The Trouble with Being Born: A Novel

Mother

96 Jeff’s coming home from college for Thanksgiving on Wednesday, so I’ll try to get some extra things to eat. And the turkey. I hope I can find one that’s not too expensive. I’ll make that Stove Top Stuffing. I’m sure I’ll have to spend more than the eighty dollars, and Joe will have a fit, but he’ll just have to have his fit. It’s Thanksgiving after all. Joe gets so crabby all of the time, especially around the holidays. I really miss Jeff. I’m glad he’s coming home. There sure are a lot of people at King Soopers today. I always start on the bakery and bread side and move my way over to the frozen food, through the meats and finally to the fruits and vegetables. It might be a good idea to go over and try to get a turkey first, before all the smaller ones are taken. I don’t want to end up with a thirty-pound turkey. But I think I’ll just follow my routine. I don’t want to get mixed up. It’s already going to take me an hour and a half. I like King Soopers. I like it much better than Safeway or County Market. County Market has cheaper prices, but you have to bag your own food. I just don’t like touching my groceries that many times. Plus it’s not as clean as King Soopers. It’s hard to have to learn a new grocery store. I like knowing where things are. I only went to County Market once, and it Mother 97 took over two hours. I’d rather shop at County Market than Ralph’s though. It was embarrassing having to shop for groceries on credit. Ralph’s store was tiny. He hardly had anything. And his prices were out of this world they were so high. Joe liked his sausage and French bread. He did have good sausage but the bread was from Zoelsman’s. I can get Zoelsman’s bread at Safeway. I think King Soopers’ French bread is just as good. It was hard to find enough variety. Joe would complain about how we’d have the same things all of the time, and I’d say of course we have the same things all the time, Ralph has nothing else to buy. I shopped there for over fifteen years. I’m sure glad I don’t shop there anymore. Joe likes the doughnuts that are on sale. I’ll get a couple extra of the chocolate frosted for Jeff. He used to like chocolate frosted doughnuts, I imagine he still does. I’m not quite sure what he likes now. He doesn’t come home much. I can’t blame him. Joe is so difficult and they fight all of the time. I’ll buy a couple of loaves of their French bread in case Jeff wants sandwiches. I’ll get a loaf of Wonder for Joe too. Joe really likes bread. I’d better check my list to see what kind of frozen food we need. We like these pizzas, these Totino’s Pizzas. I remember one time Jeff had his friends over after school, and they ate all three of these pizzas I had in the freezer. And then they went out for band rehearsal or some other thing, and I had to clean up that big mess right when I got home from school. I wasn’t angry that he ate the pizzas, but that he didn’t clean up. He didn’t have friends over to the house that much though. His dad was always so grumpy, always yelling at him or at me. I don’t know why he has to be so hateful. I hope I remembered my pizza coupon. Here it is: three for the price of two. I hope I have room in my freezer for the pizzas and the turkey. mother 98 mother I’ll get canned peas and corn, they’re cheaper than frozen . Look at all the people here. There’ll probably be a real mob tomorrow, after the Broncos play. I hope they play well tomorrow. My kids all wore orange yesterday, all except Arthur Vigil, who just moved here from New Mexico, and Jennie Duran, whose mother isn’t married and I don’t think...