Karen looked out the window and chuckled to herself. Ever since Rachel had read a book about an artist that was all she had talked about. Today she had taken it a step farther. She was out in the yard with a tablet of paper and her coloring pencils, intently working on drawing something.
“Hey, Mom!” Ron her older son called out as he came into the kitchen. “What’s Rach doing out there? She didn’t even wave when I pulled in, and that’s not like her!” He reached into the fridge for a soda on his way to the window to see if his little sister was still sitting in the yard, “Is she feeling ok?”
“Well, I think she’s wanting to be a great artist for God, like that biography she just read.”
Ron just about choked on his soda, “She can’t draw a stick man, and she wants to be an artist?”
“Don’t you dare say that to her, Ronald! You would crush her with that thoughtless comment, and you know it.”
“Aww, Mom, I’d never say that to her, even if it is true! I might be an ox, but I’m not a dumb ox.”
His crooked grin and the truth of his statement made Karen back down, “True. But sometimes you talk first and think later.” Karen shook her head when she saw Ron spread his hand on his chest as if to say, “Me?”
“She been out there long?”
Karen glanced at the clock, “Probably two or three hours.”
“I’ll take her a soda,” Ron volunteered. “What’s her favorite this week?”
“Ginger ale. I meant what I said, Ron.”
“Relax, Mom, I’m gonna get that ‘How to Draw’ book you gave me for my birthday the year I decided I was gonna be a great artist and become a cartoonist.” Karen could hear the laughter in his voice as he went down the hall to his room, soda in hand.
An hour later Rachel came in and tossed a handful of papers into the garbage can. “Hi, Mom! Can I bake some cookies this afternoon?”
Karen looked up from the ironing she was doing, “Cookies, as in comfort food? Did the drawing not go too well?”
Rachel laughed, “Oh the drawing went real well, but I’ve decided to let art be one of my hidden talents. Very well hidden!” She was snickering as she pulled out the mixing bowl.
“Oh? Why’s that? You’ve only worked on it for a little bit, maybe if you practiced and did some studying you…”
“Mom!” Rachel interrupted her, laughingly, “It’s ok, Mom. I have zero talent in the art department, but I do have other talents. God can use me in plenty of other ways. I don’t mind. Really!”
Karen was really confused now. “Soooo, what happened that you decided not to be an artist?” Her daughter had never responded like this to disappointment before, and she didn’t act like Ron had hurt her feelings. What on earth was going on?
“Ron told me about his great cartoon episode.” Rachel was still snickering, so there must have been something funny, but Karen didn’t know what it might be. “He also told me that I have a natural talent in the kitchen, and that he would gladly be my personal guinea pig and taste tester on any recipe I wanted to try, even if I made up the recipe myself.”
The pleasure in her voice said more than her words did and Karen silently congratulated her son.
Ah, that’s why she’s snickering. They don’t think I have much talent in the kitchen. Karen had to laugh, too, her kitchen talents left much to be desired. “That sounds like a good deal to me! Does that mean you’d rather I didn’t do any more experimenting?”
“Well, Mom,” Rachel said, picking her words carefully, “you’re better in the kitchen than I am at drawing, but…”
Both laughed, “In that case, I’ll join your taste tester club, and leave the experimenting to you!” Karen hugged Rachel and made a mental note to give Ron a big one, too, as soon as she saw him that afternoon. Maybe cooking could become one her hidden talents now.
**********This is another one of my early stories. LoL, one of my very early stories--and like the mom in here, I'm not one that enjoys (or is good at) cooking! My daughter is much better than I am--at least I can claim teaching her the basics...but not much else. LoL.
Thank you for joining us for Fiction Friday, whether you're posting fiction or reading--or both. If you're posting, put a link to us here at Patterings, and add your name and url address to the Mr. Liknky gadget. If you're reading, click on the names and it will take you to another story. Enjoy!
And don't forget to tell your friends! Anyone and everyone is welcome!
Now, who's volunteering to host next? (seriously! email me if you'd like to host Ficiton Friday!) Happy Friday, everyone!
It's also pretty cool that I received a blog award this award. It's the 'I Love Your Blog Award' and I received it from Julie, the Surrendered Scribe and Joanne of An Open Book. Thank you so much ladies! You're both wonderful!
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