“Eleanor, let Mom clean the floor for you. Your room is such a mess. How can you focus on your interviews like this?”
I had just turned her down when she knocked again, not long after.
“Eleanor, Mom made soup for you. You need to eat well; studying uses up a lot of energy.”
I opened the door, frowning, and said clearly, “Mom, I can’t be interrupted right now. Can’t we do all this after my interview?”
The moment she heard that, her face fell, her eyes quickly filling with tears.
“Eleanor, Mom just feels sorry for you.”
“To make this soup, I got up at four in the morning. Look, I even burned my hand.”
As she spoke, she held out her hand, the small red blister clearly visible.
Dad, hearing the noise from the living room, rushed in and blew up at me.
“Eleanor, your mom worked so hard for you, and this is how you treat her?”
“Hurry and apologize to her, then drink the soup!”
I looked helplessly at the sea cucumber floating in the bowl. “I’ve been allergic to seafood since I was a kid. I can’t eat this.”
But Mom didn’t budge.