I Started a Novel Today

Cheesecake isn't even my favorite dessert, but I told her it was. She makes me one every time she comes to visit. In some ways she's a good mother-in-law. I tell everyone my favorite dessert is cheesecake – cherry cheesecake to be specific. My staff brings me one, always homemade, on my birthday and other random occasions (their delivery usually precedes, by a day or two, a time off request or some other favor. [truth be told, I will honor requests without bribery. I like to think of myself as a kind, generous, understanding boss]). The truth is, however, that I wouldn't even rank cheesecake anywhere near the top third of my favorite foods. I only like eating it because it reminds me of my Nana. Every bite seems to bring back a memory or adds specificity to an ongoing reflective narrative that I've been carrying around in my head. See, cheesecake was Nana's favorite food in the world. At least I think it was. But, being as there are so many things that I don't know about her, I'm going to go ahead and assure myself that cheesecake was her favorite food. When there are so many gaps and holes in a story you long to make sense of, sometimes you find yourself building bridges out of bits and pieces of nonsense and assumptions in order to traverse the tale.