Piecing Me Together(35)

The first bite of food is so good, I almost moan out loud. That’s what we do at my house. The first five minutes is me and E.J. moaning and telling Mom, “Oh my goodness, this is so good,” and “Mmm. Yes, yes.” But I get the feeling that’s not what Maxine’s family does.

Once we’re good into the meal, Mrs. Winters says, “So let’s do our check-ins.” She turns to her husband.

“Nothing new around here,” he says. “I sold the house in Laurelhurst.”

The room echoes with congratulations.

Mia is next. She finishes swallowing her food, takes a sip of her wine, and then says, “Work is amazing. I just put up a show of local emerging artists. We’re getting lots of foot traffic.” Mia takes another sip of her drink. “Tim and I are doing well. He sends his love. He really wanted to be here, but he’s on call tonight and had to go in.”

When she says this, Maxine whispers to me, “Her husband is a doctor.”

Mia tosses a look to Nathan, who is sitting next to her. “And you?”

“All is well at the firm,” Nathan says. “Work is work, you know. Same thing, different day.” He puts his arm around his wife. “I’ll let Abby tell you our real news.”

Mrs. Winters puts her fork down. “I knew it! I knew it!”

Abby chuckles. “We don’t know the sex yet. The sonogram is next week,” she says.

Mrs. Winters gets out of her seat and hugs Abby, squeezing her tight. Mr. Winters pats Nathan on his back. “Congratulations, son. My boy, a father.” He shakes his head.

I look at Maxine, who is the only one not smiling. She rakes her yams from one side of the plate to the other, never taking a bite. Once she sees me staring at her, she snaps out of it, smiles, and gets up to hug Abby. “I can’t believe I’m going to be an auntie,” she says. “I’m going to be the baby’s favorite. Just saying.”

Everyone is so excited about Nathan’s announcement that the family check-in stops, and all Mrs. Winters can do is make plans for the baby shower. No one asks Maxine if she has any news. I can tell Maxine is hurt by this. Because when Mia says, “We should paint a mural in the baby’s nursery. That would be so much fun, wouldn’t it, Maxine?” Maxine says, “Yeah, sure. That would be awesome,” but her voice is flat and without emotion.

Mrs. Winters brings out dessert. I am still eating, but I notice that everyone else has left a little bit on their plates, so I do too. In my house, there is no wasting food. Not one morsel of it. But here, I think it’s some way of showing you don’t eat too much, that you are saving room for dessert.

Everyone gawks over how beautiful the cake is. “Jade picked it,” Maxine says.

Mr. Winters looks at me. “Great choice,” he says.

We eat dessert—the best cake I’ve ever had—and then Mrs. Winters pushes her chair back from the table. “Jade, honey, would you please rescue my family from these calories and take some of this food home?”

“Oh, that’s okay. No, I—I don’t want to take your—”

“I insist,” she says.

She smiles and gets up from the table and goes into the kitchen. “Come.”

I follow her.

Mrs. Winters makes five Tupperware containers for me. And there’s food wrapped in foil, and a bottle of sparkling cider. She places the food in a canvas tote bag. Then she cuts a few slices of cake. “My husband will finish this off tonight if you don’t take some,” she says. She wraps the slices of cake individually.

Maxine comes into the kitchen. She sees the stuffed bag and says, “Mom, there are only three people who live there. I think that’s good.”

“Well, this way they can have seconds,” Mrs. Winters says. “Would you like me to make you a to-go plate too, Max?” She says this with less generosity in her voice.

“No, thank you.”

“You sure? I’m only trying to help. Not like you’re working or anything—”

“Mom. I said no, thank you.”

I walk over to the sofa and sit down. I know it isn’t like I can’t still hear them, but for some reason it feels better to be over here instead of in the middle of them.

“Well, honey, now don’t get upset. You know I worry about you. It’s very nice what you’re doing with Jade,” she says.

Maxine whispers—kind of. Her voice is low, but I am close enough that I still hear her. “Mom, it’s not just nice what I’m doing with Jade. Woman to Woman is making a difference in her life. I was hoping that by bringing her here, you’d see I am doing something that matters.” Then she lowers her voice even more and walks farther away from me.

I can’t hear what she says, but Mrs. Winters’s voice is loud and clear. “I don’t care about her sob story, Max. I understand that program is important to you, but you need a real job. Your father and I can’t keep—”

Nathan walks in, carrying a handful of dishes. He rakes the remnants of dinner into the trash and hands the plates to Abby so she can load the dishwasher. Maxine and Mrs. Winters stop talking, and I am so glad. I don’t want to hear any more about Mrs. Winters’s resentment toward her daughter for being my mentor. I want to leave. Just want to go back to my mother and eat the food at her table that has no rules about the way to use forks and napkins. Want to go where I don’t have to pretend I’m not hungry, where I can eat all that’s on my plate and not feel greedy.