6 Quotes by Jennie Shortridge

Anne and I were imbibing our second dirty martinis, and she'd ordered hazelnut-encrusted salmon and goat cheese salad while I'd asked for the macaroni with three cheeses and Dungeness crab, comfort food for the well heeled, or those with a paying sister.

Plumes of white, pink, and purple blossoms offset the one hundred shades of green our little city is known for this time of year: lime, celery, and avocado, butter lettuce and kale, Granny Smith apple and broccoli and sage.

Tell me about your relationship with food."How can I tell her anything she'd understand? Has she ever eaten a pan of brownies in one sitting? A half dozen salad-bar baked potatoes? A baker's dozen?What is it about slippery-sweet ice cream, about half-melted chocolate chips or moist homemade birthday cake, juicy steak seared on the grill, creamy potato salad, watermelon freshly cut and dripping with juice?

By the way, honey, you look wonderful. You've lost so much weight! What diet are you on?"I stop in the doorway, breathe in through my nose, out through my mouth. "I'm caring for a dying man, Mother. A dying man you haven't asked me about once since I stepped foot in here, or even called to say hello. Somehow, I've lost my appetite.

Hello?" my mother answers, sounding happy and normal and far removed from all that is falling apart around me."He's dying," I say. "Soon. He's sick and shitting himself, and your daughters are the only people he can count on.

If I could write anything I wanted to, I'd write about the splendor of butter and sugar hitting your taste buds at the same time, or smooth pasta and sharp Romano, or a fat strawberry dipped in bittersweet chocolate.