The Wallflower Effect

Chapter 2: Chopping Broccoli.

It was awkward. You wouldn't think it would be, but it was. Somehow, my parents managed to make chopping broccoli awkward. Maybe it was due to the fact that they were always working and never had time for me. Hence, I'd never had a chance to 'bond' with them. Sometimes I wish that the fantastic grades and good choices I made would please them, and result in some reciprocated affection, but then again, they never had time for 'affection.'

They weren't terrible parents, just absent-minded and detached. I guess years of being E.R. doctors in Chicago would do that to you, make you less sensitive, less human, somehow. And what they lacked in humanity, they made up for in ridiculous expectations for me. If I didn't get straight As, go for a run every day, or eat perfectly healthy, I could see the dissapointment in their eyes. And it killed me a little bit more each time I saw it. And no matter how much I tried, it was never enough. Thank God that I had Gage in my life, or who knows what I'd do. Speaking of Gage, it was 5:35, and he was late. He lived next door, for crying out loud!

"Pass me the leeks, will you Zoey?" My mother interrupted my thoughts. I looked up from my cutting board, mildly surprised that she'd addressed me. And even then, it was Zoey, not darling or sweetie or anything remotely affectionate that a mother might call her daughter, just Zoey. I handed her the white leaks wordlessly. I couldn't blame her, or my father. They were beautiful, successful people. With my mother's perfect blonde hair and blue eyes, not to mention her numerous degrees, why bother with a disappointing, quiet child like myself? And why would my dad, with his grey eyes and brown hair, and brilliant mind stay home and watch me? Nope, they carted me off to some sitters' place while they saved lives. At least now they let me watch myself. 

No matter how distant they were, they were my parents and I cared about them. So regardless of how uncomfortable these rare dinners were for our family, I treasured them. No matter how much they hurt me, they were my parents and they were all the family I had. Family meant something. Family was everything.

It was funny how simply chopping broccoli for my mom's 'famous' cream of broccoli soup could bring me such pain and happiness simultaneously. Though I loved my parents, I'd end up claiming that I had too much homework to avoid their blank stares and conversations filled with doctor jargon I couldn't hope to ever understand. God bless Gage for sitting through these things with me whenever they happened. A shrill ding pierced the thick silence of our 'home', and I was relieved that I'd finally get a reprieve from the, you know, the awkwardness.

"Would you get the door, Zoey?" My dad asked absentmindedly. Again, I didn't reply and simply raced to the door. I jerked it open to find the familiar 6'2 figure of handsome southern gentleman Gage Prince standing in my doorway. I flashed him a relieved face, and not-so-gently dragged him inside. He didn't complain.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here, Gage! They were making chopping the broccoli so awkward. I need your snark o keep me sane, they're like freaking robots! I mean, I love them,  but the only words we've exchanged all day are 'Pass me the leaks' and 'Will you get the door, Zoey?'  I don't think I've ever been happier to see someone in my life!" I rambled to him, grabbing his hand and continued to pull him alongside me, talking to him in a hushed tone.

"Well, it's a good thing I got here when I did." Gage observed, cracking a smile and doing a quick up-and down of me. I can only imagine how absolutely wonderful I looked, greasy hair, jeans and t-shirt, and all. That, along with my ranting, probably made for an amusing picture. Any by amusing I mean utterly disastrous. 

"Yes, yes it is. Now help me set the table, Prince." I ordered him the way only a best friend would feel comfortable doing. I returned his grin, still dragging him from the entry way to the fully-stocked kitchen. My parents looked up at him, smiling. They approved of him, because his mother was a scientist, and his dad was a marine biologist, so they were honorary members of the Smarty-Pants Club. Since Gage was good Smarty-Pants Club stock, he was deemed fit enough for me to associate with.