"Pass me the salad plate," Conrad asked politely, seeing the plate was next to Karen and she had not talked to him since she arrived for his family's Thanksgiving dinner.
For as long as he could remember, Karen was his very good friend, or more like a best friend. They attended the same middle and high schools and graduated together.
Then Conrad went to college in another state while Karen stayed back. Now he came home for Thanksgiving with his friend, Corinne, whose parents were overseas. He did not want her to be alone for the holiday.
He was very excited to see Karen so he could introduce them both but it seemed the news of Corinne's visit had gotten to her first. Now she won't talk to him. And he could not for the life of him understand why.
"Karen?" He whispered, drawing everyone's attention. Karen flushed, staring hard at her plate, making clinking sounds with her fork and plate. She would not look at him.
His mother glanced at the both of them, smiled a little and said, "Karen, pass me the salad. Please."
Karen's lower lip trembled as she sniffed, picked the plate and passed it to Conrad's mother who then gave it to Conrad.
After dinner….. While Karen was helping with the dishwashing, Conrad's mother said, "Karen, Corinne is just his friend from school. Don't hold a grudge for nothing and miss being this friend. He'll return back the day after tomorrow and you will beat yourself up about it."
For a moment, she thought Karen would shut her out.
"Oh. I'm sorry, ma. So silly of me. I thought she's Conrad's girlfriend."
I hope you enjoyed reading my piece. This short story is a five-minute freewrite inspired by the prompt "salad plate". Join the 
