Jeremy drowned accidentally or not.” My lips twisted as I smiled wryly. “The only danger appears to be when someone goes out with me."
Our waitress brought more coffee and inquired whether we were finished. We both seemed to have lost our appetites so I grabbed the bill and stopped at the cashier station to pay. As far as I was concerned this was enough mother and daughter bonding for today. As we exited the restaurant my mother halted in the middle of the pavement. Tears welled in her eyes.
"Mom, what's the matter?"
She foraged in her purse and pulled out a pre-packaged tissue. She gently wiped her eyes and blew her nose before continuing. “You know how worried I am about you going out with these strange men. If anything happened to you, I don't know what I would do."
I was touched. It was so seldom my mother showed any emotion, especially in public.
"Honest, right now I have zero desire to go on another date."
"Well, don't totally give up on men. You just need to go out with someone you can trust."
We hugged and headed toward our respective vehicles. We were almost to our cars when she asked, “What kind of costume is Ben wearing for Halloween?"
Oops. Time I focused on my children instead of my primal urges. “Ben and I are going to work on his costume tonight, as soon as the kids return home from their weekend with Hank."
We parted company, she in her pristine car and I in my dusty hybrid. The kids wouldn't be home until around six so I decided some quiet time would do me some good. I drove to my favorite orchard and sat at a picnic table surrounded by apple-laden trees overlooking the farm's trout filled pond. It felt good to relax, the sun caressing me with its warmth while I gnawed on a caramel apple. Between the sunshine and the high dosage of sugar, the tension eased out of my shoulders.
Back at the house, I decided it wouldn't hurt to emulate my mother. I not only scrubbed my car from one sparkling periwinkle end to the other, I found time to whip up some chocolate chip cookies for the kids. And possibly their father. When we were married I used to hide cookies in my lingerie drawer to keep Hank from devouring the entire batch.
One would think a man would never stray from a wife who smelled like chocolate.
My arms were elbow deep in suds when the timer beeped. I wiped my hands on a dishtowel, grabbed a potholder and opened the oven door. The front door blew open and the kids serenaded me with their theme song, “Hey Mom, where are you?"
Perfect timing. I turned to greet them, baking sheet in hand.
A furry animal scurried over my bare foot. I screamed and the metal pan flew into the air. Hot cookies rained melted chocolate on the floor.
"Kids, there's a rat in the kitchen.” I opened the door of the pantry and looked for a weapon. A can of Pringles would have to suffice.
"Mom,” wailed Ben, “that's not a rat. It's our new kitten. You've probably scared her to death.” Ben picked up the furry creature, which was cowering next to the stove. He cuddled her in one arm while he chomped on one of the few cookies that escaped landing on the floor.
Jenna bent over and began picking up the cookies that were splattered all over the floor.
"Mom, you need to get glasses. Can't you tell it's a kitten? Isn't she adorable?"
I took a closer look at the “adorable” kitten. She was a strange blend of orange and black hair with enormous pointed ears, definitely the homeliest cat I'd ever encountered.
"We got her at the mall and named her Pumpkin cause she's orange and black and it's almost Halloween. We can keep her, can't we? Dad said you wouldn't mind.” Ben looked over my shoulder and I turned to glower at a sheepish Hank.
"Sure, honey, I mean Laurel. I know you had a tough weekend, so we went to the mall to pick up a costume for Ben. He said you'd been too busy to work on one this year."
My ex. Master of the guilt trip.
"Dad bought me this terrific costume. I'm going to be Spiderman.” Ben
Our waitress brought more coffee and inquired whether we were finished. We both seemed to have lost our appetites so I grabbed the bill and stopped at the cashier station to pay. As far as I was concerned this was enough mother and daughter bonding for today. As we exited the restaurant my mother halted in the middle of the pavement. Tears welled in her eyes.
"Mom, what's the matter?"
She foraged in her purse and pulled out a pre-packaged tissue. She gently wiped her eyes and blew her nose before continuing. “You know how worried I am about you going out with these strange men. If anything happened to you, I don't know what I would do."
I was touched. It was so seldom my mother showed any emotion, especially in public.
"Honest, right now I have zero desire to go on another date."
"Well, don't totally give up on men. You just need to go out with someone you can trust."
We hugged and headed toward our respective vehicles. We were almost to our cars when she asked, “What kind of costume is Ben wearing for Halloween?"
Oops. Time I focused on my children instead of my primal urges. “Ben and I are going to work on his costume tonight, as soon as the kids return home from their weekend with Hank."
We parted company, she in her pristine car and I in my dusty hybrid. The kids wouldn't be home until around six so I decided some quiet time would do me some good. I drove to my favorite orchard and sat at a picnic table surrounded by apple-laden trees overlooking the farm's trout filled pond. It felt good to relax, the sun caressing me with its warmth while I gnawed on a caramel apple. Between the sunshine and the high dosage of sugar, the tension eased out of my shoulders.
Back at the house, I decided it wouldn't hurt to emulate my mother. I not only scrubbed my car from one sparkling periwinkle end to the other, I found time to whip up some chocolate chip cookies for the kids. And possibly their father. When we were married I used to hide cookies in my lingerie drawer to keep Hank from devouring the entire batch.
One would think a man would never stray from a wife who smelled like chocolate.
My arms were elbow deep in suds when the timer beeped. I wiped my hands on a dishtowel, grabbed a potholder and opened the oven door. The front door blew open and the kids serenaded me with their theme song, “Hey Mom, where are you?"
Perfect timing. I turned to greet them, baking sheet in hand.
A furry animal scurried over my bare foot. I screamed and the metal pan flew into the air. Hot cookies rained melted chocolate on the floor.
"Kids, there's a rat in the kitchen.” I opened the door of the pantry and looked for a weapon. A can of Pringles would have to suffice.
"Mom,” wailed Ben, “that's not a rat. It's our new kitten. You've probably scared her to death.” Ben picked up the furry creature, which was cowering next to the stove. He cuddled her in one arm while he chomped on one of the few cookies that escaped landing on the floor.
Jenna bent over and began picking up the cookies that were splattered all over the floor.
"Mom, you need to get glasses. Can't you tell it's a kitten? Isn't she adorable?"
I took a closer look at the “adorable” kitten. She was a strange blend of orange and black hair with enormous pointed ears, definitely the homeliest cat I'd ever encountered.
"We got her at the mall and named her Pumpkin cause she's orange and black and it's almost Halloween. We can keep her, can't we? Dad said you wouldn't mind.” Ben looked over my shoulder and I turned to glower at a sheepish Hank.
"Sure, honey, I mean Laurel. I know you had a tough weekend, so we went to the mall to pick up a costume for Ben. He said you'd been too busy to work on one this year."
My ex. Master of the guilt trip.
"Dad bought me this terrific costume. I'm going to be Spiderman.” Ben
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