Now Kori had to laugh. She held up one hand and apologized. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. But I thought your cooking was a good representation of your artistic skills. And enjoyment of it.”
“I know. That’s why I waited until the last minute to tell you. I didn’t want to hear about my complete lack of talent for weeks. But I leave tomorrow for two weeks.”
Kori straightened up and got more serious, stemming the oncoming tide of more giggles. “Where are you going?”
“Well, I’ll be meeting someone in Italy and we’re going to the retreat together. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Meeting someone, like a guy?” Kori asked, the ammo only growing. The last date her mom had gone on was with Mayor Devlin. That relationship had lasted one night because he had “too many girlfriends,” Gale had told her. And Kori had seen that it was true the following morning when he’d shown up in The Early Bird Café with a blonde bimbo for brunch.
Gale returned to staring into the pot. “Actually yes.”
Kori nodded. “That’s … great.” It was, wasn’t it? Her mom was entitled to meet men. Kori could be happy for her. She just didn’t want to hear details.
“I met him online.”
But that got Kori going again. To the best of Kori’s knowledge, her mother barely knew how to send an email, so the thought of her meeting a guy online was way beyond what she could comprehend. “Online?” she asked between hiccupping laughs.
“Yes. He was a friend in high school and—”
Kori interrupted. “Okay, so not really online. You knew him in the past from the non-cyber world.”
“Yes. But we just reconnected. Through—what’s that virtual yearbook thing? Facebook?”
“Yeah, Facebook. That’s great, Mom.” But the most surprising thing to Kori was that her mom was meeting a guy— any guy. She had convinced Kori years ago that women were better off independent, ever since Kori’s dad had died and Gale had been left alone. Though in that case, Gale was better off alone. Kori’s dad had been anything but a positive addition to their lives.
Kori grabbed a wooden spoon and placed it over the pot of boiling spaghetti before it boiled over. She didn’t know why, but a wooden spoon prevented any pot from boiling over. It was one of her favorite kitchen hacks.
“Well, then let’s celebrate,” Kori suggested. “Wine?”
Gale nodded and grabbed t wo wine glasses from the cupboard and Kori got a bottle of wine—her last she noticed—from the pantry. It wasn’t the best place to keep it, but she had limited space in her above-the-café apartment and made do with what she had.
***
It was after ten when Kori was finally alone with a cleaned kitchen. That was one of her pet peeves—going to bed with a mess in the kitchen. She would have loved to get to bed fifteen minutes earlier, but facing a disaster either first thing in the morning or right after working all day in the café was something she tried to avoid.
She was disappointed she had barely seen Zach since their night together, so before going to bed she sent him an invitation to spend tomorrow
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