Tuesday Tales and Picture Prompt

Ahoy Fellow Fathomers! It's time for Tuesday Tales.

A group of writers gather together and give our interpretation of a specific prompt each week. Most of the time we write to a certain word. Once per month we write to a picture prompt, and limit our entries to 300 words. I chose this cute kitchen shelf. You never know what you might encounter when you get inside our minds.  This will be an excerpt from my new yet-to-be-named WIP.

The decision to eat more went round and round in my brain, while the scrambled eggs cooled to room temperature. Soon, it would be even less appetizing, so, I needed to decide fast. The baby kicked just in time, giving me the cue to make a happy plate. I’d give it my best effort, taking another challenging swallow. My mind reversed to a mealtime far far away in our cozy country kitchen. Garrett’s voice softly drifted into my mind. “This looks good, I’ll fix you some.” Surveying the pans on the stove, I could still see the game plan brewing on his face for perfect food plating .

He used to make a plate for me. It’s those tiny gestures I took for granted, sometimes I didn’t even think about it. How many times had he doled out the perfect amount of scoops for me to eat. He even knew I liked extra ketchup on my meatloaf, and the biscuit in the middle of the pan. Who remembers that kind of stuff? “Is this enough?” Holding my plate out just enough for me to see, in case he needed to pull back for another spoonful of mac and cheese, gravy or ranch style beans, Garrett asked patiently, forever smiling, ready to fill er up more if I wanted it.

Sometimes I’d even tease him, especially if he was really hungry, delaying my decisions as he continued holding my plate. “I’m not sure…maybe I don’t need that second spoonful of mashed potatoes.” Garrett usually shut the game down pretty quickly. “If you don’t make up your mind, I’ll just take yours.” Pulling that hot plate in toward his chest, he pretended to take ownership. “Okay, Okay,” I’d relent, grabbing my meal out of his hands. “Thank you baby, I appreciate it.”