No Strings Attached

Chapter 21: A Tired Day

"Really?" he implies.

"Yeah, " I nod, biting another French fry.

"It's Consumerism 101, Dad."

Mom giggled, "you are such a cynic, Nadine."

I peel a string of white flesh from the chicken bones then ate it wholeheartedly.

"Well, sorry for ruining your childhood, Mom," I say. "Not everything is filled with rainbows and unicorns pooping chocolate candies."

While Mom gave me a scolding look, Dad squeezed his eyes shut trying not to picture chocolate pooping unicorns.

"Honey, don't say 'poop' at the dinner table." she chastised.

I bowed my head. "Sorry, Mom."

Relaxing his eyelids, Dad unraveled his eyes then announced the big news: "Today, I just got a big promotion at work."

My eyes sparkled. "That's incredible, Dad!"

Dad shrugs his shoulders as if it doesn't interest him.

"Technically, I am being promoted to Sous Chef, " he sighs. "but I am still learning the ropes."

Mom grins at him. "It's amazing news, darling."

After that, she kisses him on the forehead, picks up her dirty plate and utensils, gets up, and dumps them into the kitchen sink.

"Also, your mom has some great news at her job, too." Dad continued, as she returns from the kitchen.

Breaking a chunk from the honey glazed biscuit, I nibbled on the crusted bread and licked the sticky sweetness on my fingertips.

"Okay, " I say. "What is it?"

"I receive a raise from my TSA boss, " Mom smiled.

"What?" I ask, surprised. "How much?"

Biting into her chicken, Mom carefully chewed her food carefully then said, "$25,000,000."

I stare at her in shock. "Whoa, what?"

Giving Mom a happy kiss on the lips, Dad remarked: "I am so proud of you, honey, see? You deserve that TSA job."

That's strange, I think. Mom once said to me that she receives 20 percent less than her male coworkers.

But even so, why did her racist boss pay her twenty-five million dollars?

Unaware of my fazed expression, Dad happily puts his arm around Mom's shoulder and kissed her on the cheek.

"Now, that we have enough money, we could pay off our bills in an instant, " Dad smiled.

"Isn't that great, Maria?"

More like disbelief, I ponder, consuming my biscuit.

While Dad is delighted with the news, I became worried for Mom.

Is she okay?

Are her co-workers giving her a hard time?

Somehow, I am not convinced that her boss gave Mom a healthy pension. So I have decided to ask her.

"So Mom, " I begin to say. "How did you get the money?"

Mom shrugs her shoulders. "My boss gave it to me."

I stare at her in question. "I know, but why?"

She shrugs her shoulders again. "I don't know."

All of a sudden, Dad let out a tired yawn from his lips.

He slid his arm off of Mom's shoulder, got up from his chair, lazily picked up his unfinished dinner, then says that he is going to bed.