Chlorine

by Jade Song

Wasn’t it ridiculous how we expected our mothers to cook for and host the girls’ team, every week? I guess Jim thought it would be more equitable to make each mother host once per season, with all mothers responsible for bringing food. Spreading the burden, he claimed. How kind of him. I thought it hilarious how your mother never cooked homemade food—she always brought microwavable egg rolls from Costco’s freezer section. The other mothers spent hours prepping layers of cheesy creamy dip, while your mother simply hopped in the car for ten minutes to the store, with two extra minutes for the microwave at home. It could’ve been so brilliantly simple for everybody, but yours was the only mother brave enough to try. The best part was your mother’s Costco egg rolls were delicious. As good as, and frankly even better than, the homemade food.