Sugar McKenzie and August Wakefield couldn't be more different - Sugar, a meticulous, caring, but lonely paramedic and August, a charming former reality star still chasing his dream. But they've both closed themselves off emotionally from others...t...
"But life inevitably throws us curve balls, unexpected circumstances that remind us to expect the unexpected."
- Carre Otis
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There were iridescent scarlet and baby pink hearts taped to the ceiling. Booths and tables coated in paper hearts. SkyWay's signature oyster crackers shaped into the holiday's most "romantic" symbol. Similar spiral decorations pinned on the ceiling; they bounced up and down above the Cincinnati chili restaurant's kitchen. The area was open for customers to observe. In the kitchen, tin bowls filled with the classic spiced and chocolate chili steamed in the air. Pre-wrapped cheddar cheese laid on the counter ready for drive thru orders. With Valentine's Day in a week, SkyWay dyed their noodles pink. The restaurant also dyed their noodles in other colors for different holidays such as green for St. Patrick's Day, turquoise for Easter, and orange for Thanksgiving. Of course, they reserved another batch of noodles with no dye.
I shook my head as I observed a couple eating their chili. The pink noodles were drenched in the special chili and cheddar cheese on top. The sight made me nervous. Well, it was mostly seeing the pink.
They had to put so much dye in those noodles. It's unnecessary.
Mama would have flipped.
"Why on God's green earth would they make them pink? That means it'll make our insides pink." Mama said years ago when we went to SkyWay.
I could imagine Papa's small smile. "But Pat, don't you dye your strawberry and cheese-cake cookies pink?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Isn't that the same thing?" Papa would've teased.
I could imagine Mama hitting Papa with her small handbag. "Hush, George."
Even though Mama would smile.
Every other week, Mama and Papa went on a dinner date. They bickered about where to go, and in the end, they always decided on SkyWay. The food was reasonable. The servers greeted the guests with a quick smile along with an iced beverage. Food delivered within ten minutes. It was divine.
I recalled asking them, "Why do you go there? You can go to any restaurant in this area. What makes this place special?"
Papa and Mama sat next to each other at the dining room table. Papa rubbed his hand on Mama's forearm.
"Cassidy used to love going to that place," Mama glanced down at the table, "She'd color on the blank paper or we'd play tic-tac-toe as we waited for order to come out. And so do you. I love thinking of the memories of my girls."
The fact that my biological mother enjoyed this place. Mama rarely talked about her daughter. An uneasiness settled underneath my skin as I recalled Mama's main reason.
