else. Even the spinach was divine.
Momma Love watched and waited. She’d poured herself a second glass of wine, and held it halfway between the table and her lips as she waited for a response to her great-grandmother’s secret recipe.
“It’s great,” he said, going for the second bite. “Just great.” His only experience with lasagna had been a year or so earlier when his mother had pulled a plastic tray from the microwave and served it for dinner. Swanson’s frozen, or something like that. He remembered a rubbery taste, nothing like this.
“You like it,” Momma Love said, taking a sip of her wine,
He nodded with a mouthful, and this pleased her. She took a small bite.
Reggie hung up and turned to the table. “Gotta run downtown. The cops just picked up Ross Scott for shoplifting again. He’s in jail crying for his mother, but they can’t find her.”
“How long will you be gone?” Mark asked, his fork still.
“Couple of hours. You finish eating and visit with Momma Love. I’ll take you to the hospital later.” She patted his shoulder, and then she was out the door.
Momma Love was silent until she heard Reggie’s car start, then she said, “What on earth did you boys see out there?”
Mark took a bite, chewed forever as she waited, then took a long drink of tea. “Nothing. How do you make this stuff? It’s great.”
“Well, it’s an old recipe.”
She sipped the wine, and rattled on tor ten minutes about the sauce. Then the cheeses. Mark didn’t hear a word.
HE FINISHED THE PEACH COBBLER AND ICE CREAM WHILE
she cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. He thanked her again, said it was delicious for the tenth time, and stood with an aching stomach. He’d been sitting for an hour. Dinner at the trailer was usually a ten-minute affair. Most of the time they ate microwave meals on trays in front of the television. Dianne was too tired to cook.
Momma Love admired his empty bowl, and sent him to the den while she finished cleaning. The TV was color, but without remote control. No cable. A large family portrait hung above the sofa. He noticed it, then walked closer. It was an old photograph of the Love family, matted and framed by thick, curly wood. Mr. and Mrs. Love were on a small sofa in some studio with two boys in tight collars standing beside them. Momma Love had dark hair and a beautiful smile. Mr. Love was a foot taller, and sat rigid and unsmiling. The boys were stiff and awkward, obviously not happy to be dressed in ties and starched shirts. Reggie was between her parents, in the center of the portrait. She had a wonderful smirky smile, and it was obvious she was the center of the family’s attention and enjoyed this immensely. She was ten or eleven, about Mark’s age, and the face of this pretty little girl caught his attention and took his breath. He stared at her face and she seemed to laugh at him. She was full of mischief.
“Beautiful children, huh?” It was Momma Love, easing beside him and admiring her family. -
“When was this?” Mark asked, still staring.
“Forty years ago,” she said slowly, almost sadly. “We were all so young and happy then.” She stood next to him, their arms touching, shoulder to shoulder.
“Where are the boys?”
“Joey, on the right there, is the oldest. He was a test pilot for the Air Force, and was killed in 1964 in a plane crash. He’s a hero.”
“I’m very sorry,” Mark whispered.
“Bennie, on the left, is a year younger than Joey. He’s a marine biologist in Vancouver. He never comes to see his mother. He was here about two years ago for Christmas, then off again. He’s never married, but I think he’s okay. No grandkids by him either. Reggie’s got the only grandkids.” She was reaching for a framed five by seven next to a lamp on an end table. She handed it to Mark. Two graduation photos with blue caps and gowns. The girl was pretty. The boy had mangy hair, a teenager’s beard, and a look of sheer hatred in his eyes.
“These are Reggie’s kids,” Momma Love explained without the slightest trace of either love or pride. “The boy was in prison last time we heard anything. Selling dope. He was a good boy when he was little, but then his father got him and just ruined him. This was after the divorce. The girl is out in California