The Things We Keep by Julee Balko

Author:Julee Balko
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: womens fiction, grief and loss, family relationships, mothers and daughters, family secrets, parents fiction, female relationships, women and family
Publisher: GenZ Publishing

Chapter 8: Applesauce

When Tom called to say he was going to be late again, Serena was cleaning the ceiling of the kitchen. “Do you have any idea what’s on the ceiling? It’s, like, dried stuff,” said Serena.

“Applesauce,” said Tom. “It was an accident. Last week I squeezed a pouch. I thought I got it all.”

Serena hung up the phone. She was always cleaning up after Tom’s accidents. There were dots on the ceilings. And then she realized there were hardened applesauce specks on the cabinets, too. She scrubbed them hard. And it seemed like everywhere she cleaned, she noticed more hidden applesauce debris.

She couldn’t help but think of the other mess of a relationship she had with her mother. Serena went and grabbed the cookbook where she had hidden Dorothy’s birth certificate. She touched the perimeter with her fingers. She moved her hand across Dorothy’s name. Her father’s name. Her mother’s name. The round seal of the hospital where they all were born. She stared at the date of birth, date filed, file number. Information that might lead her to answers.

She wished she could ask her mother. But then she laughed at herself; she would never have asked her mother. Could she ask her dad? Maybe. Her aunt? She should start with her dad. After all, he was Dorothy’s father, too. She circled the hospital seal one more time with her finger, and her friend Nina popped into her head. Nina’s wife worked at the same hospital Dorothy was born at. Maybe she could help her get some answers, too. Or at least point Serena in some direction where she could get answers. Why was she already planning ahead and assuming her father would give her no answers? “A good scientist looks at more than one data point,” Serena assured herself. She got out her phone and sent a quick message to see if Nina wanted to meet up for lunch or coffee at work. Right away, she got a response, but sadly it was an out-of-office message that Nina was away on vacation until the following week. Serena folded the birth certificate back up and slipped it back in her cookbook. Tom had never opened a cookbook. And to be fair, Serena hardly did either. Barbara had bought her the thirty-minute recipe cookbook. She had handed her the yard sale find and said, “Because you work so much and don’t have much time to cook.” A double-edged sword of a compliment and gift. And now a safe spot to hide her dead sister’s birth certificate.

Serena put the cookbook away on the shelf and stared at the purple spine. Just another example of how their relationship wasn’t easy. And yet she missed her terribly. After so many years of hate, there was love when she became Maggie’s grandma. Barbara was a different person as a grandmother. But then again, as soon as she held Maggie in her arms, Serena was different, too. Maybe Barbara was trying to make up for

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