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Simone told me about her job at the restaurant and how she’d been offered a job, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to take it. She wanted to explore her options, learn more from other chefs. There were many restaurants in New York, and she was thinking about her next move.
When I got home, Nikki and Zoë were watching cartoons on the couch.
“How did it go, pumpkin?” I asked Zoë, kissing the top of her head as I sat down next to her.
“Okay,” she said, her eyes still glued on the screen.
I looked at Nikki and she rolled her eyes at me. I motioned with my head towards the bedroom, and she followed me out there.
“What happened?”
“It was a bit like a bad date,” Nikki said with a laugh. “You know how when someone takes you to a Mexican restaurant, and you hate spicy food, but you don’t say anything and end up getting terrible stomach pains or throw up all over the table?”
“Zoë threw up?” I was horrified.
“Only because she wasn’t used to the food.”
Nikki told me Jade had insisted on taking Zoë to her favorite vegan restaurant, where the menu was dominated by lentils, kale, and chickpea. No fries in sight. When Nikki suggested they try something more traditional, Jade launched into a lecture about healthy eating habits and how Zoë needed vitamins. In the end, she ate some oatmeal biscuits and a nut milk smoothie with berries and fruit.
“Maybe it was the ginger or the nutmeg, or the gingko bilobo,” Nikki said. “But the next moment, she said she wasn’t feeling well and chucked up all over the table.”
“Oh, no,” I winced.
“Zoë has a very developed palate. Sugar, wheat, as much junk food as possible. All that health food couldn’t have been good for her.”
Nikki grinned. “The funniest was when we went home, she asked me if you had gone to a mommy school.”
“What?”
“Yeah, because you are such a good mommy. Then she wanted to know if we could send Jade to mommy school to help her.”
“What did you say.”
“I said I’d talk to you.”
I bit my lip. “How did Jade look to you?”
“Very nervous and uncertain of herself. She wanted to connect with Zoë so badly, but she didn’t know how to talk to her. She kept talking about herself and things Zoë didn’t understand or know about.”
“Like what?”
“Meditation, expanding her consciousness, her spiritual guides and so on. At one point, Zoë asked if a cat could be a spiritual guide and Jade didn’t know how to answer that.”
I laughed.
“Then Zoë asked her if she was still sick.”
“What did she say?”
“That she was getting better. Zoë wanted to know if she would come live with us if she was completely well again.”
“What?”
“But Jade said she didn’t think so.”
“She doesn’t think so?!” I was furious with Jade for not telling Zoë that would never happen. Ever.
Nikki came over and held me.
