She shuddered. "Awful. Like fish barf."
"But your dad likes it?"
"Nope."
"So he doesn't eat it."
"Nope."
I was shaking my head. "I don't get it."
"Don't get me wrong," she said. "He'd probably eat a smoking turd if Loretta asked him to."
"Better than fish barf," I muttered.
"On second thought, you know what? He wouldn’t eat it. He'd makeusdo it. That way, he gets the credit, and we get the shaft."
The more she talked, the more I wanted to kick her dad's ass. I was tempted to tell her so, but figured that some things were better left unsaid. Trying for a neutral tone, I said, "SoLorettalikes the gravy?"
"I dunno," Chloe said. "Couldn’t tell you either way. She's always on a diet. So it's not like she actually eats the stuff herself. Mostly, she just picks at a salad or something and goes straight for dessert."
What the fuck? "So this gravy," I said, "who exactly was supposed to eat it?"
Chloe shrugged. "Me and Josh, I guess."
Listening to this, I felt a cold anger settle over me. Trying not to show it, I said in the calmest voice I could muster, "Go on."
"So like I said, there's no getting out of it. At least not for me. So I put some on my potatoes, and take a bite."
"And?"
"Like I said, it's awful." Chloe shuddered. "Worse than awful actually. But I know what I've got to do, so I smile and tell her it's delicious."
"Was she happy?"
"Loretta?" Chloe said. "Never. But at least she's not throwing plates. So I keep shoveling it down, figuring that once it's gone, the whole thing's over, right?"
"It wasn't?"
"No," she said, glancing out the window. "It was just beginning."
Chapter 54
We were getting closer to her dad's place, but Ihadto know what the hell was going on. I eased off the accelerator, not a lot, but enough to save us maybe another minute or two. If we were late, and they tried to lock us out, well, let's just say good luck with that.
Going for a casual tone, I asked, "What happened next?"
"So Josh," Chloe said, "he's a picky eater. Always has been. And no matter how many times my dad tells him that something's a delicacy, he still doesn't want anything to do with it."
"Smart kid."
"You have no idea," Chloe said with obvious pride in her little brother. "So anyway, Josh keeps saying 'no thanks' to the gravy, but Loretta won't take no for an answer. So she shoves at this vase, and it tips over. Flowers spill, the vase cracks, and my dad gets mad."
"At Loretta?"
Chloe snorted. "Dream on. No. At Josh. So my dad grabs a ladle and starting slopping all this gravy onto Josh's plate, one scoop after another. And this crap gets on everything, not just the potatoes either." Chloe shook her head, and her voice trailed off. "The chicken, the corn, even the salad."
She blinked long and hard before glancing over at me. Seeing the worry on her face, I tried not to think about beating Loretta's ass the moment she opened the door. I reminded myself that Loretta was a woman, and it would be wrong on so many levels. But Chloe's dad, he deserved an ass-beating and then some.
