Summer Soap (Episode 11): Natalie enjoys quality time with her mother

Natalie wasn’t sure what to expect from her homecoming after being away for so long, but the next morning seemed perfectly ordinary.

If it weren’t for her suitcase sitting right by the door, it’d seem like every Saturday morning.

If her time abroad made any changes, she hadn’t noticed them. Her room was almost as she left it, if a bit tidier. Her mom had taken the time to clean a bit before Natalie’s return, and there was a basket on her desk with all of her favourite American snacks.

The basket had been on her bed when Natalie first came home, but Tully had barrelled into the room hot on her heels. They’d managed to get the puppy off of the bed before she could do any real damage, but everyone had agreed that it was best that Natalie keep her bedroom door closed until she’d made her way through the snack stash.

The packets of Goldfish were tempting, but Natalie couldn’t resist the smell of pancakes coming from downstairs. Before heading down to breakfast, she considered the boxes of chocolate in her suitcase. She didn’t really want to wait for Christmas Day to give the boxes to her mom, and she certainly didn’t want to keep them under the tree, which was soundly within range of Tully’s nose. She wanted to surprise her by setting them up in the kitchen while everyone was asleep so her mom could see them in the morning, but underestimated just how tired she’d be after a layover during her usual sleeping hours. Should she try again tonight?

Natalie decided to risk it, taking the boxes in her arms, she decided to sneak downstairs. She might have been away for a semester, but she still remembered how to creep through the house without a sound.

She peeked around the doorway to see what she was dealing with. Her mom was flipping pancakes and her dad was rummaging through the fridge.

“We’re out of milk,” her dad said. Natalie crossed the room without alerting her parents, but where should she set the boxes down?

What? No we’re not. How about beside the coffee maker?

That’s the first place her mom would go after making breakfast.

“Well, it’s not here.”

Natalie gently set the chocolate down against the wall, making sure they wouldn’t fall before finally stepping away.

“I just bought some yesterday,” her mom said, turning to look over her dad’s shoulder. Natalie reached behind them to make a plate for herself before sitting down at the kitchen counter.

“Good morning,” she called. Her mom jumped, sending her spatula straight towards the ceiling before it clattered against the floor.

“Natalie!” she scolded with a smile on her face. Natalie laughed, taking a bite of a delicious, buttery pancake.

“Sorry mom.”

Well into the late morning, it occurred to Natalie that maybe the coffee maker wasn’t the best location.

After her father left for a round of golf her mom had turned her attention to Natalie, asking her plenty of questions about her time in Cork while she washed the dishes.

Yes, Natalie was eating well. Yes, her apartment was clean. No, she didn’t know what her final marks for the semester were yet.

At some point, they’d moved to the living room to watch their shows, and still her mom hadn’t noticed. She’d opted to re-heat her previous cup of coffee rather than making a new one before sitting down.

After a couple of episodes, Natalie tried to make herself a cup of coffee during a commercial break, making conversation and making vague gestures in the chocolates’ direction, but to no avail.

Natalie had since decided to make a game of it, wondering just how long it would take for her to notice. She kept a watchful eye on her mom as she went to make herself lunch, opening the fridge to gauge her options.

“Oh, unbelievable,” her mom called out, turning around with a carton of milk in hand, “Can you believe your father? He couldn’t see his hand if he waved it in front of his face.”

Natalie stared at her mom, biting her lip. It was all she could do not to burst out laughing, “I’m not sure you’re in a position to judge dad’s lack of observational skills.”

Her mom turned to shoot Natalie a look, eyes narrowed with suspicion that only comes from raising children that were too smart for their own good. “And just what are you talking about?”

“You don’t notice anything different about the kitchen?” she asked with her best attempt at an innocent smile.

It took her mom three full rotations to notice the chocolate, but when she did her face lit up.

They spent the afternoon in front of the lit fireplace drinking hot chocolate Natalie showed her mom how to make, melting milk on the stove before dividing it between two mugs.

They ended up over-indulging, making enough mugs so that they really were out of milk by the time her dad came home with a fresh gallon.