[Twenty-Somewhere] Episode 14: Mrs. Bradford pays a visit

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Claudia’s mother arrives on a Thursday. While Eli loads Mrs. Bradford’s suitcases into the trunk, Claudia runs down the list of all the nicest restaurants in town. “Pick anything you want for dinner, Ma.”

Mrs. Bradford shakes her head. “Oh don’t worry, I’m not hungry. I had a smoothie at the airport, and then some sort of peanut butter crackers for my in-flight snack.”

Eli is just about to mention that he’s starving because he worked through lunch, but Mrs. Bradford adds, “I just want to go to your place and get settled.”

He and Claudia smile at each other, and then he starts the car and heads for their house.

~ ~ ~

While Eli heats up two microwave dinners, Claudia shows her mother around their small but comfortable home. Mrs. Bradford says nothing, but Claudia can see the silent critique in her eyes. Finally they circle back to the kitchen, and Eli hands Claudia her plate.

“So what do you think?” Claudia asks, too stressed to eat. She smiles at Eli and quietly wonders how she can dump her food into the trash without his noticing. Or into Max’s food dish.

Mrs. Bradford shrugs. “It’s no wonder you’ve put on weight if that’s what you’re eating. But you still look okay, so I guess it’s not a big deal.”

Eli’s jaw drops open, but he quickly recovers by shoving a forkful of meatloaf into it.

“No, Ma,” Claudia says, struggling to remain calm. “I meant what do you think about the house?”

“Oohhh.” Mrs. Bradford shrugs again. “It’s cute. Reminds me a bit of your dorm room. Probably because half the furniture is the same.” She laughs. “I thought I sent you money for new stuff?”

Claudia sighs. She doesn’t want to tell her mother they used the money on the dog — vet bills, toys, bedding — so she just smiles and takes a bite of broccoli. She figures it’s the least likely to make her fat.

~ ~ ~

Just before going to bed, Claudia knocks on the guest room door to check on her mother. “Ma? Do you need anything? Towels, toothbrush, extra blanket?”

Her mother doesn’t answer. After knocking again, Claudia slowly opens the door. “Hello?” Her eyes go wide. “Ma, what are you doing?!”

Mrs. Bradford stops pushing the dresser and wipes her brow. “I’m rearranging. The way you had things before was bad feng shui.”

“You’re an architect! You know better than to believe in feng shui.”

“Call it ‘flow,’ then. I’m helping the room to flow better.”

Claudia takes a deep breath. “Good night, Ma.”

Her mother smiles. “Good night, sweetie. And trust me, you’ll like this better.”

~ ~ ~

The rest of the visit goes much the same. Claudia does her best to show her mother all the sights — the museums, the parks, and the restaurants — but nothing seems to impress Mrs. Bradford. Much to Eli’s chagrin, the two women also end up arguing quite a bit, but in a way that is not quite arguing.

“You’ll like Koi Garden better, so let’s eat there tonight,” Claudia says.

Eli turns left.

“Oh, but I thought you were in the mood for Italian. We can go to this Antonio’s place instead.”

Eli turns right.

“No, no, I’m fine with Koi Garden.”

Eli turns left again. Slowly.

“No, I think you’re right, pasta sounds good. I want to try Antonio’s.”

Eli pulls over. And waits.

In the end he suggests an upscale American restaurant near his office, which none of them have ever been to. Surprisingly, they all enjoy the meal immensely. Despite Eli’s offer, Mrs. Bradford insists on paying the bill. “I’m happy to hand over my credit card for those scallops. They were excellent. I’m so glad we didn’t go to Koi Garden.”

“Yes, and this is much better than Antonio’s,” Claudia agrees enthusiastically.

Eli covers his face with his hands in exasperation, but neither of them seem to notice.

~ ~ ~

On Sunday afternoon, Eli heads out to get gas for their trip to the airport that evening. Mrs. Bradford takes advantage of the moment alone with her daughter. “How is your writing going, sweetie?” she asks as innocuously as she can. Claudia always seems to get so sensitive about this line of questioning.

“Fine,” Claudia answers curtly. Then she remembers her good news. “Actually, a short story of mine is going to be published in the Big City Review!”

“The Big City Review?” Mrs. Bradford thinks for a moment. “Hmm, never heard of it.”

Claudia harrumphs. “Well it’s a really big deal.”

“I’m sure it is.” Mrs. Bradford smiles. Still sensitive, she thinks. “Which story?”

“The one about going to New York City.”

“Really? I didn’t think that was your best.”

The look Claudia gives her could make the coldest, meanest criminal cry.

“Oh, honey, that’s not what I meant. It’s a perfectly fine story, it’s just–”

“Save it, Ma! You never have anything nice to say about my writing. That’s why I don’t like talking to you about it.”

Claudia retreats to the couch and stares out the window. Max jumps up to sit next to her and lick her hand.

With a sigh, Mrs. Bradford steps in front of her. “I read the novel you’re working on, and it’s wonderful. I know you’re not finished, but I can already tell you’ve put a lot of thought and emotion into it, and the characters are fascinating. I felt so proud of you while I was reading.”

Claudia looks up at her mother with tears in her eyes. She can’t quite believe what she’s hearing. “You mean that?”

Mrs. Bradford nods. Sniffling, Claudia leaps out of her seat — startling Max — and grabs her mom for a hug. “Thanks,” she whispers. “I really needed to hear that from you.”

They pull back and smile at each other. Then Claudia sits back down on the couch, and her mother heads back to her room to finish packing. Just as Mrs. Bradford reaches the guest room, Claudia calls out, “Wait a minute! You were snooping on my computer?!”

~ ~ ~

Later that night, after Eli and Claudia drop Mrs. Bradford off at the airport, and they’re falling asleep with Max curled up contentedly between them, Claudia says, “That was a nice visit, huh?”

Eli makes a noncommittal noise.

“Ma says she’d like to come back soon, maybe for Easter.”

Eli is suddenly glad he’s facing away from Claudia, so she can’t see the involuntary expression of panic that crosses his face.

Outside their window, Claudia can hear the dripping of ice as it melts off their porch roof. She can feel Max’s little chest expand and collapse against her own. And she can feel the warmth of Eli’s legs tangled with hers. She smiles.

“I am absolutely certain that one day I’m going to have a daughter, and I am going to drive her crazy.”

There’s a two-second delay as Eli jolts out of his half-asleep state and figures out what she just said. “What makes you think that?” he asks at last.

Claudia chuckles. “Because I learned it from the best.”