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“No, sir! We are eating in about thirty minutes and you’ll ruin your appetite.” I smile as I anticipate his groan of protest.
“Mommy! Please. I’ll have one of my Rice Krispies Treats.” He begins to negotiate.
“We don’t have Rice Krispies Treats, babe.” I smile at him over my shoulder. He has a very severe soy allergy and they have it as the main ingredient, so I have banned them from my house.
“Yes, we do. Rachael bought me a bunch last weekend, they’re in my . . . oops.” I have stopped stirring and look at him.
His eyes fill with tears as he looks up at me. “It was supposed to be a secret.” He wails as he looks at me.
I feel anger, hot and quick rising in my chest. I keep my face neutral as I stoop down to him again.
“Oh, honey. You know we don’t keep secrets from each other. But Rachael is new and so maybe she doesn’t know,” I say to him, trying to soothe him and keep my own fury at bay.
“But she will be mad at me, Mommy. She told me not to tell anyone.” He cries and I see red.
I take a deep breath and then pull him into my arms. “You’re not in trouble. She won’t be mad at you. She made a mistake, and she probably already knows it.” I pat his shaking shoulders as I plan my conversation with Kevin.
“Can you go upstairs and get your backpack for me, sweetie? I need to see what’s in it and get rid of the Rice Krispies Treats. You know why you can’t eat them, right?”
I have made sure he knows all of the things he can’t eat and he also knows the potential side effects if he does eat them.
“Yes, Mommy. They would make my tummy feel really bad,” he says woefully before he pulls away and heads up the stairs to his room.
As soon as he's gone, I pull out my phone and text Kevin.
Me: I need to talk to you about Anthony. I’ll call you tomorrow.
He responds right away.
Kevin: What’s the matter with Anthony. I can talk now.
Me: I can’t talk now. Nothing is wrong with him, no thanks to you. Tomorrow.
And then I turn my phone off. Dean will be here any minute and I’ve got just enough time to take a shower. Anthony comes back with his backpack and I take the offending snacks out. He pouts as he leaves the kitchen.
My mother is still getting ready, so I turn everything off, check the table setting one last time and run upstairs.
Ten minutes later, I’m dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, coming back downstairs, I know Dean is early and my mother is entertaining him.
I walk into the room and find Dean on the floor, shoes off, sitting with Anthony looking at a pile of his drawings.
“These are great, little man. You drew them all?” Dean is praising Anthony.
“Yes, I did! I’ve got more upstairs!” he declares, his voice full of delight and then he jumps up and starts to turn and leave the room when he sees me.
“Mommy! You’re finally here. Dean really likes my pictures. He wants to see more,” he says as he races past me on his way up the stairs.
Dean and I lock eyes and my mother’s presence is the only thing stopping me from running to him. He looks delicious and my eyes take in their fill, as he does the same from across the room. I can feel the crackle in the air between us as his smile spreads, and he stands up. We just stare at each other for a moment.
My mother coughs and breaks our reverie. I look at her, and she’s smiling at me.
“Hi, Mom. Sorry I wasn’t down when he got here.”
“Why are you sorry? I’m not. It gave me a chance to talk to him before you came and stole his attention.” She winks and then passes me on the way to the kitchen. “I was just going get some wine. I’ll be back.”
“Oh, no, I’ll do that.” I stop her. “Sit and relax.”
“I’ve been relaxing all day, you’ve been on your feet cooking. Go sit down.” She pushes me farther into the room and leaves.
