We should discuss Christmas.
He told me that it was still too early to have any serious conversations about Christmas. I already had my sharpie out. I was checking all the napkins on the table, looking for a dry-ish one.
We should go family member by family member.
Looking across the table it was clear he didn’t want to go family member by family member. I told him that it was important. I had thought about it and based on the number of gifts and the amount of time before Christmas we should decide now so that we knew how much money should be alloted, per week, to Christmas.
I thought we should also decided who we would be giving gifts to outside of family. I was going to be giving a gift to my boss, and thought maybe it would be appropriate to bake mini bundts for everyone else we worked with.
Maybe we could give your co-workers those candy canes that utilize pipe cleaners and look like reindeer.
He expressed immediate distain for pipe cleaner reindeer.
How can you not like pipe cleaner reindeer?
He liked those. It was the people he worked with that were the problem.
He started in on them, again. I pushed the cake around on my plate.
. . . and then. . . jesus. . . she makes me so mad. . . i just. . . . hate her.
Your anger seems a touch out of line.
He said it was not out of line. I had no idea how frustrating they could be. Day in and day out. I said that a lot of people in this world were really annoying, but we didnt bring them to our dinner conversation.
This girl was not just average annoying.
Okay. I’m sorry you work with her, I told him.
He had finally gotten to the nut crust on his cheesecake. I was still pushing the cake around on my plate. I was thinking that it wasn’t worth the $6.59.
What should we get your mom.
He didnt know.

I kept pushing the cake around. Our movie was still an hour and a half away.

He looked up again. Still clearly frustrated by the thought of the unbundt worthy people he worked with.

She is a buddhist who gets jealous.

I pushed my cake across the table. He could have it.