I'm female (*gasps*), 23, Jewish, and one third of a spaghetti. Some of the things that I enjoy include: Doctor Who, Supernatural, Sherlock, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, POKEMON, and maaaany others. :D
I am also always dealing with my Depression, so Trigger warning!
Okay I did NOT stick to the prompt AT ALL but still
Esther toed off her shoes as pushed the door closed behind herself. She shrugged off her coat, hanging it on the hook near the door, and pulled off her mask as she padded to the bathroom to wash her hands.
She hummed ‘row your boat’ under her breath as she lathered them up, rinsed them off, dried them, and then headed into the kitchen.
It was Christmas eve. As every year, though, she got home late. She worked in a Jewish office, after all, and no one had any reason to leave early.
She noticed the message indicator beeping on her landline, so she pressed the play button as she walked by it to check what she might have in the fridge.
Leftover shabbat food, leftover last-night’s-dinner… raw flanken for a beef soup she was planning to make.
She sighed and closed the fridge, going to replay the message from her daughter as she’d hardly heard it.
Usually, she would be going over to Tao Fang’s. Not his place. His restaurant. He made the most amazing General Tso’s Chicken.
But this year… the restaurants were closed for eat-in dining. And if she was eating at home anyway… what was the point?
She grabbed a box of dried pasta from one of the cabinets, chewing her bottom lip as she thought. Tao needed the business, though. Especially this year. Even if she was going to eat at home, even if she would eat… alone.
She returned the box and pulled her phone out of her bag. She pulled up the food delivery app and then stopped herself.
For one, the app took a large chunk of restaurants profits, from what she had read. For another… she wanted that human connection. That was why she went most years, she realized.
So she sat down on the sofa and dialed the number for Tao’s Bao. She didn’t need to look at the menu. She went every year, after all, and often enough when it wasn’t Christmas either.
“Tao’s Bao, one minute.” There was a click as she was put on hold immediately.
Esther couldn’t help but smile. At least he sounded busy.
It was a few moments before he came back to the line. “Hi, what can I get you?”
“Hi, Tao.” She reached over for the pillow she kept on the sofa. “I wanted to place an order for delivery.” She paused. “This is Esther Felder.”
There was a pause. “Oh- Esther!” She could practically hear his voice change to a smile. “Of course, I couldn’t forget you. General Tso and extra rice?”
She blinked. “How on /earth/ can you possibly remember my order?”
“You’re not easy to forget.” He said simply, over the din that was obvious in the background from his side of the line. “My delivery boy is out now so it will be a half hour until he gets back.” He said. “So I understand if you want-”
“No.” Esther cut him off. “I like your food. I’d prefer to eat there, but…” She trailed off.
“Mhmm- wait one second-” he seemed to pull the phone away from his face to talk to one of his employees. “Next year in Jerusalem, isn’t that what they say?” He said once his voice was clear again.
She laughed at that. “Oh my God, Tao.”
“Is that wrong?”
“No, but that was… I didn’t expect to hear that from you.”
“I pick things up.”
“Clearly.”
There was silence then between them, sitting heavy. She knew she should place her order, give her address, give her card number… but she wanted to keep him on the line.
“How’s your nephew?” She finally spat out. “Wei, right? He used to wait tables for you.”
“Wei, yes. He’s gotten married this year.”
“Oh, that’s exciting!” She exclaimed. “I remember when my Chani got…” she trailed off. “Sorry, I should order.” She stopped herself.
“No, finish what you were saying. Please.”
Esther fumbled for a moment. “When my Chani got engaged, it felt like the whole world flipped upside down.”
There was silence from the other line, and it was obvious that he was listening.
“She was always my baby. And all of a sudden, here she was, a /bride/. It felt like everything would change.” She glanced around at her empty apartment, feeling a pang. “I guess it did.” She said quietly.
“Things change, but that’s not always bad.” Tao pointed out. There was an uptick in noise from the background, and she heard Tao mutter something in mandarin under his breath. “Give me your order, Esther, I’ll see about getting it to you.”
“Oh.” She stopped. “Right.” This wasn’t a social call. She gave him her order, and then her address. She only lived two blocks down from his shop, which was always so convenient.
He thanked her for her order, and they hung up.
Damn it. Why…? Why was she upset they had to hang up so quickly?
He was so easy to talk to. Easier than any of her friends she had weekly chat zoom sessions with. Usually, she’d sit down at a table and they would chat as he served other tables around her, but now… this Christmas was different.
Ha. Why was this Christmas different than every other Christmas?
She sighed and set the pillow to the side, reaching for the remote to turn on her usual show for this time.
–
It was a short while later that there was a knock at the door.
“One minute!” She called, muting the TV and standing up to pad to the door. She glanced out of the peephole and saw the distorted form of someone holding a bag standing there.
She unlocked the door and then froze. It wasn’t a delivery boy, it was… “Tao!” She exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
The smile hiding underneath Tao’s mask was obvious in his eyes. “Wei is technically the new kitchen manager, so I thought I’d let him have a bit of time trying to balance it on his own.” He paused. “After all, I couldn’t let my favorite customer eat alone, could I?”
(Yes, I did come on here just to say that because I’ve heard of a massive implosion on this site and I had to check it out. Y'all didn’t disappoint. Stay awesome)
Remember when I used to write and then got stuck in a pit of writers block for about five years? Yeah hahahaha so do I
But guess what? I got my mojo back!
I am currently 9 chapters into a book (novel??) I’d like to publish
As of now, I do not have a proofreader, so I am posting it on AO3 for feedback and constructive criticism.
I will summarize, give trigger warnings, and then link at the bottom.
Shedding the Shell
Andrew Michael, a 7 year old living in Butte Mt (in the year 2001, is having difficulty in school due to what seems to be a learning disability. In order to bring him out of his shell, his parents sign him up for cub scouts. It seems to work for a time, but then for some reason, Andrew starts withdrawing again, and his parents do not know why. At the same time, there is someone working in the background in Butte as people are going missing.
The story contains elements of child sexual abuse, adult rape after a time skip bringing it to present day, bullying with some intense slurs, and graphic depictions of violence.
Positives the story has: an interracial family (I have not yet said that one member of the family is a PoC but in my mind she is mixed race), a fair bit of lgbt representation, and a jewish character.
Thank you for the reply on my post!! It’s amazing seeing a familiar name after… lord, 3 years or more.
I am hopeful about this health thing getting resolved, even though it can be super hard to find in tests. But I know I have it cuz I have like 10/12 symptoms, including one which is not documented as being caused by anything else.
Good news, though!!! Treating and “curing” this would likely resolve my mental health issues.
So I’m hopeful.
<3 thank you for responding to my post. It means a lot <3
I’m not back, don’t get your hopes up (lol as though someone is hoping I would be back).
I moved all of my shitposting and mental health posting over to my Facebook a long while ago, and I don’t particularly feel like going into all that right now.
Suffice it to say my relationship with my mother is slowly on the mend after I realized my brain was distorting everything due to the past abuse. I’ve been a BIG bitch to her, mostly needlessly.
And then there is the issue of me…. dealing with an INTENSE medical issue right now.
But overall I’m good.
Mental wellness wise, I’m currently feeling better than I have in years.
I am still alive. no update other than making my wall fit my current aesthetic. :) Sorry, I don’t have energy to update. But you all were such an integral part of getting me to this point and I appreciate you.
