My son ruined my forty-fifth birthday dinner with a single sentence.
We hadn’t even eaten our meal yet.
Elliot was standing next to me when he pointed at a waiter. “That’s the man on Mom’s phone.”
At first, I laughed.
It was the safest thing to do.
“That’s the man on Mom’s phone.”
Five-year-old children say strange things.
Then the waiter turned around.
And he turned completely pale.
***
I had chosen Arlo’s because Rachel had mentioned it months earlier, back when she was still sending me links to restaurants.
We had a mortgage.
That’s when my birthday ceased to matter to me.
But I was about to turn forty-five, and I wanted a special dinner.
“Where are we going?” she asked while I was driving.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Eric, you know I hate surprises.”
“You hate unpleasant surprises. Here, there are bread baskets.”
“Do they have spaghetti?”
” Yes “
Rachel simply looked out the window.
“Eric, you know I hate surprises.”
***
When we stopped in front of the restaurant, Rachel’s face changed.
” Here ? “
“Yes. You said you wanted to try it.”
“That’s right. I’d forgotten.”
That should have served as a warning to me.
“I forgot about that.”
***
Inside, the restaurant shone with golden lights.
Our waitress, April, crouched down next to Elliot and said, “And what can I have for our gentleman this evening?”
“Spaghetti and meatballs,” he announced. “And orange juice like Mom makes in the morning.”
April smiled. “Excellent choice.”
Rachel kept touching her necklace, as if she were checking if it was still there.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
” Yes. “
“What can I have for our gentleman this evening?”
***
April brought Elliot’s juice first.
The glass tipped over before I could catch it. Orange juice soaked his sweater and splashed onto Rachel’s dress.
“Oh my God, Elliot! How can you be so clumsy?!” she blurted out.
Elliot froze.
“It’s just fruit juice, Rach,” I said, grabbing some napkins.
“How can you be so clumsy?!”
CONTINUE READING…>>
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