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“Looks healthy, Mom,” I said.
“Don’t make fun of the food, I’m sure your college diet consists of fast food and ramen noodles,” she said. My dad and brother echoed each other in laughing at me.
“I don’t eat crap Mom. I can afford groceries,” I said. She shrugged and spooned some quinoa onto her plate.
“How are your classes?” Jess asked.
“They’re good, interesting. I’m looking forward to the semester,” I said.
“That’s great, honey. I’m glad you chose something interesting and practical. It’s just a shame you didn’t take our advice the first time around,” Dad said.
“Dad, maybe if you guys hadn’t tried to force me into pre-med or pre-law, we’d be having a different conversation right now,” I said.
“Of course, everything is always our fault,” Mom said in a low voice. The table was quiet then while we put food on our plates and started to eat.
Casey glanced up from his plate with a smirk on his face and I knew before he opened his mouth to speak that he was going to take a dig at me. “So are you the oldest person in your classes?”
“So what? There are older people who go back to school and undergrad too. Leave her alone,” Jess said. “How’s work going?” she asked him.
“Pretty good, actually. I hired my first partner so we’re on the way to becoming a true practice,” Casey said proudly.
“That’s great son. It’s like I told you, slow and steady wins the race and you have to know who you’re hiring. Not just their track record but their potential as well,” Dad said. I tuned out as they traded knowledge on the joys of owning a law practice. My mom and sister started their own discussion about Jess’s studio and what she’s been doing lately. No one addressed me until after desert when it was time to leave.
“It was good seeing you, Nao. You should make it a habit to actually attend family dinners. It’s the only way we can stay close nowadays,” Mom said as she walked me out.
“I’ll try to be better about it,” I mumbled. I knew full and well that I’d be making an excuse for next week. They’d be lucky if they saw me once a month.
“Okay, have a good night hon, get home safe,” she said. I waved and hurried to my car to get the hell out of Dodge.
