Strawberries

Oranges, I don’t buy.

Pineapples, I don’t eat.

Apples, not good for health.

Dragon fruit?

Good for decoration.

Grapes?

I sip wine.

And bananas?

I hate them.

She looks outside

at the bare trees.

She takes a deep breath,

checks her wristwatch.

Our date is over.

But I don’t move.

What do you like?

She smiles.

Strawberries.

Why?

They were my mom’s favorite.

That night, I call my mother.

What is your favorite fruit?

She is silent.

I wait.

Your father loved papaya.

And you?

She is silent again.

I don’t know.

That night I order a box of strawberries.

I eat them all.

In the morning,

I wake with a pain

I can’t name.

I am a traitor.

I ate something my father hated.

****

Image Credit: Sviatoslav Huzii on Unsplash