Bram set my plate in front of me and when I didn’t immediately dive into eating it, Reid asked, “Have you had pasta before?”
Vivian frowned at her son as she passed the pasta bowl down to him. “Don’t be rude, Reid.”
As he scooped a serving onto his plate, he calmly said, “I’m not.”
She stared at him, baffled.
“Viv,” Bram said, capturing her attention, and he shook his head.
Her brows rose, but she didn’t question him.
I picked up the fork next to my plate. “Does pasta made out of vegetables count? Like spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles?” I gave a tight smile to Vivian. “My mother?—”
“You don’t have to talk about it,” Bram said as he set a slice of bread on my plate. “The garlic bread is soft.”
I scooped up a cylinder piece of pasta that was covered in a thick white sauce. Swirls of steam came off of it. “I’m pretty sure I had spaghetti when I was little. I found a picture of me in a high chair. I had noodles in my hair and red sauce all over my face.”
Vivian smiled, but it looked forced. “A lot of parents take pictures of the aftermath of their babies having spaghetti for the first time. I have pictures of Reid and Makayla with spaghetti faces, too.”
“It must have been my father who took it,” I mumbled before putting the cooled-off pasta bite into my mouth. My brows rose as I chewed.
“She likes it. So just eat, Mom,” Reid said as he started eating.
“She hasn’t even finished chewing, Reid,” Vivian shot back.
I swallowed. “It’s very good.”
“Oh, that’s good,” she said, sounding relieved, and began digging into her own food.
“Ricotta is cheese, right?” I asked.
Bram nodded as he chewed.
“Everything seems to taste so good with melted cheese on it,” I said as I took another bite.
Vivian laughed. “I have to agree. When I was pregnant with Makayla, I craved cheese fries all the time.”
“You still crave cheese fries all the time,” Bram said.
Vivian scoffed. “Don’t act like you don’t steal half of them whenever I get them.”
Bram rolled his eyes.
“Poutine is better,” Reid said, making Vivian say, “Ooh, that’s yummy.”
“What is that?” I asked.
“Crispy fries with gravy and cheese curds,” Reid explained.
“When that hot gravy starts to melt the cheese curds and you get that cheese pull...” Vivian made ammmsound. “So good.”
Bram sighed. “I guess I know what I’ll be sent out for later.”
Vivian’s brows rose as she stared at her husband. “Only because you want some, too.”
Bram tried to hide his smile with a bite of food, but everyone saw. Vivian shook her head at him.
The sound of the doorbell rang through the house. My heart jumped to a painful speed and my entire body went stiff. I dropped my fork, causing it to clank loudly on the ceramic plate.
