Nothing’s Ever Enough For Her

‘What?’ I asked. ‘Why? What’s wrong?’ ‘It’s okay,’ he patted my shoulder. ‘It’s a rookie mistake. Everyone in my family made it once.’ ‘What mistake?’ I was completely befuddled now. ‘Just remember to stay away from anything Claire brings you in the future.’ ‘Claire? You mean your mother?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Why do you call her Claire?’ Kieran spread out both hands. ‘She asked me to. She says she’s too young to be called Mum. I’ve been calling her Claire since I was five.’ I had no idea how to respond to that. She did look young, though. If I didn’t know she was Kieran’s mother, I would have pegged her as someone in her mid-thirties, at most. ‘Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is’—Kieran put both hands on my shoulders to make sure I heard him—‘Don’t eat anything she gives you.’ ‘But why?’ ‘Because her cooking kills.’ I gawked at him. ‘I’m serious. Four of our family members ended up in the hospital for food poisoning after eating what she cooked. It could be something as harmless as oatmeal