Read Online Road to Reality by Natalie Ann - Free Book Online Page B

sure she kept that in mind when placing the samples around the blueprints. Of course, he didn’t have any samples that were too shocking, but surprisingly, he included several color choices she’d had her own eye on when painting her little apartment.
    They talked a bit more about the house and her ideas and his plans before Zoe interrupted them.  “Mommy, I’m hungry.”
    Beth looked at the clock, realizing they had been there almost an hour already and it was close to noon.  “OK, honey, let me get you a banana.” She turned to get one out of the bags she brought in. Pulling out the fruit and a sippy cup, she looked around trying to figure out where to have Zoe sit.
    Mac seemed to understand her dilemma and offered, “You can put her on one of the chairs at the island. I know they’re high, but there are arms on them, and we can sit by her.  Matter of fact, why don’t we eat lunch? I’ve got the makings for sandwiches, a few different things, hopefully something she will like.”  He turned to Zoe. “What do you think, Zoe? Want to eat lunch?”
    “Peanut butter,” she said with conviction.
    “Ah, my favorite, too. Do you like jelly with it?” he asked, while Beth got her situated at the island. He started pulling out bread and a jar of peanut butter, looking completely comfortable to be making lunch for a three-year-old.
    “No jelly.  Peanut butter, please.”
    “You’ve got it.” He turned toward Beth. “Why don’t you grab some sandwich meats out of the fridge in the deli drawer, along with some cheese?” He pulled hard rolls out of the drawer and a bag of chips and then placed them next to the sliced bread from which he was currently making Zoe’s sandwich. “I’ve got this,” he said when she attempted to take over. “I’ve made my fair share of peanut butter sandwiches in my life.”
    Somehow she doubted that but let him continue with Zoe’s sandwich while she cut up the banana she had pulled out of her bag and gave Zoe her Sippy cup now filled with water from the bottle she also produced from her bag.
    “Do you have a mini store in there?” Mac asked, amused.
    “No.  But I’m always prepared. Snacks, drinks, toys—all the things to keep a three-year-old happy and entertained,” she stated proudly.  Something her mother never considered doing.  She was lucky if there was an actual meal served once a day, and most of her meals had come from a box. No, she never went hungry as a child, but nutrition was not on her parents’ radar, which was probably why Beth ate so little growing up.  There were only so many bowls of cereal a kid could eat in a day.
    “Do you want anything else?” Mac asked when they both finished making their sandwiches, his plate loaded with chips and a pickle, hers looking bare with a hard roll containing a few slices of ham and cheese.
    “No, I’m good. This is more than I normally eat for lunch as it is.”
    Zoe didn’t have a problem plowing through her entire sandwich and was now finishing off her sliced banana. “Can I have chips, please?” she asked her mother.
    “Just a few,” Beth said in warning to Mac when he reached in the bag to place some on Zoe’s plate. “We don’t have a lot of junk food in the house.  I’m trying to teach good eating habits early on.”
    Again, something Beth was never taught.  If she wasn’t eating cereal as a child, she was eating processed crackers and cheese from a can with a side of cookies. Most kids would have loved having that as a meal, but after a few times, it wore on you. She actually longed for fruits, or even some kind of meat.
    Mac’s approval showed on his face, and she was slightly warmed by it. “As her pediatrician, I commend you.  As a guy, I say there is nothing wrong with a bag of chips.” He laughed this time, but amended. “If you don’t eat them all in one sitting.”
    Since she saw he had a lot of healthy food, including fresh fruits and vegetables, in his refrigerator, so she