all you can eat buffet

I’m not sure if it was the sheer quantity of quickly consumed nuggets, the slow drip of the cheesy goo oozing like a protective overcoat on character-shaped pasta, or the plethora of colorful toppings ranging from mini chocolate chips, to dried gummie things and candy bar pieces, to whipped cream at the sundae bar. All I know is that at that moment, my kid both loved and hated me for she wished she didn’t know.