Together in The End

Mom’s stupid egg timer fills the awkward silence at the dinner table.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Finally, Ellen scoffs. “Turn that thing off! We don’t need a countdown to our doom.”

Mom stammers, her eyes red with tears.

“Oh- I… well, I just thought… sorry.”

Devon lights a cigarette. Riley plugs her nose, and Mom scowls. “Not in my house, young man.”

“Since when have I been your young man?” Devon asks, speaking with that drawl that had always annoyed his mother. “And why do you care? The whole world’ll go up in smoke in…” he glances at the egg timer, “two hours and twenty-five minutes.”

That was too much for Mom. She bursts into tears again. Dad looks too exhausted to say anything. Only Riley speaks.

“It’s ok, Mom. We’re all here. We’re all going to stay right here.” She puts a hand on her mother’s heaving shoulder.

Ellen rolls her eyes. “You were always such a good girl, weren’t you, Riley? ‘Yes mommy, yes daddy, I love you mommy,’” she mocks. Riley glares.

“At least I care. You should be thankful the government even let you come, anyway. So tell me, how was life in prison? Make any new friends?”

Ellen’s face grows red hot. “You little…”

“Girls!” Dad finally says. Looking daggers at each other, his daughters let him speak. “Do you really want to spend your last two hours on earth yelling at each other?” His voice is pained, and his head drops into his hands.

It’s been years since they all sat in this room together, and they can’t even hold a conversation.

Mom looks up, her face steeled. In a soft yet firm voice, she says, “Your father’s right. There’s no use arguing at this point.” A timer goes off in the kitchen. “You all wait here.”

As she walks off, Devon mumbles, “what else are we supposed to do?”

Silence settles like a fog once again.

Ellen sits uncomfortably, biting a fingernail. Devon stares blankly at the wall.

Riley pulls out her phone, and turns on the latest news bulletin.

The announcer’s matter-of-fact voice offers little comfort.

“Scientists confirmed as of last week that this unexpected solar activity, combined with the buildup of toxic gas in the atmosphere, will cause temperatures to rise drastically. There is little chance of human survival. Global governments have made every effort to reunite families in these final moments. The event is predicted-“

“Geez, Riley, why don’t we try to make this evening more depressing?” said Devon. Riley hastily turns the bulletin off.

. . .

Mom returns with dinner. Chicken casserole.

“That… smells really good,” says Ellen reluctantly.

Mom offers a small smile. “I tried to make a favorite, though I wasn’t sure if you still liked it. You know, since… well, it’s been a while since we all had dinner together.”

It’s true. The last time they ate together was right before Ellen went to college. Everything seemed so simple then.

They eat silently, each one lost in their own thoughts. Bites are taken slowly. No one is eager to finish their last meal.

After a while, Dad speaks up again. “What do you all say to a game of monopoly?”

Ellen mumbles, “I always hated monopoly,” but her comment is half-hearted.

Devon looks up from his phone. “Sure, why not? Nothing better than monopoly when you’re about to die.”

Riley stays quiet this time, casting a sidelong glance at her brother, but everyone knows she’d say yes. Mom gets up to grab the game.

She returns with the dusty box. Their last game together was long ago, ages before the last meal they'd shared together.

“I’ll take the dog,” says Riley, but Ellen has already handed the piece to her. It’s been a long time, but no one will ever forget their piece.

Devon chuckles. “Remember the time Riley decided to use the hat?”

Everyone smiles slightly at the memory. Riley was only six years old, and was still learning the solidity of each person’s chosen piece. When she tried to use Devon’s, he was livid.

“You kept yelling at me about it for days!” says Riley sternly. “It wasn’t funny.” She grins anyway.

The first argument comes over choosing the banker. Devon offers, but both the girls agree it should be Dad. Although they don’t always get along with him, at least they know they can trust him. Surprisingly, Mom steps up for Devon this time.

“Your father is tired. Let Devon be the banker just once. He’s always asked.”

Dad seems to agree, so that matter is settled.

They begin the game. Each turn passes uneventfully, with little conversation. However, there is a tenderness to the quiet. The clinking of the worn pieces brings back memories of days gone by.

Suddenly, there’s a flicker, and everything goes black. Someone screams.

“It’s all right! Calm down,” says Mom, and the room is illuminated by her phone flashlight. “It’s just an outage. I’ll open the windows.”

As she pulls back the thick curtains that obscured the room, light pours in. The blood-red sun is setting, and the room is tinged crimson in its glow. Everyone stares in bittersweet fascination at the color. It would be beautiful if it wasn’t heralding extinction.

As Mom takes her seat, Devon announces, “I’m buying Boardwalk.” Dad glances at his dwindling money pile. “That’s a risky investment,” he mutters pointedly. Devon catches the comment and glares.

Ellen’s voice is wistful. “Remember the time we went to Atlantic City Boardwalk?”

“And you got sick eating saltwater taffy? Yeah, I remember.” Riley laughs, and Ellen does too.

“That was a great summer.”

“Yeah.”

Ellen recalls that vacation fondly now, though in the past it seemed a burden. Her friends invited her to come to New York with them, but her father insisted that summer was a time for family. She didn’t see why there was any reason she needed more time with them. She tried to get as little as she could. Now she craves more, but there’s nothing she can do about it.

The turns continue, but the sun’s dying light casts an eerie glow on everything. Once it becomes too dark to read the cards, Ellen stands. “I’ll get a candle.”

“I’ll show you where they are,” says Mom as she gets up to follow her.

“I know where the candles are. This is my house too.”

The words hang in the air. After five years, is it really?

Mom sits back down. “Go ahead. Thanks for the help, sweetie.”

. . .

Ellen returns a minute later with Mom’s nicest scented candle in her hands. Mom bites her lip.

“Honey, I save those candles for-“

“For what? I don’t think there’s anything to save for at this point, Mom,” Ellen snaps, but her voice is tired, and more truthful than bitter.

Devon fetches the lighter, and once the candle is lit the room fills with a calming scent. The light shows that Riley has just purchased Pennsylvania Avenue.

Devon scoffs. “Come on! I was about to snag the set!”

That’s all this family has ever done for him. Present opportunities, then snatch them away. Maybe they’ve been trying to support him. But it doesn’t feel that way when your sister gets into the college you’ve been working towards for years, and all you get is a “tough luck.” Then she flubs it, but you’re already stuck with stocks. Typical.

Sirens sound in the distance.

I’m messed up. But I don’t want to die.

The family listens worriedly to the sounds. Riley does her best to ignore them. All her life she’s done her best to be perfect. One good child to make up for the wrongs of her siblings. Her parents had suffered enough. She needed to be the rock even when nothing else was firm.

She quietly finishes her turn.

Dad looks around the table at the solemn faces. “Brighten up, everyone!” he says unexpectedly. They look at him skeptically. He sighs. “If you’re going to go out, wouldn’t you rather do it happily? Now, let’s hurry up this game. Before we die, I want to see who wins.”

The game is renewed with a sudden vigor. Surprisingly, it comes mostly from Ellen. Ellen, who always hated monopoly, and who never won a game, deals so viciously that Dad is soon bankrupt, to his chagrin.

Ellen looks at him apologetically. He smiles warmly. “Keep going, honey. I’m proud of you.”

Mom is out soon after, and then Riley. It isn’t long before Ellen and Devon are the only ones left.

Ellen rolls, and lands on the last unclaimed property. Park Place.

“I’m auctioning it.”

The price goes up quickly. Four hundred. Five hundred.

Devon glances at his money pile. He can’t keep going much longer. Still, he keeps bidding.

Ellen has him right where she wants him. The price reaches five-hundred sixty. She smiles mischievously.

“Take it.”

She played well. Devon could hardly afford the purchase. In two turns, he goes bankrupt.

As he places the final crumpled bill back in the box, he offers his sister a friendly hand.

“Nice job. I guess you’re not so bad after all.”

Ellen takes his hand, and pulls him into a hug. The rest of the family joins in, and they stay that way for a long time.

When they sit back down, everyone congratulates Ellen warmly on the win. There are tears in her eyes. Suddenly, the alarms begin. Dad looks at Mom, who glances at the time. They don’t have much left.

“Mom, I’m scared.” It was not Riley, but Ellen.

“Everyone, hold hands. No matter what happens… we’re together.” Mom’s face is pale.

They hold hands around that worn round table, with the monopoly board as their centerpiece. Not a single eye is dry now.

Devon’s tears are silent but steady. “I’m sorry for everything, Dad.”

His father gives his hand a squeeze. “I love you, son.”

Riley clenches her parents’ hands in hers. “I love all of you,” she sobs.

The alarms grow louder and more incessant.

And then they’re gone.