Page 4 of A Love So Sweet

“There. That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

“I guess not. Are you going to finish yours?”

“I’m done, dear.”

Allison’s eyes lurched. Margaret had eaten only a fourth of her sandwich. “You’re not done!”

“I am.”

“Since when is not eating even half of your food considered done? And what happened to, “we don’t waste food around here”?”

“I’m on a diet. I need to lose a few pounds.”

Allison scoffed. “So, I could stand to gain some weight, but you need to lose a few pounds?”

“DoesLance pick you up in the bedroom?”

Allison tripped over her words. “Ex… excuse me?”

“You heard my question. Does Lance pick you up in the bedroom?”

“What does that have to do with—”

“Answer me, and you’ll find out.”

Allison was unsure if she wanted to know. She pursed her lips and peered at her mother. “Yes.”

“Does he struggle?”

Allison went into a neckroll. “No.”

“Your father does.”

Allison lifted her hands. “Whoa. What?”

“Your father struggles to lift me in the bedroom. It’s embarrassing. He’s never struggled before. I need to lose some weight.”

Allison tookanother sip of her lemonade. “Mom, I’ve got news for you; Dad is old. He’s tired. Maybe he should go to the gym and lift some weights. Have you thought about that?”

Margaret smiled slowly, then burst into laughter. Allison smirked and drank the rest of her lemonade.

“You’re so sweet to say that.” Margaret reigned in her amusement. “You didn’t have to.”

“No, I’m serious. We, as women, are so quick to judge ourselves. Does Dad still workout?”

“Hmmm.” Margaret thought about it with her lips puckered. “Not like he used to, but that’s understandable. As we get older, we slow down a little.”

“Then you should understand that his stamina won’t remain the same as it was before, right?”

Margaret’s fingers tapped together spiritedly. “I see where you’re going.”

“Good. Now eat up.”

Margaret’s eyes widened then she squinted at her daughter.

“Go on,” Allison urged.

Margaret took another bite of her sandwich, and Allison smiled. “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

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