After Olivia

3

Early Thursday evening, a Silver-Grey BMW stopped in front of a two-story home build in the late 1960's. The yard was well kept but for a few weeds in the lawn that could use a mowing and water. After a moment, Matilda stepped out of the passenger side of the car and retrieved a thermal bag from the floor of the back seat. She thanked the driver, Marcello, waved and blew a kiss then proceeded up the concrete walk to the front door of the house and entered. The car drove off once the front door had closed behind her.

"Hi mom, I'm home," Matilda said as she placed a container of lasagna on the kitchen table. "I brought dinner, your favorite, lasagna and garlic bread."

The kitchen was filled with golden sunlight that filtered in through the sliding glass doors that connected the kitchen to the deck off the back of the house. The long shadow of the kitchen table traced across the linoleum floor tiles and up the dark wood cabinet doors. The sun would sink below the roof line of the garage at the back of the house in a matter of minutes and leave the kitchen in the sterile glow of fluorescent light.

Sherry, Matilda's thirty-seven-year-old mother, entered the kitchen from the back deck, crushed out her cigarette in the sink and took a seat at the table. She was slender and has maintained her youthful and attractive looks, other than a seemingly permanent scowl and slightly yellowed teeth that add age to her appearance. Her blonde hair showed signs of growing back the natural brown.

"Oh, that smells good," Sherry replied, craning her neck over the table to get her nose closer to the source.

Matilda hurried about, taking plates and cutlery from the dish rack at the sink and placing them on the table. She removed two glasses from a cupboard and poured drinks then served a portion of the meal and a slice of garlic bread from a warm loaf as her mother sat motionless.

"You'd better put the rest of those dishes in the cupboard before your grandma gets home. Don't you need to warm it up a little?"

"I had it in a thermal bag and got a ride home so it should still be hot enough."

"Great, I was just thinking about dinner. It tastes so good. Who was cooking today, Lou or Vince?" Sherry asked as she chewed. "Don't take such a big piece, your grandma's gonna want some and I'll have the rest for lunch tomorrow."

"Actually, Tony, but it was slow this afternoon, so I made it myself and had it in the oven while I finished my shift."

Matilda reduced her portion size and placed it on a plate, then took a piece of garlic bread for herself. She rushed over to the counter and took a tub of garlic butter from inside the thermal bag and placed it on the table before she sat to eat.

"Well, you just put it together. Who made the sauce? That's what makes it taste so good," Sherry replied casting a sour look towards her daughter.

"The Bechamel and Bolognese sauces; they're Lou's family recipes, but they do their lasagna different than this. I know you like it with ham and cottage cheese instead of ricotta," Matilda said attempting to regain the smile she had just misplaced.

"Well, you'll have to complement him on it. So, Mrs. Clarke came over for some margaritas this afternoon and you'll never guess who is moving back home."

"Gee, let me guess. Kevin?"

"Yes, isn't that great?" Matilda's mother said as she returned a half-eaten piece of bread to the loaf. "Oh, I can tell you made the garlic bread; it's too dry. Anyway, you know he's single, if you play your cards right, I'm sure he'll give you a second chance. She says he's always asking about you."

"I brought extra garlic butter," Matilda said pointing at the tub of butter. "And, what do you mean, give me a second chance? He cheated on me."

"I told her to let Kevin know you're still single. He's finished college now and has some promising job prospects."

Sherry retrieved her piece of toast from the center of the table and began spreading the whipped garlic butter. Matilda watched with the sheepish look of a scolded child. Her mother's expression of disappointment for having to apply butter to bread was all too familiar.

"Mom, don't set me up with anyone, please. Especially him!" Matilda said softly with her eyes fixed on the table just north of her plate.

"Oh, come on, that was years ago. Get over it. Besides, you're the one that was holding out on him. He was a horny teenage boy, and you weren't given' him anything to keep him interested."

"What? I was 15, and he had sex with my best friend 10 minutes after our first date."

"Your problem is this no sex before marriage thing you keep going on about. I don't know where the hell you came up with that crap, it certainly wasn't from me. You're almost 20, it's about time for you to grow up, be a woman for Christ's sake. Hell, I started when I was twelve, and—"

"Please, mom, don't go into the details, again," Matilda interrupted.

Matilda pushed her plate away and cupped her face in her hands as if this gesture could shield her from hearing about her mother's sex life. She had heard the tales of Sherry's past many times over the years, sometimes in sickeningly graphic detail.

"I'm just say'n I had lots of fun 'til you kids came along."

"Yeah, and we heard all about the fun and how you got pregnant at 14 and we ruined your life."

"Oh, shut up, you sound just like your sister," Sherry said as her fist hit the table and made cutlery and Matilda jump. "She's no angel; shacked up with her boyfriend as soon as she turned 16. But at least she had the good sense to know how to get a man."

"Alexis and I couldn't decide which of us was 'Regret' and which was 'Mistake'. And, as I remember it, Grandma kicked her out; she didn't just leave. My choice to abstain did come from you, and Grandma, always telling us about how you threw away your future," Matilda replied with a hint of uncharacteristic fortitude.

"Well, you're not a kid anymore. If you want a man, like Kevin, you gotta offer up something. For starters, stop dressing like a bloody hobo; show some skin and put on some makeup for God's sake. Shit, your grandmother has more sex appeal than you."

"Maybe I don't want a man like Kevin. Maybe I want a man that won't bang his way through my friends, then—"

"Well, you're not going to get ANY man unless you get rid of that do not enter sign you got hanging around your waist. Face it; you don't have anything of interest above the navel."

"What?"

"Boobs or brains, you don't have much of either, so you're gonna have to use what's between your legs."

The young woman pushed back against the table and turned her head away. She hoped to deny her mother the satisfaction of seeing her cry but was betrayed by a stuttered breath. Matilda left the table and rushed up to her room.

Matilda's mother continued yelling, "It's the truth. The only A you got in high school was bra size, and you had to cheat to get that. Oh, come on, where's your sense of humor?"