Fried Chicken and Pumpkin Pie
/Adrianne Beer
My father and I got into a fight over a kitchen mouse that lived in our bread. He wasn't
willing to put a trap out. He said “that’s what the cat is for.” I scoffed at him, "The mouse will be
dead either way."
My father is a soft man. He throws away important mail before it is opened and fixes
two-dollar mugs with seven dollars' worth of super glue.
The first time my heart was broken, he bought me fried chicken and pumpkin pie. We
were in charge of dinner because my mother was at work that night. We strolled the grocery
store quietly. After 20 minutes he had ordered eight fried chicken breasts from the deli and I
picked out a sale pumpkin pie.
"For the whip cream we have at home," he said to me when I set it in the cart.
I was home from college for the weekend. I had arrived hungover and puffy. The boy that
wasn’t my boyfriend had broken things off days before. He said we could be friends. I got drunk
and sent him 22 unanswered messages. The next day I drove 2 hours home just to save face.
After the grocery store, we stopped at the Redbox and the gas station. My father went in
alone and came out with two Coke freezies. The movie we picked was War Dogs. It wasn’t
good, but we laughed at the same things. I ate the skin off one piece of chicken before cutting the
pie.
It was during the scene where Jonah Hill and the less known actor were being chased
through the desert that I told my father I might be gay. He was in mid chew and mumbled
something. He swallowed then repeated, “Good. I’m sure it’s easier dating women than men.” I
nodded my head. I hoped.
Author’s Note: I wrote this story thinking about the warm and incomparable comfort of a kind father. I hope it reminds you of the solace you get from coming home.
Bio: Adrianne Beer received her BFA in creative writing from Bowling Green State University and went to library school at the University of Arizona. She is from Yellow Springs, Ohio. Her writing can be found in Moon City Review, Chicago Reader, Southwestern American Literature, and elsewhere.
