AllFreeNovel
Share Us
For the first time since Anabel’s death, I savored our nightly meal. While most families these days ate dinner in the kitchen, I preferred to eat it in our formal dining room. We had one, so we might as well use it. Due to everyone’s busy, conflicting schedules, it was the only meal our family ate together, though both Paige and Will would have much preferred eating dinner in their rooms. Not happening. There were no ifs or buts about it, and I had my husband’s support.
I religiously made dinner. My meals were planned ahead, and I was always home by five to get things going. It was another form of relaxation, and I enjoyed trying out new recipes while I drank a glass of wine. I once read that a home-cooked meal shows your family you love them. My mother, who could care less about me, had never cooked a day in her life, so I had to believe that was true.
What I was unsure about was whether my family’s feelings were reciprocal. They never complimented me on anything I made, no matter how much effort I put into it. Paige and Will only spoke when spoken to, answering questions with the fewest words possible, often just one.
“How was your day?”
Okay.
“What did you do?”
Stuff.
“Anything special?”
Uh-uh.
When Anabel was alive, I looked forward to dinner because, even if Paige was combative and Will was close-mouthed, there was positive energy. Outgoing Anabel loved sharing her day and hearing about mine. Even able to engage my workaholic husband, she let her sister’s snarky remarks roll off her back. Since her death, conversation around the dinner table had died too.
But tonight was different. More like old times. Tanya was excited and animated. And she devoured my grilled, rosemary-and-garlic lamb chops as if she hadn’t eaten a decent meal in ages. Maybe she hadn’t. She was rather thin. Maybe her boarding school food wasn’t very good.
“Mrs. Merritt—I mean Natalie—these are delicious!” With a wide smile, she forked another piece of the tender, medium-rare meat.
“Thank you. I’m thrilled you’re enjoying them. I bought them at the Original Farmers Market from my butcher. It’s a nearby Los Angeles landmark dating to the thirties, adjacent to The Grove, one of my favorite outdoor shopping malls. It has a Nordstrom and a Sephora. Plus so many other wonderful stores and restaurants. I can’t wait to take you there.”
Tanya’s eyes twinkled with excitement. “And I can’t wait to go! It all sounds so amazing.”
Delighted, I took another sip of my pinot noir and noticed Paige hadn’t touched the chops. Hesitantly, she was eating only the cucumber salad, string beans almondine, and the rice pilaf. I turned my attention to her.
“Paige, what’s wrong? You don’t like the lamb chops?”
She answered my question with a question. “Are these beans and rice made with butter?”
“Of course. It makes them tastier.”
Making a horrified face, she spat out a mouthful of the rice. “Eww! I’ve told you a hundred times. I’ve gone vegan. I’m no longer eating any animal products.”
“Wow! That’s so noble of you,” commented Tanya, cutting into one of her chops. “That would be really hard for me to do.”
Paige narrowed her eyes at Tanya and then eyed us all. “You’re all just a bunch of cannibals. You’d probably eat each other if you could.”
I shot her a stern look. “That’s enough, Paige. Eat what you want, but please don’t make judgments. Or tell me you’re hungry later.”
Without another word, she went back to picking at her greens. I hoped she wasn’t developing an eating disorder.
To my relief, Tanya changed the subject. “Mr. Merritt—”
“Matt,” he corrected.
She smiled as a blush fell over her cheeks. Such lovely cheekbones. Though not quite as high as Anabel’s or mine.
“Matt…” His name was soft on her lips. “Paige told me you’re a money manager. That sounds fascinating.”
Pleased to be the center of attention, my husband’s face lit up. Over the course of the next twenty minutes, he and Tanya went back and forth with questions and answers, and I learned things about my husband’s job I’d never known. I moved on to my second glass of wine as they continued to banter. Wide-eyed, Tanya seemed to hang onto his every word. Like each one was gospel.
“Where did you go to college?” she asked.
“Stanford undergrad, and then the business school.”
