I’d made chocolate sheet cake. Trixie loved my chocolate sheet cake, demanded that I make it for her birthday every year. I should have bought something Sara Lee.
“Chocolate sheet cake,” Mom announced.
Trixie’s eyes got huge and she turned to Eddie, “You’l ask her to marry you after you taste her chocolate sheet cake.”
I threw my chair back, got up and grabbed my plate.
“I’m done. Anyone else done?”
Mom looked up at me. “Jet, sit down. No one else is done.”
“Then I’l go make more iced tea.”
And I ran.
My f**king mother.
And yes, it was definitely an f-word moment.
I hid in the kitchen, making more iced tea and getting the coffee ready for dessert. I also got out the dessert plates and forks. I also cleaned the pots, rinsed my plate and cutlery, put them in the dishwasher and wiped down the counters.
Then Trixie came in, bearing used dishes.
She glared at me.
“That was rude.”
I didn’t care if it was rude. Rude was good. I was embracing rude with everything I had.
“You don’t understand what’s going on,” I told her.
“So explain it to me,” she shot back.
Since I didn’t understand what was going on either, I couldn’t.
“Just trust me, this is not what it seems.”
“Mm-hmm,” she said, al pissed off and not believing me, not even a little bit. She put the dishes in the sink and then a hand to her hip.
I was surrounded by women who could pul off the attitudinal hand on hip. Again, I had to ask, why me?
She went on, “From where I sat, it seemed like he was very interested in every word that was said. From where I sat, he seemed very interested in watching you the whole time we talked. From what I can see, he seems like a nice guy.”
“How can you tel ? You haven’t let him get a word in edgewise,” I said.
She started to look uncomfortable then hid it.
“Maybe we were laying it on a bit thick.”
“A bit?” I snapped.
Her hand came away from her hip, her face changed and she grabbed my arms.
“Jet, honey, who made the rule that you weren’t al owed to be happy?”
“No one. I’l be happy… someday. Just not with Eddie.”
“Why not with Eddie?”