The last cup of banana cream pudding taunted her from the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
She squatted until she could squat no more, trying to get at the damn pudding cup.
Her fingers grazed against it before the pudding fell to the ground.
Brenda could neither grab it off of the ground, nor return to an upright position.
She was stuck.
She grabbed on to either side of the counter, trying to become unstuck with little success.
"Brenda! Honey! What are you doing?"
"Trying to get the pudding," said Brenda. "I wanted to add it to my peanut butter and lamb stew."
"Peanut butter and lamb stew?" asked Valerie, as David helped Brenda out of her uncomfortable squat.
"Don't ask," said Brenda.
"Why don't you sit and Val and I will make it for you," said David.
"I tried to stay awake until you got in," Brenda told them.
"Dylan said you conked out just before we did," said Val.
"We got in really late," said David. "Steve couldn't stay awake long enough to get back to his, so Clare will probably be here later."
"You scared me," Brenda told Val. "Why did you decide to scare me like that?"
"I didn't want to scare you, Bren," said Val as she tucked her arms around Brenda's shoulders. "It was just something I needed to do."
"You needed to go to jail?" asked Brenda.
"She needed to confront her past," said David.
"And I could only do that in jail," said Val. "It's hard to explain."
"Well, I'm glad you're back," said Brenda.
"It's great to be back," said Val. "Is it just me, or have you grown more?"
"It's not just you," said Brenda. "Every time I think my belly can't possibly get any bigger, it gets bigger."
She accepted the stew from David.
"Oh my God!" Valerie snatched at Brenda's finger. "That's a ring! You're engaged!"
"You missed a lot while you were gone," said Brenda.
"If you aren't engaged to Luca, then I sure did," said Val.
"She is assuredly not engaged to König," said Dylan as he entered the kitchen. "Bed was lonely without you," he told Brenda.
"I was hungry," said Brenda.
"What's your latest creation?" asked Dylan.
"Peanut butter and lamb stew," said Brenda.
"With banana cream pudding," said Val.
"Is that all?" asked Dylan. He explained to David and Valerie that the stew had been one of Brenda's less bizarre cravings as of late.
"So congratulations are in order," Val told Dylan. "When's the big day?"
"Tomorrow, actually," said Dylan. "You just made it, Malone. Although I really should yell at you for spooking Brenda the way you did."
"It's okay," said Brenda. "It was something Val needed to do, like when we yelled at the sky."
"Next time, Val, just yell at the sky," said Dylan.
YOU ARE READING
Lethe Vita
أدب الهواةIt had been a simple game of Battleship. He didn't know the actions he took during the game would end up dictating his life. Primarily B/D Brandon Val, with appearances by the rest of the gang and their respective relationships. (originally started...
