Taken Back to Childhood

32. Food and Worries

After going to the shop, the girls headed back to their apartment with the food. They had bought a large portion of chips for them both to share, as well as a pot of curry sauce for Ellie.

When they got back, Ellie went straight to the kitchen with the bag, which she placed on the counter. Inside was the portion of chips, all wrapped up in a few layers of paper to keep them warm.

Ellie took out two plates, then carefully unwrapped the paper, and tipped most of the chips out onto her plate. She then started to make a chip butty for Sophie to eat.

Ellie opened the cupboard and took out two slices of bread, which she placed on Sophie's plate. Then she grabbed the butter dish from the counter, and spread a liberal amount on each piece of bread. Once that was done, she added the remaining chips onto one of the pieces of bread. Then she squirted on some brown sauce, and topped it off with the second slice of bread.

Going back to her own plate, Ellie took the pot of curry sauce out of the bag and carefully removed the lid. Then she lifted up the pot and poured all the sauce over the top of her chips.

Ellie then took both the plates through to the front room, and placed them carefully on their little dining table.

"Food's ready," Ellie said, as she walked back into the kitchen to get some drinks and cutlery.

She took a fork out of the cutlery drawer, then she grabbed two cans of diet coke from the fridge.

Ellie was about to leave the kitchen, when she paused. Perhaps the diet coke was not the right drink for Sophie, she thought.

Ellie placed one of the cans back in the fridge, and then went over to pick up the sippy cup that they had bought earlier. She took the lid off and poured in some apple juice.

When she got back to the front room, Sophie was sitting at the table and taking a bite from her chip butty.

Sophie smiled when she saw Ellie place the sippy cup down in front of her. Then she brought her hand up to cover her mouth before speaking. "Thanks," she mumbled, with her mouth still full of food.

"That's okay," said Ellie, as she sat down.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Sophie's meal was much smaller than Ellie's, so she finished eating first. Then she wiped her lips with a napkin and took a sip of her apple juice.

"Hey, thanks for standing up for me with my mother," Sophie said.

Ellie put her fork down, then reached out to grasp Sophie's hand. "Of course," she said. "I'm here for you, any time."

"That means a lot," said Sophie. "It's just my mother, she makes me coil up like a turtle, ya know?"

Ellie paused for a moment while she tried to work out what that metaphor was supposed to mean. "Err, yeah..." she said, slightly unsure. "I've noticed you act differently when you are around her, do you mean?"

"She puts me on edge," said Sophie. "I'm too scared to stand up to her."

"But why are you so scared of your mother?" Ellie asked.

Sophie turned her head and looked down at the ground. "It's just... when I was younger... I can't," she said, quietly.

Ellie could tell that there was more that Sophie wasn't telling her, but she didn't want to push her too much.

"And I've got to see her at work tomorrow," said Sophie, with a sigh. "I don't know if I can face her alone."

"Mmmm, yeah," said Ellie. She wasn't sure what advice she could give. "So why did you choose to get a job with your mother anyway? I mean, if she is so bad to be around?"