RAWP: Random a** Writing Prompts

Fragment 1: Split Pea Soup

It had been a long and tiring day tending to the newborn puppies at the mill. Maria shut her front door with a thud and plopped down on the nearest chair in the living room; a modest amount of coins rattling in her pocket as she did so. It was fun to take care of the pups, but it also took energy. Between enduring canine bathroom duty to the 40 minute walk home, she was exhausted by the time she passed the front door. Even then, Maria had a slight, still smile on her face. 

After a couple minutes of silence and rejuvenation, she gathered her remaining strength to stand up and get something to eat from the kitchen. She had only eaten half of the PB&J she had brought to work, and the other half was meant for tomorrow. On her way to the fridge, she spotted a note attached to a can of food. Maria investigated to see her mother's handwriting, "Off to the city again sweetie! You're a big girl now, you can take care of yourself! Here's some soup if you're hungry. Kisses! -Mom" 

After reading the note twice over, she ripped it from the can of soup and stuffed it in her pocket. She should have expected her to be gone again; her car wasn't in the driveway. She hadn't seen her mother for four nights now, yet she still had time to write these notes before Maria came back home. She's never even bothered to ask where Maria had been on and off for the past several weeks. Frustrating as it was, she just wanted to see her mom. 

Maria blanched at the sight of the soup: it was split pea soup. She could never get over the thickness of it. She had told her mother countless times that she preferred chicken noodle, but she hadn't bothered to acknowledge her. "Sure sweetie", she would say dismissively while truly being invested in her telephone call or the news radio. 

Maria looked at the soup, disgust in her eyes. The small can stood unrelenting, almost daring her not to eat at all. A tense moment of indecision passed, when she made her choice. She grabbed the can, put it in the fridge, and took out a ripe peach instead. Heading to her room, she took a satisfying bite from the peach.