You've been cerved.

Inez

"Hello, you two!" Tamra sang out as she carefully placed her shoes on the rack beside the door and hung her coat on the coat hanger.

"Hello, Tamra," From the dinner table, Inez watched her housemate, bemused. Tamra rarely used the shoe rack or hung her coat...anywhere.

"It's quite the starry night!" Tamra gazed out the window beside the front door with a dreamy look on her face.

Inez finished the last of her wine and asked, "Did you have a good evening, Tamra?"

"It was fine," Tamra turned and gave both Inez and Claire a small, self-satisfied smile.

"Do you want some cake?" Inez asked, holding up her own dish so Tamra could see the slice of chocolate fudge cake.

"I dunno..." The sides of Tamra's mouth turned down.

"It's organic and gluten-free," Inez said quickly.

"Anita's really into health food these days," Claire spoke through a mouthful of fudge.

Inez's head whipped around to look at Claire. "Wait...Did Anita make this cake? For the wake on Monday? Claire?"

Claire shrugged. "She didn't say anything when I took it."

Inez's eyes narrowed. "Was Anita there when you took it?"

Claire stared at Inez.

Inez sighed. "I guess I should have known....But it really is very good, Tamra." Inez turned back to her housemate.

Tamra rubbed her stomach as she crossed the room. "Gluten-free, you say? I guess I could try a bite." She sat down next to Inez and used her fingers to guide a piece to her mouth.

"Tamra, a fork? Maybe a plate?" Inez sighed.

"But you don't like to do dishes," Tamra said, spewing a few crumbs.

Inez pretended to tut, but she was actually delighted - Tamra had really lost a lot of weight in the last few months.

Inez was all for healthy lifestyles, but Tamra had not been unhealthy to begin with. Inez sometimes wondered if the break-up Tamra had mentioned once in passing had caused the young woman to re-evaluate her appearance in some distressing way.

"Mmm, not bad," Tamra murmured, licking her fingers.

"You look happy," Claire gave Tamra a sour look.

Tamra grinned. "I am."

Claire pulled the cake out of Tamra's reach. "That's enough. I need to save the rest of this for Monday."

Tamra paused and looked Claire up and down slowly.

With a rather smug smile, Tamra nodded. "Sure..."

Claire, suddenly very aware of her protruding belly, sat up straight, sucking in her stomach. "Shut up."

Tamra's eyes widened with false innocence. "What did I say?"

Inez physically inserted her head between the two, taking the cake back from Claire. "Behave, you two. The past is water under the bridge."

"Lotta water," Tamra muttered, stealing another piece of cake.

"Freaking flood," Claire agreed, folding her arms over her chest.

Inez shook her head. "C'mon, you guys. You're family."

"Not by choice," Tamra and Claire said in unison.

Inez rolled her eyes. "So nice to hear you two agree on something. I'll wrap the cake up for you to take home, Claire."