Waking the Dead
Part Two
Part Two
Amy excused herself from the small talk that had sprung up around the living room sofa. Those people were her family, but their need to silence their real feelings with idle chat was driving her crazy. She had to get away. So Amy made her way into the kitchen and was thankful to see it was empty for the first time in days.
The kitchen table was covered with half-eaten casseroles, desserts, deli-trays, the gastronomic detritus that marked a Southern house in mourning. She pulled a plastic spoon from a nearby box, peeled back the tinfoil loosely covering a dish of banana pudding, and scooped out a bite This was Aunt Milly's, she'd recognize it anywhere.
When she and Julia had been kids, their parents would send them to their Aunt's on a weekend just so they could have some privacy. Aunt Milly had always gone out of her way to make the time seem like an adventure and the girls had loved her for it. They would go on nature walks, watch scary movies, and gorge themselves on Milly's homemade delights. It was those weekends at Milly's that had inspired Julia to attend culinary school in Atlanta, to open her own restaurant in Athens.
Amy spooned more of the pudding into her mouth, tasting the familiar flavors of wafers, fresh bananas, walnuts, and there at her mother's table, tasting her sister's favorite dessert from her Aunt's kitchen, Amy finally allowed herself to cry.
The kitchen table was covered with half-eaten casseroles, desserts, deli-trays, the gastronomic detritus that marked a Southern house in mourning. She pulled a plastic spoon from a nearby box, peeled back the tinfoil loosely covering a dish of banana pudding, and scooped out a bite This was Aunt Milly's, she'd recognize it anywhere.
When she and Julia had been kids, their parents would send them to their Aunt's on a weekend just so they could have some privacy. Aunt Milly had always gone out of her way to make the time seem like an adventure and the girls had loved her for it. They would go on nature walks, watch scary movies, and gorge themselves on Milly's homemade delights. It was those weekends at Milly's that had inspired Julia to attend culinary school in Atlanta, to open her own restaurant in Athens.
Amy spooned more of the pudding into her mouth, tasting the familiar flavors of wafers, fresh bananas, walnuts, and there at her mother's table, tasting her sister's favorite dessert from her Aunt's kitchen, Amy finally allowed herself to cry.
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