Needle in a Haystack

Mom's Spaghetti

When she walked in the door, the first thing Emily noticed was her mother sitting on the couch, who promptly got up to show off the new second-hand dining table and chairs.

"Oh wow," Emily said, trying to be enthused by her mother's eagerness. "Where did those come from?" she asked while setting her backpack down in her room. She glanced at the contract on her box of books, decided it could wait in lieu of the crushing disappointment of her destined mate wanting her to reject him. When she walked back into the living room, her mother was just lighting the single candle on a tiny green birthday cake with 18 drawn on in purple frosting. She couldn't help the tears that bubbled over, even while she couldn't stop smiling. Anna sang her happy birthday while she blubbered, making no move to get her tears to stop. Her mom finished the song and Emily hiccupped when she took a breath to blow out the candle. When it went out anyway, both of them devolved into giggles and ended up lying on the floor laughing until neither of them could breathe.

They lay there for a time, catching their breath until Anna stood up and helped Emily off the floor. She wrapped her daughter in a bear hug and rocked her, even though Emily was taller by several inches.

Anna let her go and busied herself in the kitchen, letting Emily get her bearings. She realized her mother had set the table with the leftover spaghetti and garlic bread, and a fresh Caesar salad to go with her birthday cake. With everything that had happened in the last few days, even she had forgotten about her own birthday. She remembered the present that Amy had given her and decided she would open it this weekend when Amy came over for a girls' night.

"Oh, mom," Emily said as casually as possible as she sat down. "I almost forgot. Amy and I were talking about a girl's night, since I'm in night classes."

"That's a great idea, sweetie!" Anna said from the kitchen. She came back, holding something behind her back and sat down across from her daughter, shifting her treasure to her lap. Emily could hear tissue paper and the pop of a gift bag bumping down the table leg as Anna readjusted it, cringing at the noise. "Alright, dig in," she said, reaching for the salad bowl. Emily let her mom serve her dinner, waiting patiently to pick up her fork until her mother sat down again.

"Eat," Anna insisted, picking up her own fork. Emily smiled at her mom, mostly pushing her food around her plate. She speared a piece of lettuce covered in fresh grated Parmesan and Caesar dressing with real anchovies, and wondered again where her mother got the money. Emily started to ask about it, but her throat was suddenly dry. She realized neither of them had a drink and cleared her throat while getting up.

"I forgot something to drink," she said, rising from her chair. Before she got a chance to step out, her mother jumped up, almost upsetting her own chair.

"I'll get it sweetie. You eat," she said, rushing back to the kitchen, and Emily sat back down, pulling her napkin into her lap, and picking up her fork again.

"How was work today," Emily called over the breakfast bar, tucking the slice of garlic bread on her plate into her napkin on her lap.

"Oh, let's not talk about that," her mother said in a voice that Emily knew. There was trouble, but her mom was trying to put on a brave face. "How was your first day of Night School?" she asked, walking back to the table with two sodas, one in each hand.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Emily said, trying on the fake brightness her mother used. Her mother eyed her for a moment, so she took a huge bite of spaghetti and chewed slowly. The room was only quiet for a moment before Anna began casting about for a new topic of conversation that might be safe.

"How's Amy taking all of this? Poor girl," Anna asked with the mild concern of her southern upbringing. Originally from Kentucky, Anna retained her southern drawl and every bit of Bible belt manners.

"She's fine, but that's why we wanted a girls' weekend," she replied easily, but also intentionally not leaving her mom anywhere to take the conversation. She took another big bite, this time of Caesar salad. Half her plate was gone, and all of it tasted like sawdust. She didn't want to be having this awkward dinner and fake conversation. She wanted to curl up in bed and cry. She wanted to scream at how unfair life was. Instead, she smiled at her mom around her mouthful of food and chewed slowly. After about five minutes of silence, Anna pulled the birthday present she'd been hiding out from under the table.

"Tadah," she sang and set it on the table in front of Emily, who immediately set down her knife and fork with genuine excitement.

The bag was a small store-branded jewelry bag of navy blue with silver lettering. She expected it to be a joke. Her mom had a habit of keeping gift bags and reusing them as pranks, but the little navy box inside was the same brand. Her heart beat quickened as she lifted it out of it's nest of tissue paper. Opening the box, her breath caught, and her eyes misted again, burning this time because of the tears she shed over her birthday cake. Inside was a beautiful diamond and sapphire tennis bracelet set in white gold. Her joy at the beauty of her birthday present was swiftly eclipsed by her worry. Where did her mom get all this money? It wreaked of another boyfriend doting on them to get her to move in and join the pack. Whatever she did to these men was impressive. Maybe she should get a few pointers to get her mate to pay attention.