He shifted, and I could feel his eyes on the top of my head. The breath he took in promised many words on the exhale, but they never came. Patty’s heels clicked into the room with the soft footfalls of Gina and Kaiden following. Dad released me and stepped back, taking my peace with him.
“Gina! How are you?” Dad wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.
“I’m good, Mr. Thomas. How are you?”
“Never been better. Have a seat.”
As I pulled the chair out next to dad, Patty said, “Calista, could you help me in the kitchen, please?”
“Sure.”
I followed her through the swinging door. Not a thing had changed since my childhood. This house was in dire need of an update from its ‘90s design. The only good memories I had in this room were the sink hose fights with Kaiden and the one time Patty taught me how to make pumpkin pie from scratch. She was patient and kind and affectionate. How I wish we could’ve connected like that my entire life. It would’ve been nice to have a mother that genuinely cared.
“Hurry,” she snipped, slipping her apron over her head. “The food is already getting cold.” I rushed up to grab the side dishes, and she said, “Wait!”
I froze with my hands up in the air. Hurry… wait… what was I supposed to do?
Patty stepped close and plucked a few loose hairs from my sweater. “Can’t have those falling into the food.” She stuck her tongue out in an ick. Disposing of them in the trash, she quickly washed my filth away and dried her hands. “Come on, wash up!”
I did, and then I grabbed the bowls and took them to the dining room. I placed them in their “proper” places as Pattypositioned the ham platter in the middle of the table, then went back for the pitcher of tea.
Everyone sat still as she made Dad’s plate first; then it was a free-for-all, so long as we didn’t scavenge like heathens.
“Stop that, dear.”
Patty swatted my hand away from my mouth as she passed by. She never had any issues showing her disapproval for nail biting. Not to me or anyone. Only those closest to her knew her true underlying disgust for the bad habit.
“Could you pass me the potatoes, Dad?”
As he held up the heirloom China, Patty put her hand on his and pushed it down to the table. “Not until you wash your hands, Calista.”
“I just did.”
She lowered her voice but was clearly not attempting to whisper in the slightest. “Manners. We have company.”
Patty smiled at Gina, who went right along with the show without even a glance my way. Gina bashfully tucked her short, black bob behind her ear and returned the same fake smile shining on her.
Bless your patient little heart, Gina.
Gina’s attended so many of our weekly family dinners that she became part of the family long ago. If Patty were to list her favorites in order, it would be her precious can-do-no-wrong baby Kaiden, the perfect-in-every-way golden child Gina (who isn’t even her child), and then me, the complete and utter disappointment.
I huffed and scooted the chair back. Patty’s jaw clenched when it squeaked on the freshly waxed hardwood. The sheepish smile that came over my face was automatic, when what I really wanted to do was laugh because it sounded like a fart. Here we were, years into my adulthood. I hadn’t lived at home in almost a decade, yet the second I stepped foot in this… shrineto societal expectations, my body instantly remembered. I went on autopilot, traversing the eggshells of my very ownMission Impossiblemovie.
“How’s work?” Her voice drifted into the kitchen from the elegant dining room. She asked Gina, not me. I rolled my eyes as I shook the water droplets off my hands. “Everything going well?”
It figures she’d wait until I left the room. She knew damn well I could still hear her. This was her favorite thing to do. Instead of settling with my answer for how I was doing at work, she’d ask Gina since we worked together. Well, we did. Apparently, my answers weren’t good enough. Or she didn’t believe me, which made more sense because I don’t think she ever did. She’d never made me feel adequate or trustworthy, to the point that when I was younger, I wondered if I even understood the concept of the truth.
“Work is great,” I snapped as I quickly dried my hands against my jeans.
“I wasn’t asking you, I was asking Gina,” her voice called out. “Don’t be rude.”
Kaiden interrupted as I pushed open the swinging door. “She got fired.”
“Kaiden,” Gina gasped, sounding like me in the car. I don’t know why she was so surprised. This was the exact reason I didn’t want him to know.
“Fired? Why?” Dad asked.
My anxiety spiked when all eyes turned to me, and I was bombarded on the spot by sympathy, concern, disapproval, and… I couldn’t figure out what was in Kaiden’s stare. Revenge? He was still pissed about the silver spoon comment.
