Skip to main content

Peeling Oranges


As the Daddy started the car, the Mama pulled an orange from the paper bag. She dug into the orange with her thumbnail, pulled away a bit of the peel, and handed it to her teenage son in the back seat. The Daddy eased onto the two-lane highway when the Mama took out another orange. This one she peeled completely, then gave the juicy fruit to her seven-year old daughter who peeked over the front seat.   In her mind, the Mama already forgave the children their mess.

The Mama reached for a third orange. The Daddy kept his eye on the road, maintaining a safe distance from the car in front of him. The Mama slowly peeled the orange, glancing now and then at the passing scenery. The teenager swallowed his last slice of orange and burped. His sister giggled.

The Mama reached over to the Daddy and touched his right hand with a piece of orange. His eyes still on the road, the Daddy took the orange and ate it in one bite. When he swallowed, the Mama gave him another piece. She looked at the back seat. "Junior, do you want another orange?" she asked.

The teenager turned a page of his comic book.

"Junior, another orange?"

"No."

"Susie, want more orange?" She held up a piece to the little girl, who happily took it with her sticky fingers.

The Mama handed the Daddy several more pieces before she finally ate a piece.

I'm participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge this month. To check out other participants, click here. See you tomorrow.   

Comments

  1. Susie,

    Oh what a loving Mama! I hope she left enough orange for herself. I can just imagine the juicy sticky fingers. I love how you tell stories!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Sue. I hope she did, too. Unless she really, really, really likes a dish, she usually lets someone else have the last bites. I love it when she takes the last bit of a dish for herself.

      Delete
  2. I hate peeling oranges. I hate how the white stuff gets under my nails. But I do love the taste :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The white stuff! It used to get stuck on my palms. Don't know why. One of the reasons I wouldn't eat oranges when I was young.

      Delete
  3. Love oranges and sometimes hard to peel them so I have an orange peeler and I ate one this morning:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've been buying mandarins lately. Yummily intense.

      Delete
  4. Mrs Widds has occasional 'baking with 'zest' binges, so there are days when it feels like every meal is oranges, oranges, oranges!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This piece reminds me of my favorite Appalachian writers. It has that feeling of magic and ordinary all at the same time. Great post!

    Thanks for visiting my blog too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. "...the feeling of magic and ordinary all at the same time." Thank you, Stephanie. :-)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for the good cheer. :-)

Popular posts from this blog

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❣️

Little Old Lady, Me. :-)

Every So Often — Snow on Them There Mountains!

13 Delightful D's for Me

Some Things I Like