Fruit Read Online Free PDF Page B

only thing she’d eat was a dinner roll, swear to god.
    We stopped to pick up Uncle Ed. My dad had to honk three times before Uncle Ed came to the door and waved to us. Then he went back inside.
    “Honestly!” my mother said. She leaned over and gave the car horn another honk. “No one to think about except for himself. It’s my birthday dinner, after all.”
    Uncle Ed is always late for everything. He says it’s not his fault and that everyone else is just early. My motherhonked again and Uncle Ed came out wearing a purple Hawaiian shirt. Everyone watched as he waddled over to the car.
    “Another fine purchase straight out of the ‘Look At Me’ catalogue,” Christine said.
    “What’s in the news?” Uncle Ed said when he opened up the back door. He was wearing too much Hai Karate aftershave. “Better shimmy over Peter, and give me some room.”
    I heard Christine say “Oh god” under her breath as I slid over and squished against her. Uncle Ed backed himself in through the door. By the time he closed it, Christine’s hand was pressed up against the window and she said she was having trouble breathing.
    “I think I cracked a rib.”
    “Hold on,” my mom said. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
    Christine shot me a dirty look. She was turning a little blue, but what could I do about it? It was Uncle Ed’s fault, not mine. He read every sign we passed out loud.
    “Jimmy’s Char Grill . . . Gene’s Furniture Emporium . . . Road Slippery When Wet.”
    Nancy and André were supposed to meet us at the restaurant, but when we got inside, Nancy was sitting by herself in a peach dress, gnawing on a breadstick.
    “Where’s loverboy?” Christine asked. Nancy made a face. She looked like she’d been crying so maybe she and André got into a fight.
    “Did something happen?” my mom asked. Then she looked around. “This is so fancy!”
    Halfway through dinner, I looked up and saw a woman at another table staring at us. Then she leaned over to her husband to say something and the two of them laughed. I couldn’t figure out what was so funny until I looked around the table and saw what she saw. Except for Christine and my dad, we were a table of fat people. I took a sip of the vanilla shake I’d ordered with my fish and chips. My face felt hot and I just wanted to go.
    “Mom made us all fat.” That’s what Christine told me once after she’d lost all her weight. “Think about it. How many moms do you know start their children’s day off with Tang and Cocoa Puffs? How sick is that?”
    I thought Christine was wrong. My mom always buys us chips and makes cookies and there’s always dessert after supper. But she doesn’t force us to eat anything. I mean, I could always ask for a grapefruit for breakfast.
    But I wondered if Christine was right. It’s an awful thing to say, because I don’t think my mom wants us to be fat. But she never told us to stop eating, either.
    “This has been a wonderful dinner,” my mom said as our waitress took our plates away. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.” Then she got up and went to the bathroom.
    My dad looked pretty relieved. Nancy was flipping a pack of Sugar Twin between her fingers. Christine looked bored. Uncle Ed was picking at his nails with a fork and talking to no one in particular. I was just happy to know we’d be out of there soon.
    “Anyone for dessert?” my Dad asked. “Nancy?”
    “Why are you asking me?” Nancy said.
    My dad shrugged. “Just asking,” he said.
    “Wouldn’t mind some rice pudding, if they have some,” Uncle Ed said, just as my mother was coming back to the table.
    “Oh, Ed! How can you possibly have room for . . .”
    Then my mom disappeared and there was this “thud” sound. Everyone turned to look. The waitresses, the other tables, the couple who’d been laughing at us before. The whole restaurant got very quiet. My mom had missed the chair and was sitting on the floor with this awful expression