The Chocolate Effect

“My mom loves chocolate cake”, usually buttoned up and unaffected, Thomas beamed as he hovered over the cracked glass counter, in the tiniest bakery that Olivia had ever seen. The bakery reminded her of her grandmother’s kitchen, so small and hot, with sweet smells that made the discomfort worth it. Hoards of people, varying genus and taste pallets, swarmed the crowded space. You could almost reach out and write your name in the foggy glasses of the person standing shoulder to shoulder with you, waiting to place their order.

There was hardly a clear path to the door that was being held open by a swarm of small children, clamoring to be the first inside. Their mother apologizing profusely for their behavior, while simultaneously refusing to get them cupcakes if they didn’t “cut it out”. Olivia chuckled as Thomas guided her through the chaos with one hand, and balanced the chocolate cake in the other, managing to reach the sidewalk without losing Olivia or the cake. “Do you want kids?” Thomas blurted out in Olivia’s direction, “Huh” Olivia replied. “Kids, do you want them?” Thomas reiterated, making eye contact that felt more piercing than usual. “Um, sure” Olivia said, as she crossed the street ahead of Thomas, hoping the distraction of reaching the safety of the other side of the street would discourage him from any further questioning.

“I used to come here as a kid”, he shouted after her, finally catching up to her, slightly winded. “Well, I didn’t come here, this space is new-ish. They had a huge store front, in a less than desirable area. My mother and a few others loved everything about that place, except for its location”. Olivia slowed her steps along with her breathing, to make sure to catch the parts of the story that Thomas wasn’t even aware he was telling. “ So, my dad, realtor by day, superhero by night”, he flashed his faultless smile and then resumed his narration. “Found this little quaint space and was able to rent it to them for half of what they were paying, at the other place”, he turned his nose up without missing a beat. “Yea, for half the space” Olivia quipped under her breath. Thomas’ eyes seemed to whimper in Olivia’s direction, almost as if he felt personally criticized. “Sure” he recovered, “But in a better location, with better clientele. Their business is booming!” Olivia paused, “when you say better do you mean-” Before Olivia could finish her question, his phone began ringing, granting Olivia a few more moments to think of ways to shift the conversation. The pair reached his car, and Thomas muttered on the phone, while he opened the door for Olivia, placing the cake on her lap before she was well adjusted in her seat. Olivia found herself clutching the cake for dear life as Thomas slammed her door and scrambled over to the drivers side.

The car ride seemed brief and didn’t serve the purpose it was intended to. The ride to his mothers house was supposed to have left room for preparation and pep talks. The ride was supposed to have given time for Olivia to discover if his mother was a hugger or not. Filled with clues and shortcuts to his mothers approval, what to expect, who would be there, guidance as to whether she preferred to be called Mrs. Emery or Ms. Anne or Anne. But instead the car ride was filled with an uneasiness that Olivia never had before and Thomas spouting off work related gibberish to whomever was on the other end of the phone. As they slowly pulled into the long, neatly paved driveway, Olivia noticed Thomas’ mother sitting cross legged on the porch. The closer they got to the porch, the sweatier Olivia’s hands got, sliding down the sides of the plastic container on her lap. The car came to a stop, leaving Olivia no time to give her tight curls a once over in the overhead mirror, without Mrs. Emery noticing. Thomas was already out of the car and opening her door, before Olivia could negotiate what kind of greeting she planned to give. Hey, how are ya? Too casual. Hello Ma’am I am Olivia Mrs. Emery. No Ma’am and misses in the same sentence sounded ridiculous. Olivia’s mind was in chaos, providing no support, only enough guidance to help her walk briskly behind Thomas. Leaving her with only enough composure to balance the cake leaving her emotional state and nerves in limbo.

Thomas cleared two steps at a time on his way to greet his mother with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Briefly cupping his phone he whispered, “Mom, Olivia - Olivia, Mom”, and quickly resumed his conversation at the edge of the sprawling porch, leaving the two in an awkward silence. Olivia jutted her arms out, to hand the cake to his mother, breaking the awkward silence with an even more awkward gesture. Olivia noticed his mothers eyes shifting from her hands to the cake and then back again, almost as if she was determining which shade of chocolate was darker. “I can bring this inside for you, if you’d like”, Olivia suggested in a hushed tone, gently ushering Mrs. Emery out of her stupor. Her eyes quickly sprang up, recognizing that they had been caught studying Olivia. Before his mother could gather any explanation, Thomas interjected, “I am so sorry, I know I said no work on the weekends but-” he kissed Olivia’s forehead not even bothering to finish his statement. Mrs. Emery took the opportunity to raise the cake out of Olivia’s hands and offered to slice a few pieces for the three of them inside. Thomas opened the door for her and she ducked under his arms, quickly disappearing inside.

Oblivious to how cumbersome the moment had been, Thomas draped his arms around Olivia’s shoulders and placed his chin on top of her head, “thank you for coming here with me, it means so much to me”. Thomas tilted his head down to kiss Olivia on the forehead once again, but Olivia stepped back, leaving Thomas perplexed. “Are you-”, “Did you tell your mother that I was black?” Thomas cackled, stroking Olivia’s face, “I think she might have noticed babe”. Olivia swatted his hand away, “Before today, smart ass, did you give her a heads up?” Thomas’ smile quickly dissipated, “A heads up? Why in the world would she need a heads up?”

“You haven’t shown her pictures of us?” Olivia questioned becoming increasingly agitated. Thomas shook his head, “No”. “Why not?” Olivia snapped. “She never asked, what is this about?” Thomas stepped closer, concerned. “Why would she need to ask you, you didn’t bother to show her a picture of the woman-” Olivia gulped, cutting herself off as she realized that Mrs. Emery was reemerging from the house.”

The abrupt silence caught her attention, but before she could acknowledge it, Thomas grabbed the tray from her and placed it onto the table gently, then shifted his focus to pulling out each of their chairs.

“So what brings you to this neck of the woods”, Mrs. Emery asked suggestively. Olivia filled her mouth with cake in an attempt to sweeten the words lingering on her tongue.

“These are her neck of the woods mom”, Thomas paused to take a small bite of cake resuming his response as he chewed. “I told you she grew up on Avondale Lane”, Olivia nodded in agreement, bracing herself for what was next. She knew that his mother would suggest that she thought Olivia was from the ‘other Avondale’, the road not the lane, but instead she smirked. “Well, I am sure I would have remembered seeing a lovely young lady, with such bold style”, she reached out attempting tossle Olivia’s curls. Olivia’s natural instinct was to sidestep the intrusive touch of anyone, but this time she resisted forcing a smile and shifting nervously in her chair.

The three sat and engaged for what felt like an eternity. As neighbors, and friends of the family curiously stopped by, right after Mrs. Emery went inside for a suspiciously long bathroom break. Olivia gorged herself on chocolate cake in an attempt to stifle her responses to the endless inquisition of where her family was from and what they did and how they did it, if they were married and if they rented or bought their home, did she attend college on scholarship. Thomas seemed nearly as exhausted as Olivia, declaring their exit several times before finally shuffling Olivia into the car and feverishly waving out of his sunroof as be backed down the driveway. Olivia sat upright in the passenger seat, with her head tilted back and her eyes closed, one hand over her mouth and one clutching her stomach. “I’m sorry, I should have been the one giving you a heads up”, Thomas proclaimed as they drifted down the dimly lit road. Olivia’s eyes shot open, and her body jutted forward, along with his mothers favorite chocolate cake.