I was five when I had my first tomato, or so Mum would tell it. I’d proudly proclaimed, ‘Mummy, these are yummy! We should tell people. Why doesn’t everybody know about tomatoes?’
My mum dines out on this story to this day. Every time she has a guest round for lunch, she’s sure to include a tomato salad just to tell it. I’d roll my eyes; what else could I do? Thin smiles and sips of tea.
Even dinner parties when salads weren’t expected, there it was. Tomato bloody salad. ‘You’ll never believe what my little one said when he had his first tomato!’ Yes, they do, mother, you told them a thousand times. Polite titters and sips of merlot. Knowing nods to the kid at the end of the table. The kid who never stood up for himself.
I never told anyone, but I’m pretty damn certain she made the whole thing up.
O’kay, interested… but left hanging… There’s got to be more… And he actually like tomatoes or not?