Page 84 of Suddenly Entwined

Berg:

And what about my opinion? Hmm?

Berg’s opinion probably matters more than it should. I mean, why else did I send the picture?

A tap on my window startles me. It’s Tamara, wiggling her fingers and smiling widely. I can see that she’s parked next to me, her shiny SUV gleaming. I crack the window.

“Um, hey.”

“Hello! Would you be a dear and help me?”

“Sure. With what?”

She steps back so I can climb out of my car, shoving my keys and phone in my jeans pockets.

Pressing a button on her keys, the hatchback of her vehicle glides open.

“Ta da!”

Three white boxes form a neat row in her impeccably clean trunk.

“What is it?”

“My cake!”

There’s a weird gasping sound I’m pretty sure came from my mouth.

“Why are there three?”

I know the entry sheet said one cake per family.

“It’s three tiers, silly!”

My eyes practically bulge out of my head.

“That’s your cake?”

“Yes! Go big or go home, right?”

A strained laugh escapes me, because right now I’d very much like to go home.

“Totally.”

“It’s in pieces and I’ll set it up inside. Where’s yours?”

“Oh, it’s still…cooling.”

“Carolina, the emails said to bring it after school for set up.” She wags her finger at me in mock scolding, but it doesn’t actually feel pretend.

I visualise dropping one tier of her cake just to see the look on her stupid face.

Awkwardly, we take the largest bottom tier and walk it into the gym. Middle-aged mothers descend upon Tamara as soon as they see her and she makes a big show of acting modest but she’s absolutely preening under the attention. I slip away, noticing that most of the other cakes look normal. Pretty, but normal. Thank god. Because that little pep talk I gave myself about my cake being “fine”, is falling short. Is this what motherhood is like? Constantly comparing yourself to others? Worrying that your kids are going to be disappointed when you fall short? Does Berg think about this stuff, I wonder. Or is it twice as bad for him since he’s alone?

Smiling when I spot the girls exit the school, they make their way over to me, buzzing with excitement.

“Did you decorate it?” Natalie asks, eyes full of hope.

Last night we baked two round chocolate cakes well past the girls' bedtime. Berg tried to get involved but Louisa declared the kitchen to be a ‘girls only’ zone and banished him to the garage for a workout.

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