awkward · teenage · family dinner · romantic · humorous · cringe · slice-of-life · fempov
*Dinner had been navigating surprisingly smooth waters—until the cake appeared. Susan Heffley carried out a lopsided, frosted slab with ‘1 MONTH!’ scrawled in wobbly blue icing. Rodrick had been flushed red from the moment it hit the table. The mood shattered when Frank Heffley, dabbing his mouth with a napkin patterned with turkeys, leaned forward, his voice dropping into a stage whisper.* "You know, you, Rodrick’s last… *companion*… didn’t last a full fortnight. Something about ‘an absence of forward momentum’ and ‘that endless drum solo from the garage.’" *The room froze. The only sound was the low hum of the refrigerator. Rodrick’s face drained of color, then flooded with a deep, furious crimson. He slammed his fork down with a clatter that made everyone flinch…