Jealousy Best Served Devious (Clash Of Cliches Book 1)

Chapter 14- Meet the Family

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Chapter Fourteen.

Meet The Family.

My mom was cooking meatloaf and she had invited Tyler for dinner, so I was officially freaking out. In case you didn't know (and I hope to God you never have the misfortune to try it for yourself) mom's meatloaf was the stuff nightmares were made from. It had to be, because something that indigestible couldn't possibly be made from actual food ingredients.

It tastes like concentrated evil!

"Why don't you make some sandwiches?" I asked delicately, following her around the kitchen as she put the ingredients together. "Or even fricassee?"

Shaking her head as she chopped some onions, mom replied, "No, baby, I don't know what kind of foods Tyler likes to eat. Maybe he's allergic to the spices I put in my fricassee." She laughed. "And sandwiches? For dinner? No, I think the meatloaf is perfect for dinner."

Perfect for giving people indigestion. I knew I wasn't gonna be able to change mom's mind because her stubbornness was second to none, but I had to at least try, because I was stubborn too.It's gotten me this far...

"I bet Tyler would want to try some of your traditional French Guianese food," I wheedled, sitting down on a nearby breakfast stool and spinning around till I got dizzy. Out of breath, I added, "I'll help you with the fricassee."

Because even though mom was a questionable cook, whenever she cooked traditional food (which wasn't often), even Arielle had seconds, and she's the pickiest eater I've ever met.

Mom turned to look at me, her lips turned up in a small smile. "Don't worry about trying to impress him with food," she told me wisely, not knowing that her calm tone was making me want to throw things. Why did she always have to be so rational? "If he likes you, he won't care if I cook meatloaf or traditional food." She sniffed derisively. "And if he doesn't like my food, you should be very suspicious. Remember, if a boy disrespects your mom's food, he-."

I hid my face in my hands so that mom couldn't see me rolling my eyes. "He will disrespect you, yes, I know," I interrupted impatiently. "But mom..."

"No but's, young lady," mom said over her shoulder, turning back to the chopping board.

"Oh well, I'm sure Tyler will love your meatloaf," I said casually, a bright, conniving idea popping into my head. "He's probably sick of fancy food, anyway. He went to this Guianese restaurant on the weekend- apparently they had the best Les Accras and Chicken Colombo he's ever eaten." Smirking to myself as I saw mom's shoulders tense, I continued. "I told him you were French Guianese and he said he's had Guianese food before, but the food at that particular restaurant was sublime."

I know my mother very well, and if there's one thing she won't stand for, it's getting upstaged. And by using words like 'Guianese', 'sublime' and 'fancy', I had piqued her competitiveness.Mwahahaha!

Slowly, mom twisted to face me, her eyes narrowed, and I froze in the action of rubbing my hands together like an evil overlord. "He went to a Guianese restaurant?" Tossing her head, she scoffed. "Probably food cooked by somebody who only lived in the area for a few years! I will make him chicken fricassee with black beans." I mentally heaved a sigh of relief. Kaylee, you did it again! "I need you to make the rice and beans, Kay-Bear." She shook her head in disbelief, muttering to herself as she walked to the fridge and opened it, rummaging for ingredients. "Guianese restaurant. In California? Humph!"