Punished by Divorce

Lunch

Naomi

“I know your father wanted to join us for lunch,” my mother, Sandra Scott, remarked softly as she continued to eye the menu. This place was completely different from the place Corey and I had been to earlier.

“I assume he is busy?” I questioned, even though I didn’t actually care. I wanted this lunch over as quickly as possible. My mother glanced up for a moment, and it was almost like looking in the mirror. We had the same thick, luscious black hair. Her hair was long and completely straight. Mine was cut in a short stylistic bob and she hated it. I didn’t care though. We both had light green eyes, a button nose, and full lips. The perfectly shaped face for our perfect features. I was tempted to roll my eyes at my own thoughts, but I simply looked away from my mother. We had both dressed to impress, and the restaurant was a five-star classical place that would have rejected us if we hadn’t looked the part.

“Good afternoon,” a server greeted us as she stopped by our table. “Have you had a chance to go over the menu? We do have a lovely afternoon special,” I cringed the second she mentioned the special. My mother loved things like that. Anything special meant it was unique.

“Oh? Do tell us about this special,” my mother suggested as she set down her menu.

“One-bite hors d'oeuvres,” she said, and I held my breath. “We have for sharing as well,” she added, as she spared me the barest glance.

“Hmm,” my mother was pretending as if she wasn’t interested, but I knew her better than that. I also knew what the next question would be. “And how many courses are there?” she asked. The server actually looked embarrassed, and I was confused as to why.

“Oh, my apologies' mam, there are a total of five rounds. Each course is served with six portions. Twelve if sharing,” she shot me another quick look, and it dawned on me that she was embarrassed for not giving all the information. “Three savory rounds and two sweet,” she added.

“Splendid!” my mother exclaimed happily. “We’ll do that, won’t we darling?”

“Sure,” I agreed. I had been hoping to fill up on lunch since I wasn’t expecting to eat much at dinner, but apparently, my mother had other ideas. While I knew the courses would be delicious, it wasn’t even enough to fill me.

“I say, Naomi, did you have breakfast with Corey this morning?” my mother asked. She already knew the answer, but I nodded anyway. “And you didn’t think to change for lunch?” her question threw me off guard as I looked down at the outfit I had carefully picked out before leaving for lunch.

“I’ll have you know that I am wearing one of Julia’s latest designs!” I hissed as I smoothed my hand over the tablecloth. My mother could be infuriating at times, but this was one thing that grated on my nerves. Her judgment. “And this morning, I wore a jumpsuit of Julia’s as well,” Julia was the current top fashion designer and my mother sighed softly.

“Well, you do look rather dull and…tired. Not that it matters,” she said, and then she did the weirdest thing, she smiled and leaned closer. “How about you tell me about the outfit you will wear to dinner with your husband tonight?” I was tempted not to. In fact, I had bought the dress online before the divorce papers had arrived. I didn’t feel as though Erik deserved to be seen with such a well-dressed wife – soon-to-be ex-wife – but I had an image to uphold. An image I couldn’t wait to be free from. All I wanted was to live my life the way that I wanted. I couldn’t wait for no one to judge me for wearing a pair of jeans or a sweatshirt. I couldn’t wait to be on my own and not have to worry about the highlights in my hair or whether or not my nails were painted pink, red, or white. “Naomi?”

“Right, yes, of course,” I said. “It’s a full-length-”

“Maxi,” my mother interrupted, and I frowned. “A short dress is called a mini, a knee-length dress is called a midi, and a full-length dress is called a maxi,” I stared at her for a moment, and I was tempted to just get up and walk out. “I am only trying to help, darling,”

“Right. So, a maxi…” my voice trailed off as I pulled my phone from my clutch purse and scrolled through my messages. “An elegant trumpet, mermaid lace maxi dress with a boat neck and a back zip,” I read before I held out the phone so that she could see the photo Julia had sent me.

“That is a stunning color, Naomi. You will look absolutely stunning,”

“Thank you, the color is burgundy,” I said as I put my phone away just as our server returned.

“My apologies' mam, I forgot to mention that each round is served with an appropriate and appointed glass of wine,” the server said. I couldn’t remember if she had properly introduced herself, but the way she held my mother’s attention, which told me that she had served my mother before. If not, regularly.

“Of course, I would expect nothing less,” my mother remarked as she turned away from the server, who hurried off. “Now, where is he taking you? I bet he made reservations at that new little Italian restaurant that opened up a few weeks ago,”

“Amore Cibo,” I said, and she beamed.

“Wonderful, you’ll have to let me know how it is,” she said, and I saw our server headed toward us. Lunch had only just begun, and I had another four rounds to go before I could go home and relax until dinner. I watched as our server set down the first round and I sighed. I was going to be here for a while.