Send My Love (to your new lover)

A Tiger Never Changes its Stripes

Go sleep in the barn with Steve and the rest of the alpacas?

Go back to my house and never visit again?

"Bowls. Chopsticks. Napkins. Glasses," she said as she pointed to the location of each thing. Again, I did as I was told, worried about what might happen if I disobeyed. She finished cooking, ladled the traditional soup into each bowl and garnished them before serving myself and her mother and sitting down between the two of us. We sat in painful silence for much of our meal, until Jen finally spoke up.

"Mother, how long will you be staying?"

"Anxious for me to leave already, Jennifer?"

"That's not what I said. I'd like to know how long you're staying, so we can make plans. I'll take you wherever you want to go."

"Oh I don't know. I'm just happy to be here with my daughter--" she said kindly and reached across to take Jen's hand.

She's not so bad at all. I don't know what Marge's problem is.

"It would be nice if my daughter wanted to spend time with me too," she added and I watched the last glint of happiness fade from Jennifer's face and my heart broke for her.

Terrible mistake, Bobby.

"You don't need to talk like I'm not sitting right here, mom. All I asked was what you'd like to do while you're here."

"I'd like you to show me what you're up to down here in Los Angeles."

"If I can have the day off tomorrow--" she shot me eye-daggers once again.

I just nodded and kept my mouth shut.

"I'll give you a tour of the city. How's that sound?"

"I would love to," her mother said and a certain kindness lit up her eyes so I can imagine that Kim Phan isn't all bad. "This is good Phở, Jennifer. Not the same as I make, but it's good."

Another zing. Wrong again.

"Oh mother, let's not do that, okay?"

"Do what? I was just saying--"

"I know what you're saying and you don't need to continue," she said as she pushed back from the table, having finished quickly. "Now, if you're all done I'll take your dishes and then show you around the property."

"I'll do that," I said, jumping in to gather the dishes and set to cleaning up. Jen put on her sunglasses and took her mother out the front door and across the yard to where the alpacas live.

As the door shut, I braced myself against the counter to hold myself up. All I wanted was for Jen to have a good visit with her mother and, in turn temper some of the bad feelings towards her. Now I see that I've made better choices in my life thus far.

I paced the floor in Jen's house while they were gone, contemplating what I'd say when she and I were alone but fell short. I'd fucked up, badly and decided just to wing it. I've dealt with the wrath of Marge and survived, it's just that it's never been aimed at me before. I hate to say it but I was more than a little scared.