Veronica pressed a graham cracker crust mixture into the bottom of a pan and popped it into the oven. She turned to face the kitchen and was surprised by how much food she had made. There was a spinach and artichoke dip, fried crab wontons, fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp, enchiladas, potato salad, fried chicken, guacamole, chocolate chip cookies, and now she was working on her famous S’mores brownies. Dirty dishes were piled up in the sink and the front of her shirt was splattered with food.
Sighing, she crossed over to a bag of tortilla chips and dug a handful out. She was munching on the guacamole when Victoria swept into the kitchen.
“Oh my God.“ Victoria stared at all the food. “Are you entering into an all you can eat contest?”
Veronica just shoved a wonton into her mouth, feeling the tears that were starting to make a come back.
“Oh, I know what happened,” Veronica said. She crossed the kitchen to stand next to her little sister. “Keith dumped you, huh?”
Veronica grabbed another wonton, dipping it into her sweet and sour sauce, before popping it into her mouth. She didn’t want to cry in front of Victoria.
“It’s okay, that is what typically happens when you’re easy. Guys only want girls for one thing and one thing only. Once they get it, they don’t want the girl anymore.” Victoria took a bite of the potato salad. “Mmm, I sure do like it when you’re upset.”
Veronica watched, as her sister got a plate from the cupboard and loaded it with food.
“I thought you said that eating this junk made your skin break out.” Veronica pointed out, as Victoria grabbed three chocolate chip cookies.
“A girl can indulge every now and then. Your chocolate is done.” She pointed to the microwave, where Veronica had been melting chocolate for her brownies.
Veronica turned to get the chocolate out and when she turned back around Victoria was gone. Was that really why Keith had shunned her? Did he think she was easy? She stirred the chocolate, making sure all of it was melted. As she whipped in several eggs, Veronica wondered again if she could be pregnant. She had been meaning to ask Keith if he had used a condom, but that had been forgotten amongst all the drama.
She was incorporating flour into the mixture when her Dad came into the kitchen. He gave out a low whistle as he surveyed all the food.
“You okay, Roni?” He asked, taking a drumstick. He took a bite of the fried chicken. “Wow, how do you get it so moist? Your Mom’s chicken is always so dry.”
“I let it soak in brine overnight,” Veronica replied. She retrieved the pie crust from the oven and poured her brownie mixture into the pan.
“Brine?” He took another bite, grease moistening his lips.
“It’s like salt water, but you can use beef stock, juice, beer. Whatever.”
“Something bothering you?” He put down the chicken, and crossed over to her side.
Veronica couldn’t tell him. She wanted to, but he would flip out and she would probably be grounded for even longer. So she shoved her feelings down and swallowed her tears.
“I’m just having a bad day, girl things.”
“Oh.” he made a face, “Well, just make sure you clean all this up.”
“Sure Dad,” Veronica said. She slid the brownies into the oven and set the timer. Cooking had not made her feel any better about the situation. She grabbed a plate and gave herself a huge serving of the fettuccine. Her Dad helped himself to a few more pieces of chicken before walking back out of the kitchen.
Sighing, Veronica slid down to the floor, her plate in her lap. Why had this happened to her? She had thought that if she slept with Keith, that she would definitely be his girlfriend. She wasn’t a slut. Keith had just made her feel so sexy and the alcohol had certainly clouded her judgment. Veronica took a bite of the pasta and cringed. She had put too much salt in the sauce.
Standing up, she went to work on the dishes in the sink. If she had not slept with Keith, would they still be together? Were they ever together to begin with? She couldn’t deny that it hurt to be rejected over her lack of skills in bed. But couldn’t that be remedied? Veronica shook her head, shocked by her own thoughts. No way was she going to subject herself to that kind of experience again. She wasn’t going to be a whore.
The timer went off and Veronica wiped her soapy hands off on a dish towel. She removed the brownies from the oven, breathing in the sweet scent of chocolate. The brownies were covered with a generous layer of miniature marshmallows and placed under the broiler for a few minutes. When Veronica pulled them out, the marshmallows were a golden brown and the smell transported Veronica to her childhood.
Her family was around a campfire, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs while her Dad attempted to tell a scary ghost story. Victoria was ten and Veronica was eight, neither one of them worried about appearances, boys, or being accepted. Her Mom had her arm around Veronica’s shoulder and would squeeze her to her side lovingly. Everyone was smiling, laughing. Veronica sighed, feeling herself being tugged back to reality. When had life gotten so complicated?
