Perfectly Imperfect

6

The smell of spices reached my nostrils as I stirred the large pot on the stove. Mom had asked for my help while she did dinner. I didn't have much of a choice, knowing full-well that she wanted to talk to me since yesterday.

We were making spaghetti sauce, but I might have gone a bit overboard with the spices, though. I'd put what she told me, but I sort of tipped too hard the paprika. Whoops. Surreptitiously, I took a spoon from the drawer and dipped it in the sauce. I brought it to my lips and they instantly burned a little. Not much, but still.

"Mom?" I cringed when her blue stern eyes posed on me. "I think it's too spicy." I said, raising the wooden spoon I'd been stirring with.

Shaking her head, her lips twitched as she suppressed a smile. "Add a can of tomato puree. That should fix it." Cooking was not my thing, everyone knew that.

I'd just finished mixing it to the previous sauce when she stepped next to me. "How was your class today?"

My eyes were still intent in the almost-ruined sauce. "It was okay. My teacher suggested me to take pictures of a few scenes I liked from books." The sound of the spoon clanging against the cooking pot's border filled the room. I let it rest on the counter as I turned to her. "But the thing is, that I've been reading about aliens, zombies and romance, so yeah. It was a bit more difficult than I thought."

Mom's lips curved up. "What did you do, then?"

Giggling, I bit my lip, a bit embarrassed. "I snapped a frog."

She blinked at me. "A frog?"

I nodded, walking to the hallway, where my backpack was laying on top of a chair. "Want to see?" I retrieved my camera and returned to her. I started it and flickered through the numerous photos I'd taken, until I got to my main subject.

I tilted my head as I looked at my shot. It was in black and white. A small frog was resting on top of a rock, a bunch of reeds on the background. It had taken me quite a few shots to get it like that.

The animal couldn't stop moving, since it was really small. I'd had to lay on the floor, next to the small pond to get it. Plus, my hands didn't stop shaking, so I had to lean on my elbows to get the picture. I had to change clothes as soon as I came home, my skirt and blouse had been dirty with mud. "Does she looks in love?" I showed the picture to her.

Mom was silent for a moment. "How do you know it's a she?"

"I don't." I shrugged, "but she looks like one, doesn't she?"

She turned to the screen once more. "She looks annoyed, to be honest. And slimy." I cracked up at that. "Why a frog?"

"It reminds me of the princess and the frog." I blushed, somewhat embarrassed at my choice. Honestly, I'd taken a few random shots when the idea came to mind. I thought it was brilliant at the time. Now, I wasn't so sure. I turned off the camera, padding through the room to tuck it away on my backpack. I needed to download it and send it to Michael after dinner.

When I came back, Mom was tasting the sauce. Nodding to herself, she turned to me. "Honey, I wanted to talk to you about Chris." I pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and slumped on it. Here we go. "Have you talked to him?"

I shrugged. "Mom, I already talked to Dad. No worries. I was making a fuss out of nothing."

She crossed the room and sat next to me. Her blue eyes were soft as she gazed at me. "How do you feel about him?"

My heart felt tight as I shifted on my seat. That's the thing. I don't know.

"It's weird to be so close to him, after all this time." She nodded as I went on, "And it's so different, you know? I don't know how to act around him." My brows furrowed. "It's so awkward. For the both of us."