Page 22 of Healed
Daisy took the sample from him and quickly popped it in her mouth. “Oh, yeah. I’m having seconds.”
“Help me get these plates served?” Bane asked.
“Sure,” Daisy answered, taking the plates of ribs, one at a time from him and adding macaroni and cheese, and buttered corn on the cob to each. They were just putting the last plate on the table when Carson and Janie joined them.
“Have a seat, Carson,” Janie said, gesturing at the table.
“Which seat?” he asked, looking at the table. It was a large table that accommodated a lot of people.
“Daisy’s dad sits there, I sit right beside him, and Daisy sits on the other side of him. Which of the other chairs do you want?”
“I’ll sit beside Daisy,” he said, walking over and pulling himself up into that chair.
“Good choice! See? I already put your plate there,” Daisy said.
Carson nodded.
“Do you want tea, or water, or milk?” Bane asked.
“Milk, please. With ice.”
Daisy laughed. “That’s how I like my milk, too. Ice cold!”
Bane poured Carson’s milk, tea for the rest, and everyone sat so they could enjoy dinner.
Carson ate almost all of his macaroni and cheese before he tried the corn, but had left the ribs untouched so far.
“Aren’t you going to try the ribs?” Bane asked.
Carson looked up at Bane over his corn on the cob. “I never ate that before.”
“They’re very, very good,” Bane said, nodding for emphasis.
“They smell good,” Carson admitted.
“You should try one. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to finish it.”
Carson looked down at the two smoked ribs slathered in barbecue sauce on his plate.
“They have bones.”
“Yep. You use them like a handle. And bite the meat off them like you do the corn off the cob,” Bane said. “Watch.” He picked up a rib and demonstrated. “Oh, man, that’s so good! It’s so tender.”
Carson smirked a little.
“What? What’s so funny?” Bane asked, pretending he didn’t know why Carson was smirking.
“You got sauce on your face,” Carson said.
“Naw, I didn’t do that, did I?” Bane asked, swiping at the sauce, but instead of wiping it off, he just made more of a mess by smearing it across his cheek.
Carson laughed. “Now you have it all over your face!” he said.
Bane laughed. “You know what? They’re so good, I don’t mind having sauce all over my face.”
Carson looked down at the ribs before he poked one with just one of his fingers. The sauce stuck to his finger and he brought his hand up to his nose to sniff at it.
“Smells good, doesn’t it?”
