Salty Pie
1478 Words
Not thinking for a second that Mason was going to not show up Saturday I gave the soft flaky turnovers to Sean and Jude to drop off for me.
Instead, I asked Tara if she wanted to go on a hike. We went to Emerald Necklace where we walked around the beautiful trial for hours.
We’ve talked a little about Mason at work in-between tables, but now she has questions and time to hear the full story. So, I talk about Mason for the first time. It’s a relief to let it out and Tara is a good listener. I struggle to tell her why I refuse to give him a shot. The best I can come up with is that I was in a long-term relationship that ended badly and I’m just not ready.
I don’t know that I ever will be.
“How long has it been?” the park is quiet, minutes pass between the other people we see on the trial. The breeze and shaded path feel great on my sticky skin, my deodorant stopped working an hour ago.
I swipe some sweat off my forehead before it runs into my eyes, lifting my water bottle to my lips taking a large sip.
“About a year.” She nods. We both lift our eyes to follow a squirrel as it jumps to a different branch, knocking a leaf off the tree.
“Do you still love your ex?”
“No, not even a little.”
“Do you regret the breaking up?”
“No, I wish I did it sooner.”
“You been with anyone since?”
“No.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? The way I see it you have a sexy as f**k billionaire chasing you around Boston. You said he treats you great, makes you feel things you’ve never felt. Girl, he gave you an orgasm with a kiss, fully clothed…” She waves her hand in front of her face, I heat up thinking about that kiss too. “I’ve never had anything like that. If I did I can promise I wouldn’t walk away without at least making it back to home base.”
“I just don’t think I’m ready to be with anyone else. My ex was toxic, he really messed with my head and I don’t think I can get over that.” She throws her sweaty arm around my shoulder making me tense up, gross.
“You’ll never know if you can or not if you don’t try. You already did more than you thought you would be able to, why stop now?” I walk a little faster making her arm fall off my shoulders, Thank goodness.
“I don’t know, I’ve been going on about me forever, what about you Tara? You ever have a serious relationship?”
“Not really, the closest I came was with Josh. Don’t say anything barley anyone knows, we kept it to ourselves.” She’s seeming more dejected than I’ve seen her before.
“I won’t say anything. What happened?” I’ve seen the way the two of them glance at each other at work. On Jamie’s birthday, I noticed how they avoided one another the whole night, once I thought I saw Josh throwing a death glare towards Man Candy.
“Um,” she shrugs her shoulders, walking slower, lost in some memory. “Josh wasn’t ready to commit, I wasn’t willing to share so we decided it was time to end things. We just avoid each other now.”
“He’s missing out Tara.”
“Oh I know, I just can’t help but feel like I’m missing out too. When we were together, it was different. Not as intense as the two of you, but it felt right. Sometimes I wonder if I should figure out how to be okay with casual.”
“No, way Tara. Don’t devalue yourself for anyone. If he doesn’t know that you’re all he’ll ever need that’s he loses. There is someone out there that will love you and just you, don’t settle for less.”
“Maybe, come on I’m starving and need a shot!”
“A shot, really?” Laughing she leads me to a little pub not far from where we are. We spend the rest of the day there, drinking, eating, and playing some more darts. We’re both good, it makes for a great game, we even have an audience cheering us on. It ends up being a great day.
Lying in bed later I realize I was happy tonight. Tara’s the closest friend I’ve had in a long time and I’m happy I have her. I fall asleep feeling like a gained a piece of myself back today.
***
“WAIT!” Nope, not fast enough. I watch in horror as Jude dumps a mountain of salt on top of all the mixed berries. Well, that’s ruined, time for a new game plan. His round brown eyes look to me like I’m crazy for shouting. I yank the container of salt out of his hands before more is wasted.
“Hey!” He tries to grab it back, a good thing I’m much taller and slightly wiser. I raise it up high, making sure to smile big so he knows I’m not mad he made a mistake.
“Try one of the strawberries Jude.” I point towards the bowl. He doesn’t hesitate to grab one. Shoving it in fast and spitting it back into the bowl even sooner his face curled in a grimace. I chuckle looking at his little face when he starts coughing and making fake gagging sounds. I laugh harder.
“That was not a funny joke!” He stomps his foot down, his hands on his hips, face red. He is not happy with me, it takes a lot of willpower to control myself, I barely manage.
“I’m very sorry Jude. How about next time you wait for me to tell you what to do before you do it okay? Now let’s make cupcakes instead, sound good?”
“Chocolate ones?”
“Sure!”
“YES!” He jumps into the air raising his fist up, a rocket ship in lift-off. His enthusiasm is contagious, these are going to be the best cupcakes ever!
“Did you get anything for your room yet?”
“Dad got a new Spiderman blanket for me!”
“Really? Is it so comfy?”
“Yup, I really want to get a Hulkbuster next!”
“Hulkbuster? I don’t think I’ve heard of him?”
“Hulk goes into Hulkbuster! Like Tony goes into an iron man!”
“Wow, I didn’t know that! Is he your favorite?”
“Hmmm,” He taps his chin, putting a lot of thought into it before he answers, “Doctor Strange! Magic is so cool, I want magic!” He tells me all about Doctor Strange, his powers, and how he came to be, as best as a five-year-old can. It’s entertaining, Jude keeps things interesting.
We make Chocolate, Oreo, Coconut, and Peanut cupcakes. The Peanut I’m really excited about. I was thinking about what Sean would like when he comes to get Jude when I thought of a peanut cupcake, but not with peanut butter frosting, no I want thin, creamy vanilla frosting, on a soft, spongy vanilla cake, loaded with chopped peanuts that I dipped in the glaze I would use to cover the doughnut’s and get the peanuts to stick.
They look amazing. They taste even better. We share a pleasing smile and a high five when after each taking a bite of our own.
We each drink a little milk with our cupcakes and decide to play a game of Jenga. Jude is good, competitive. He tries to distract me a few times so he can loosen a piece so the next one I grab will make the tower fall. So far, I’m smarter than a five-year-old.
We are sitting under a fort we made in the living room with my blanket from my bed, the couch, and two kitchen chairs, I put pillows underneath, hung a flashlight from one of the chairs. After baking, we both decided we didn’t want to be in the kitchen any longer so we ordered a pizza. We have the box opened eating over a paper towel on each of our laps.
Sean comes and grabs him at 6:30, Jude isn’t happy to have to leave but we both reassure him that he can come back soon.
Sean loves the peanut cupcakes, he asks me why I don’t have a bakery opened already, or at the very least an online business. I smile thinking about the day I can say that I do.
- Writer
