After Hours

c-money

"Yes! That's it! Kill that motherfucker!"

        NORMALLY, MOST PEOPLE couldn't say that their elderly grandmother religiously watched pro wrestling on television or that she only did so while yelling obscenities at her tv.

But Althea could—and it was for that very reason that she adored her grandmother.

For her part, Granny Cynthia (or C-money as Charlie once affectionately called her at the age of ten) didn't care much at all about the fact that she was caught red handed by our beloved trio. In fact, the only thing she had done was ask if anyone was hungry before she walked into the kitchen without waiting for any replies.

The girls glanced between one another in amusement before they followed after her. Charlie was much more enthusiastic, as he immediately pushed both girls aside and raced into the kitchen for what was guaranteed delicious food. It was just their luck that C-money had a baked apple pie in the oven she was saving (Althea didn't ask who it was for, but she knew it was for Mr.Wong, an elderly man that her grandmother had the hots for but couldn't admit to). So, the three of them sat in their rickety wooden chairs by the dinner table and struggled not to finish their slices of baked apple pie in an embarrassing amount of time. It was Althea's idea to stop by her grandmother's house after they'd loaded everything of hers to her parent's condo, and so she took great pride in knowing that her idea had been a total success. Cynthia's passionate outbursts at the pro-wrestlers served as exceptional background music while the three ate. After they'd all settled down and emptied their bladders in the downstairs bathroom, Dana nudged Charlie in a clear signal that she wanted to go home. (Read: She kicked his foot and told him flat out that she needed a ride home.)

So, Charlie begrudgingly got up and shuffled over to the doorway while the three women followed after him. They were all saying their goodbyes when Charlie began to ponder aloud.

"I don't get it," he began. "Grandma Cynthia is such an amazing baker and Althea can't even do those microwave cookies." Charlie should know, he'd once asked Althea to make one for him while she was hanging out at his apartment. He had apparently been scrolling through Pinterest when he found the recipe, and begged Althea to make one for him. As soon as the microwave had beeped, he hadn't wasted a second to pull the mug out and take a spoonful of the cookie.

Althea could still remember the expression on his face once he tasted it—the experience had been so scarring that never asked her to bake anything for him again.

But, what Charlie didn't know was that Althea purposefully skipped the butter and added olive oil—sort of as punishment for his incessant whining. She hadn't really anticipated for the moment to scar him as it did (or unfortunately make him have a strong aversion towards olive oil), but Althea didn't exactly unwelcome it either.

Besides, if Charlie knew what an actually decent baker was she would never hear the end of his incessant whining. Which is why, after Charlie's outburst, Althea casually strolled behind him to mime to her grandma.

She tried to convey the message of 'please don't defend my baking skills with the truth he'll annoy me forever', but she wasn't sure it was totally translating due to the confused expression on her grandma's face

Cynthia's brows furrowed but she remained silent.

Dana was quick to grab hold of Charlie's arm to her and tug on it. "C'mon Charles, I need a ride home and your supposed babe-mobile is the only thing available."

"I—there's like three insults in there and I don't know where to start." But, he chose not to say anything, instead pressing an affectionate kiss on both Althea and her grandmother's foreheads while Dana gave them a sweet group hug.