“A Breakthrough, Bleeding” (Story 8, Excerpt 2)

The following excerpt is the second part of “A Breakthrough, Bleeding”. You can read the first part here.

When I returned to the table, my food was waiting, but my appetite was gone. I looked at the scrambled eggs and felt they were mocking my own feminine discomfort.

I drew a smiley face on the eggs with ketchup and realized that I was too preoccupied for even this to amuse me.

Tato’s chicken-egg omelet confused me even more, with the pieces of ground chicken in the egg. He flipped through the selections on the miniature jukebox attached to our table and placed one quarter into the machine, playing a song that I had never heard before. Mama started to hum and sway in her seat.

“I remember when this song came out,” said Tato. “Your mother and I were having a picnic in a park, talking about whether or not we were ready to have a child. Little did we know, Veda, your mom was already pregnant with you.”

“Weren’t you afraid?” I asked. “I mean, you didn’t even have a chance to plan for my arrival.”

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“A Breakthrough, Bleeding” (Story 8, Excerpt 1)

The following excerpt is the first part of “A Breakthrough, Bleeding”. You can read the second part here.

I quietly opened the front door for Theo, and we matched our footsteps as we climbed the stairs, to sound like only one person.

Both Theo and I were home from college for winter break. He had parked his car further up the street. Mama and Tato were watching a movie and drinking wine in the family room.

I could tell that Theo was nervous, and I liked the feeling of power I had over him. Calming him with my kisses, I covered his mouth with my own whenever he tried to protest.

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