Let The Eat The Chocolate Cake

The battle had been won. The war had been won. Carla’s Dads were now legally married. Her entire life, she had always seen them for who they were, two people who loved each other, who loved and took care of their daughter, who deserved to have that devotion recognized on a federal level. Now they were, and for twelve year old Carla, it meant everything to her.

At the wedding, Carla never thought she could be so happy for someone else’s happiness. In a simple ceremony that overlooked the San Francisco Bay, Carla watched from where she stood as the maid of honor (no doubt among the youngest maids of honor in history) and felt tears run down her cheeks as her Dads read their vows.

This happiness continued as they walked down the aisle, as they shared their first dance, as the family of three shared their first family dance to the song “Daughters” by John Mayer, unifying the family through music and dance. This happiness also continued when the wedding cake was cut, a chocolate cake that was a mutual agreement between the grooms and their daughter.

The family of three sat eating their slices of chocolate cake, when Gerald spoke. “This is only the beginning, baby girl.” He told Carla, his bright blue eyes lit up with his joy. “This is only the beginning for all the good things to come for our family.”

Carla’s Dad Lloyd ate a piece of his cake and shrugged, then wiped the chocolate cake from the corners of his mouth. “Now let’s not make this a Disney ending here. Life is still going to throw curveballs.” He sipped his wine.

Gerald rolled his eyes then turned to Carla. “Kill joy, isn’t he?”

He and Carla laughed, causing Carla to almost joke on her bite of cake.

“I’m not a kill joy.” Lloyd insisted. “I’m realistic enough to point out a marriage license doesn’t make everything easier moving forward. If anything, it’ll do the opposite.”

Gerald reached out to Lloyd’s hand, place his hand over his husband’s. “I know, Lloyd.” Gerald said. “I love that about you. You keep everything together. For our little girl, and for me when I’m always losing my damn car keys.”

This sent all three of them laughing until they hurt, thinking about Gerald almost being late for the wedding because he couldn’t find his keys. Carla had found them in seconds, as it usually went when Lloyd wasn’t around to find them first.

Finally when they all calmed down, Carla looked from one Dad to the other. “We’ll be just fine. We’re all together. You both love each other. You love me. And I love you both. So we’ll be just fine. Nothing has really changed.”

Her Dads smiled at her, loving the kind young woman they had raised, and felt the excitement of the strong woman she would grow into before they knew it.

The three of them hadn’t known it, but moments like this would eventually become far and few between. Not right away, but it would happen, and they were nowhere close to being ready for it.

Five years of married like with a teenage daughter had held with them their share of issues, the usual concerns for the bills, appointments with the school counselors whenever Carla had some issues with grades, or got into the occasional confrontation with another classmates. Even with it being 2020, there were still ignorant people in abundance. Gerald and Lloyd would give Carla what they called “table talk”, where they would talk about the importance of being the bigger person. Sometimes there were tears, but they dried fast. School plays were had and school dances brought Gerald and Lloyd to tears when they saw her in her junior prom dress.

Was it the life most married couples with a teenager might expect? Yes. Was it always easy? No. But they took it all in stride the best they could and just did everything they could to make sure Carla was happy and healthy.

This was the law of their household, until the COVID 19 Pandemic came in. The saddest part about this, the only one who could see, really see what this event threatened to do to this family, was Carla.

Carla’s Dad Lloyd had already been a stay at home Dad and husband with his job as a fiction writer. His success wasn’t on a Stephen King level, but still enough to support his family with some level of comfort. Carla’s Dad Gerald worked as an agent for actors who lived in the Bay Area. This kept him home most of the time, but also did require Gerald to leave for up to three months at a time every year. This had been their normal for the last five years, and it wasn’t until the lock down that everything for the family structure was shaken up.

With COVID 19, Gerald was forced to stay put before he was set to leave for a client. Instead, he spoke with his clients through Zoom, and there wasn’t more to it than that with no movies being set to being filmed any time soon.

The beginning of April of 2020, Gerald spent most of his time after finishing his work calls sitting by the living room window looking out to the Bay Bridge, with a glass of wine in his hand. This morning, he was already on his third glass.

“Let’s take a walk.” Carla said. “We can wear the masks I just made.” She held up the masks in her hands, hopeful.

Gerald didn’t respond. He didn’t even look at her. He just continued looking out the window. Carla walked to the master bedroom where her Dad Lloyd wrote his books at a desk facing a window that also had a view of the Bay Bridge. When she entered the room, her Dad wasn’t writing. He was lying in bed, watching “Tiger King” for the hundredth time.

“Dad, want to go for a walk? Get some air?” Carla asked, careful to keep the emotion out of her voice.

“I’m sorry,” He said. “just not feeling up for it today.”

Carla wasn’t surprised. He was never up for it.

It was the same answer she had gotten anytime she wanted to spend some time with her Dads outside the condo.

This was what their life had become, a small space where three people orbited around each other like far off planets.

Things aren’t easy for me either, Carla thought as she walked down the quiet street. Her face shielded from the Bay breeze by her homemade mask.

I was supposed to graduate high school this year, she thought, now I don’t even know if my class can walk together. Hell, I don’t even know what college will look like now, or if I can even go with how messed up money is now.

You are married; she wanted to remind them as she approached a Safeway. She walked in.

You both are married; being together in the same house for a long time shouldn’t have ever been an issue, if you both loved each other enough to be married.

Carla looked around and realized she was in the bakery department. This hadn’t been her plan, but she realized she was just where she needed to be.

Carla picked out a pre-made chocolate cake. Not what they had at the wedding, but it was something close to nostalgia for them.

Back at the front door of the condo, Carla felt anxious.

Please, let them eat the chocolate cake, and let it be something nice for all of us for once.

Carla let herself in.

When she closed the door, she removed her earbuds from her ears, and instantly regretted doing so.

The yelling rang out through the condo from the bedroom. Yelling mixed with crying vibrated through Carla’s ears. Then came the footsteps.

Their loud words bled together, making the subject of the argument difficult to distinguish. Once in the living room, they kept fighting without even noticing Carla, the chocolate cake in her hands and tears in her eyes.

“I ask you to do just one thing and you act like it’s so damn complicated.” Gerald yelled at Lloyd.

“I ask you to just talk to me, not embarrass me, but you keep doing it and ignoring me.” Lloyd yelled back.

Carla, unable to take it anymore, lifted the chocolate cake over her head, and brought it down onto the floor with a splattering crash.

This finally got their attention. They looked at her, stunned, though still standing in a tableau of their rage.

After a long time where no one said a word, Carla held her head up and looked at the both of them.

“Either fix this, or just get a divorce. I’m sick of you both fighting, so pick one.”

She didn’t wait for them to respond. Not wanting them to see her cry, Carla walked out of the condo, slamming the door behind her.

Out on the street, Carla let herself cry and cry hard, no matter what few strangers walking the streets saw her.

Let them eat the chocolate cake, she thought. Whatever that damn cake was, whatever that slice has on the inside, let them eat it, Carla thought. When they do eat it and decide what they want, then they can come and find me.

She found a bench. A bench in front of an old building on the verge of collapsing, how fitting, Carla thought, and took a seat.

Sometime later, Carla didn’t know long, her Dad’s approached the bench where she sat.

In her Dad Gerald’s hands was a chocolate, much like the one Carla had smashed, but somehow better.

In her Dad Lloyd’s hands was a bag small paper plates and plastic forks.

“Peace offering?” Gerald asked.

Carla looked at him, unconvinced. “I don’t know, will there really be peace?”

Gerald sighed, then looked to Lloyd, who looked at Carla.

“We can’t make you any promises, princess.” Lloyd said.

“But we’re going to do our best to make things right; to fix this family, for us, and most of all for you.” Gerald said.

Carla still wasn’t convinced, even if it was clear from the swollen redness of their eyes that there had been more crying than yelling after Carla stormed out of the condo. For now though, she decided their word, their crying eyes, and the chocolate cake would have to be enough.

The family of three sat on the bench eating the chocolate cake until the chill from the Bay became too much for them, forcing them back home, carrying with them what remained of the chocolate cake.

The End