I always ordered for us. "We'll have a large pizza, half broccoli, half extra cheese, two side salads, and an order of garlic knots, please."
The waitress nodded. "Perfect. Let me know if you need anything else. It shouldn't take too long."
Annie watched the waitress walk away and wrinkled her nose. "Who's eating the broccoli?"
“Caley, since she doesn’t like the side salads here,” I said, handing Caley her crayons and coloring sheet.
Caley stuck out her tongue and shook her head. “They have weird lettuce. It's not crinkly. Lettuce is supposed to be crunchy!”
Caley was so serious and matter of fact about the whole lettuce situation that Annie and I couldn't help but burst into laughter. Annie shook her head. "She is seriously going to be a politician when she grows up. She will tell it to the public straight."
"Or just a handful," I laughed. “She likes iceberg, and they have romaine, which I think tastes much better, but picky britches will not touch it. She used to call it leaves when she was younger. But she needs her veggies, so she gets to eat them on her pizza."
The waitress returned with the side salads and the basket of garlic knots, handing each of us a plate. I tucked a napkin in the front of Caley's shirt and did the same to mine, just to make sure I didn't get anything on my blouse. I really didn't want to have to go back home to change.
“Are you excited about the gallery showing tonight,” Annie asked, pouring the dressing on her salad.
I nodded as I bit into a garlic knot. “This one should be really good. The artist is talented, but not pretentious, which is rare in this industry.”
Annie lifted her brow in surprise as she shoved a fork full of lettuce in her mouth. We were both starving. At that point, I hadn't even realized that I had worked all the way through lunch. I used to take Cam his lunch at least three times a week, sit in his office, and eat and chat. But after everything came out about the affair, well, most of the time I forgot to eat altogether. It was a stupid reaction to have to lunch, but at first, it just brought on too much emotion. After a couple of weeks, it just became habit.
The food came to our table with perfect timing. I had eaten far too many garlic knots but was still starving. Caley was hungry too, I could see it in her facial expressions. She was moody. I thought it was funny that she was developing a palette at such a young age, and all starting with the "crunchiness" of lettuce.
The waiter sat down the pizzas. The aroma from the cheese permeated my senses, so much so that I had to stop myself from drooling. Annie laughed while putting a slice of cheese onto her plate.
“You’ve never been able to hide your emotions,” she said. "You wear them right there on your sleeve…or your drool in this instance."
I sneered at her and quickly put a piece on Caley’s plate, cutting it into squares like she liked it. She immediately began eating it, not even taking time to grimace at the broccoli on top. Then I quickly slid two pieces of cheese onto my own plate and took a bite. “And you are so good at hiding your emotions. Please. Remember when you got the new iPhone? You practically assaulted the cashier when he handed the box over.”
Annie shrugged and laughed a little bit. “Eagerness must run in our family.”
“What’s that word mean?” Caley asked, struggling to swallow a piece of broccoli. "Eagerness."
“It’s like when you get really excited and can’t contain yourself,” I explained. “Like when you see the playground, and you just take off across the park.”
Caley smiled, displaying a massive chunk of broccoli stuck in her teeth. It was hard for me not to laugh. I pressed my lips together and looked down at the table, letting a snort escape.
“What’s so funny,” she asked in her sweet little voice with her tiny brow furled just like me.
I took out the floss sticks that I always carried in my purse, leaned forward, and swiped it out.
She narrowed her eyes, watching as I wrapped it in a napkin. "Broccoli in my teeth. That's exactly why vegetables are dangerous."
Annie burst out laughing, and my mouth fell open. "I don't even think I can argue against that point. There have been so many times in life where vegetables and teeth have embarrassed the hell out of me."
Caley gasped. Annie clapped her hand over her mouth. "I mean heck. Sorry, Caley. I owe the swear jar."
Caley pumped her fist. I chuckled as I took another bite of pizza. "But yeah, like I was saying, the guy seems really cool. He let me coordinate all of it, and he's really not into portraying some dramatic image."
“That’s good,” Annie said, wolfing down a garlic knot. “That’s one of the only things I hate about gallery openings. Some people really need to shut up.”
“Shut up,” Caley yelled while giggling.
I quickly held my finger up, reminding her that we don’t say things that aren’t nice. “Just because Aunt Annie says it, doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to say it.”
Caley nodded in agreement.
“Do your impression of that last artist you had, the one who pretended to know everything there was to know about art and yet couldn’t pick out a Monet from a lineup.” I laughed at Annie’s request, remembering the artist she was referring to.
