AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s the breaks, brother dear.” Bec gave him a grin, then turned back to her notebook. “Maybe I could try some pilsner malt this time. What do you think?”
Liam didn’t want to think about IPAs. He did want to think about Ruth, but he was sure he wouldn’t come up with anything useful if he did. Sometime in the next couple of days, he needed to come up with a plan.
“Whatever you say. You’re the one who’ll be putting this together.”
…
Ruth stared into the interior of her refrigerator, trying to make the contents add up to some kind of dinner. She needed to start writing out weekly menus so she didn’t end up doing this so frequently, but she was currently stuck making the menus for the deli since Barbara Jean’s repertoire was so limited. The last thing she wanted to do was create another menu for her own kitchen.
“No cheese,” Carol muttered. “I’m sick of cheese.”
Ruth was sick of Carol at the moment. She was still in the same funk she’d been in ever since she’d gotten back from Colorado Springs, and Ruth was running out of patience.
“Right now you’re looking at either a BLT or peanut butter and jelly. Take your pick.”
“Why can’t we have spaghetti? We never have spaghetti. I like spaghetti.”
“We’re out of spaghetti.” Mainly because it was the only thing Carol could be relied upon to eat and Ruth hadn’t restocked yet. “There’s some frozen lasagna.”
“Yuck.”
Ruth took a deep breath. She’d had a long day. Carol had been pissy for most of it. If she blew up now, it would be satisfying, but it wouldn’t settle anything. And it wouldn’t make Carol snap out of it.
“BLTs it is.” She grabbed the package of bacon, closing her ears to Carol’s response, which was bound to be snotty. Fortunately, the tomatoes on the counter were from the farmer’s market and reasonably fresh. If Carol didn’t eat her sandwich, Ruth could finish it. She was hungry enough, having skipped lunch to make cheese.
Carol sat behind her at the kitchen table while she fried the bacon and toasted the bread. She was a coiled, simmering mass of defiance. Ruth ignored her. She was not—not—going to let the kid know she’d succeeded in being a pain in the ass.
She spread butter on Carol’s toast, knowing without asking that mayonnaise was a no-go. Then she spread mayonnaise on her own. Then she placed bacon and tomato slices in the neatest pattern she could come up with.
She risked a glance at her daughter. “You want lettuce?”
Carol shook her head vehemently.
“All right then.” She placed the second piece of bread, then picked up the knife again to cut the sandwich.
“Don’t use that knife.” Carol’s voice was almost a command.
Ruth mentally counted to ten. “Why not?”
“You used it to spread mayonnaise on your bread. It’s got mayonnaise contamination.”
Ruth looked at the knife blade. If any mayonnaise remained, it would require a chemical analysis to find it. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay. It’s got mayonnaise. If you cut my sandwich with a mayonnaise knife, I won’t eat it. It’ll taste like crap.”
Ruth turned to stare at her. Carol’s eyes were full of tears. Her lower lip trembled. She was clutching the side of the table so hard her knuckles were white.
Ruth picked up the uncut sandwich and set the plate in front of her daughter. “Here. No mayonnaise. Fresh tomatoes. Have a bite.”
Carol stared down at the sandwich in front of her, taking a series of deep breaths. Finally, she picked it up and bit off a corner.
Ruth stayed where she was, watching. “Okay?”
After a moment, Carol nodded. Ruth sat down at the kitchen table across from her. “What’s wrong, kiddo?”
Carol immediately dropped her gaze to the plate in front of her. “Nothing. I said it was okay.”
“I’m not talking about the sandwich.” Or anyway, she wasn’t talking about just the sandwich, although the sandwich had definitely been the deciding factor. Clearly something was up that she needed to know about. “Are you unhappy because your dad didn’t make it to Colorado Springs?”
