“Mom,” I say softly, sitting down and placing a hand on her arm. Her wide, innocent eyes turn to me.
“Does Mimi hate you?” she whispers, voice trembling. Mimi is her nickname for Naomi.
“No, Mom, she doesn’t. Were we talking too loud?”
She shakes her head. “You were yelling.” Gotta love Mom’s honesty.
“I’m sorry, Mom. We were just having a disagreement. I love Mimi, and she loves me.” Blatant lie. “Everything’s fine now. I’m sorry we scared you. You want to come have some spaghetti now?”
She nods and takes my proffered hand, rising from the couch. When we enter the kitchen, Naomi is outside, pacing, smoking a cigarette. I bite the inside of my cheek. I hate that she smokes, but at least she no longer smokes in the house with my mom and me. I suppose I can give her a few points for that.
I sit my mom at the table and fix a plate for her before taking the time to check my blood sugar. I prick my finger at the counter with my back turned because it tends to freak my mom out. She thinks I’m hurting myself. A few minutes later, Naomi comes in. My mom brightens.
“Hi, Mimi,” she says happily.
“Hi, Cora.” Naomi gives her a tight smile then fixes herself a plate. “I’m going to eat in my room,” she says. At the doorway she pauses, and without looking back says, “Thanks for dinner.”
If my mom weren’t sitting here, I’d probably scream. Instead, I smile and play a word game with her while we eat.
To read the rest of The End of Feeling visit Cindy’s website at http://cindybennett.blogspot.com/ and her Amazon page at http://www.amazon.com/Cindy-C.-Bennett/e/B003ZULNNA/
Unbearable (The Port Fare Series) Page 34
