Eggo

"Now, if it had been an actual waffle..."

She stared down at the message in disbelief. After all that happened, after all the trials, all the victories, all the sacrifices on both ends, this was what it came down to.

A waffle.

She would never see her daughter again over a waffle.

Jamie impatiently wiped the tear streaming down her cheek and reached for her coffee mug a little too quickly, sending it over the opposite edge of the counter and onto the harsh tile floor below. The teal blue ceramic was scattered across the floor, shattered into as many pieces as her soul. Her heart had already broken when she realized Carmen meant what she said when she ran out of the house all those years ago screaming that she wouldn't be coming home; her latest betrayal was somehow even worse. Especially now that she knew why Carmen left again.

"Mom?" The words that she heard only a few days prior flooded Jamie's mind. "Mom, I'm coming back home. Is that okay? Will you forgive me and let me back in?"

A thousand responses had crossed her mind, but she found herself saying "Of course, darling!" without a second thought. How she regretted those words now!

"I'll be there first thing in the morning!"

Without much time for preparation, Jamie had simply cleaned and thrown together a quick breakfast- fruit salad, fresh orange juice, and frozen waffles. Her daughter arrived and seemed glad for the meal and they talked about everything except the past. By the time they finished eating, however, Carmen had completely changed from the pleasant stranger to her old self, screaming and yelling and crying about Jamie's faults. She accused her harshly of ruining her daughter's life. Then she stormed out, promising never to be seen again.

Now she knew what set her off.

She should have taken the time to make her daughter an actual waffle.