There was nothing Amber's mom liked to talk about as much as her own projects. As Amber suspected, bringing up the renovations guaranteed them a few moments of relative peace, with her mom going on quite happily about all the ways she'd caught the workers trying to cheat her. Only Geoffrey seemed to listen, though. Her dad probably had had enough, since he'd been living here; Madeleine was chattering on to Leila about who knew what; and Aunt Jude had tuned out at once.
But Amber hadn't raised that topic for any of them; it'd been for Eric alone, who needed the break. Not even her touch softened his grimace.
Complimenting the food was a good move, at least. Everyone else chimed in, including Amber, but she knew that her mom would remember that Eric said so first. 'The first compliment is the real one,' her mom had told her many, many times.
"I'm just looking forward to tomorrow," Amber's dad said, winking at her mom.
Her mom snorted. "I'm looking forward to you helping me, for once." This was an old, warm joke. He actually did pitch in a fair amount on Thanksgiving. Not in other parts of the year, but... which brought up another good question. Would her mom want Amber's in the kitchen this year? Not setting the table one thing, but the Thanksgiving feast was huge. Even Leila had been helping for as long as Amber could remember; she wasn't sure if Eric, a man, would be expected to do the same.
The conversation shifted to Geoffrey's latest work: more big important rich clients wanting him to save them in their divorces blah blah blah. Amber wished she could be like Madeleine and be excused from the table as soon as she'd cleared her plate. She enviously watched Leila pick up the drowsy Madeleine, murmuring softly to her, and carrying her out of the room. Aunt Jude excused herself to go give Leila a hand.
no subject
But Amber hadn't raised that topic for any of them; it'd been for Eric alone, who needed the break. Not even her touch softened his grimace.
Complimenting the food was a good move, at least. Everyone else chimed in, including Amber, but she knew that her mom would remember that Eric said so first. 'The first compliment is the real one,' her mom had told her many, many times.
"I'm just looking forward to tomorrow," Amber's dad said, winking at her mom.
Her mom snorted. "I'm looking forward to you helping me, for once." This was an old, warm joke. He actually did pitch in a fair amount on Thanksgiving. Not in other parts of the year, but... which brought up another good question. Would her mom want Amber's in the kitchen this year? Not setting the table one thing, but the Thanksgiving feast was huge. Even Leila had been helping for as long as Amber could remember; she wasn't sure if Eric, a man, would be expected to do the same.
The conversation shifted to Geoffrey's latest work: more big important rich clients wanting him to save them in their divorces blah blah blah. Amber wished she could be like Madeleine and be excused from the table as soon as she'd cleared her plate. She enviously watched Leila pick up the drowsy Madeleine, murmuring softly to her, and carrying her out of the room. Aunt Jude excused herself to go give Leila a hand.