Sandwich [Short fiction]

‘You sure you’re telling me the truth? You’re not –‘
‘Lying?’
‘Yeah. That.’
‘Yes.’
‘Yes what?’
‘Yes. I am.’
‘Yes, I am … what?’
‘Yes. I am – Dad.’
‘Shit, son. Stop!’
‘Yes, Dad.’
‘Sorry. Didn’t mean to swear. You know how frustrating you can be sometimes.’
‘You’re making him nervous, Jez.’
That’s mum. She’s always sayin’ things like that. You know, trying to smooth things over. It’s already smooth. Not lumpy. Smooth like the icing on a cake.
‘Well, I don’t know if he’s actually telling the truth,’ says dad. He doesn’t look at mum right away. ‘His idea of truth can get … twisted.’ 
He takes a sort of quick breath and then blows it out. His cheeks blow out as well, like those women who get weird faces when you’ve done something funny like accidentally drop a booger into your hand when you sneeze and then wipe it on your jumper.
I just wait ‘cos she’s about to make that icing even smoother.
‘Jez, he said sorry. You were in the exotic food aisle.’ Mum can be deadly with words when she wants.
Dad stands back up again. He was bent over and looking at me with his hands on his knees. They’re pretty bony knees so he looked a bit like a stick insect, especially with his cheeks all puffy and his skinny arse. I like my dad so I really shouldn’t tell you that. He tries really hard to stay calm but almost never is. He worries a lot. He worries about the weather, the footy score, the vegie garden, the virus, stuff like that. Luckily, he’s starting to get calmer on the inside again, so I reckon I’ll be alright.
‘Okay.’ He sits on the table.
‘Okay,’ I say back. I’m still sitting on the couch. The table’s got books and two cups of coffee on it. Dad moves them a bit but he takes his cup and has a sip.
‘So, you’re telling me that somebody with a black mask -’
‘They all had masks, dad.’
‘With a mask, stood right behind you in the queue?’
‘Yeah. I could feel his basket touching my leg. He shoved it with his foot.’
‘And you shoved it back? Is that the truth, Jonno, the real honest truth?’
It’s in my head because it happened, so I tell him. His smile is crooked. I like my dad. Most of the time. 
‘He got angry and stepped back and hit one of the shop people in the face with his elbow and she said fuck but under her breath and got dizzy because she fell down on her fat --’ I stop. I can see that I’m about to go too far ‘cos mum starts smiling and dad gets this tiny twitch at the side of his mouth.


Veggie & Hummus Sandwich Recipe | EatingWell

I love it when I get them to become part of my world. It’s like they’re two slices of bread and I’m the good stuff in the middle.

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