My Cardboard Balcony

by Belinda Roddie "Hey, you stole that line from a musical!" "No, I didn't!" "You totally did! I know it! I've seen the show on Broadway!" "You're a liar!" "Are not!" "Are, too!" "See, this is what happens when we let them try to write music together," Mark said glumly as he watched our daughters squabble. "They don't have to follow in our footsteps, you know." They wanted to, though. Mark and I had been a dynamic musical duo for twenty years of our lives. When we had decided to have children, our careers were put on hold. Jessica and Allison, as a result, wanted to write music and basically continue the trend like it was a family tradition. They were thirteen and eleven respectively, squabbling over who got to play what instrument or who got to sing what song. Today, the argument was about lyrics. The amount of music they had written? Pretty negotiable. Close to none, th

I was ready to cook a seven course meal, that was how hungry I was. But when my friends showed up at my house, I made grilled cheese with bacon and tomato soup for all of us. Not that we minded, of course - we enjoyed the meal with pretty hefty bottles of beer. "So when's the new girlfriend coming over?" Arthur asked me with a mouthful of cheddar. "I don't know. Tomorrow?" "You haven't asked?" I blushed. "I'm still a little nervous around her." "But she said she loves you!" "I know. It's hard to believe."