Bumped - Completed Novel

Bumped - Chapter Sixteen

My mother swept me up in a hug almost crushing my spine. More than a few years had passed since my last trip home and yet time was still on her side. Except for a more fullness to her face, not much had changed about her or the house. She kept her silver hair cropped short and as usual, her eyes missed nothing.

Whenever I did manage to make it home, I was always surprised by the assault of before and after memories. Evie was everywhere in this house but I had just as many memories of being in the house without her. In her absence, our family was like a fine piece of china that had been broken and glued back together. The fissures and cracks were masked but not if you knew where to look.

Numerous trophies still lined the shelves in the living room, a shining testament to a skill that had become useless to my father and I. The same beige living room set I used to curl up on with a corded phone and trade 3-way gossip with Justine and Déjà was still there, sans plastic slipcovers.

"You look tired, let me make you some tea," my mother said.

Even though I didn't like tea and she knew I didn't like tea, I was going to be drinking tea as soon as the water in the kettle started to boil. "It was a drink to heal your soul," was a refrain I often heard. She wasn't so much as New Age-y as pragmatic. The parents of her dental patients either loved her or hated her because she didn't play nice, she spoke her mind.

"Makes no sense this baby needs eight fillings and he's only five. I'm going to report you to social services if you don't take better care of his teeth and stop feeding him all that soda and candy," she had no problem reprimanding.

Sitting on the couch waiting for my tea, I knew none of my answers would be satisfactory. I probably would have had more fun during the Inquisition than the multitude of questions my mother fired at me. Needless to say, both Dr. Nixons were very unhappy with my current state. Finally at the end, my mother's answer to everything:

"If you would have just went to medical school like we suggested and settled down with a nice doctor-" she began.

"Seriously? I'd be divorced and still paying off school loans. I'm tired. I love you and I'm going to assume for the time being you still love me," I said as I gave them both a peck on the cheek before I headed upstairs.

I had to pass the pictorial montage of my childhood that lined the wall along the stairs. Pictures of Evie and I from kindergarten to junior high school with all the goofy, awkward stages in between, from braces to bras, were all on display. There should be some statute of limitations on embarrassment.

"When are you going to put some new pictures up?" I called down.

"I guess I have to put some up of my new grandbaby," my mother answered. "Put your stuff away and come down for dinner."

My mouth was watering for some baked mac and cheese, or some other special dish she may have conceived for my homecoming. Not even turning on the light or opening the blinds, I dumped my jacket and purse on my bed.

No mouthwatering aromas greeted me as I entered the kitchen. I looked around and saw a colorless mound adorned with veggies in the center of the table.

"It's a tofu casserole," my mom said.

"Did your mom mention we're vegan now?"

"What?"

"We're not hardcore vegans yet but we're not getting any younger and with your dad's high sugar and high blood pressure, we have to change our diet," my mother said as she scraped sautéed spinach onto my plate.

"No ribs, pork roasts, meatloaf or roasted turkey on Sundays?" My stomach folded in on itself with hunger. "You could have warned me," I whispered to my dad.