Dinner for 2/3

Soft jazz fluttered, rain gently tapped the tin roof overhead, and an old yellow analog clock on the wall announced each passing second. The evening sun mixed with the overhead light to fill the dining room with a brilliant orange hue. A small child sat at the dinner table in the center of the room, excitedly waiting to eat. The table stood roughly three feet high, a round oak table complete with a checkered green and white cloth draped over it. On the cloth, a bowl of mashed potatoes, gravy for the side, green beans, fried chicken, and three empty plates in front of their respective chairs. Heat still radiated from the freshly made food with steam carrying the scent throughout the house.

The child looked up at his mother as she sat down in her chair, 'Thank you for dinner.'

'Of course,' she smiled as she pulled herself towards the table. 'How was school?'

'It was good' he beamed his smile back at her, complete with the gap of his missing front right tooth.

'What did you guys learn today?' She asked as she reached for the bowl of mashed potatoes.

'Wait! we can't eat until everyone is here.'

'Right, of course' she sat the bowl down gently, 'well, what about school?'

'Oh yeah, we're doing times tables!' He grinned, 'Ask me a question!'

'Hmmmm, what isss, 42x12?'

The child frowned at her, 'We only did up to 10x10'

'Okay okay, what about 11x10'

'I can't do 11' he whined.

She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows at him.

'Okay.yy.....' he put on his best thinking face '110!'

'Very good!' she smiled, 'you know, we should get started before the food gets cold'

'Mommmm'

'Fine fine, but if it gets cold, I don't want to hear it.'

And so, they waited. They talked about school more and the mother talked of her job while the child pretended to understand. Eventually they had both recounted their whole day to one another and the conversation slowly died out. And so, they sat there, the boy bouncing anxiously in his seat and the mother, now left with her own thoughts waiting for the worst. As they both sat without speaking the timepiece decided it would fill the void, each lost moment punctuated by the oppressive tick of the hands. Suddenly, the ring of the housephone tore through the silence. The mother walked over and answered the call.

'Hello?' she tried to force an upbeat tone.

'Hey, I uh, I can't make it, to dinner tonight'

'Oh, you don't say,' she nodded along to the voice on the other line.

'How is the little guy?'

'He's good, just sitting here waiting for you.'

'Don't do that.'

'Do what, you asked how he is.'

'It's not my fault you know that. You know how it is, it's just, a bunch of-'

'Yeah' she cut him off

'C'mon don't be like that, I'll be out in no time, they can't even prove th-'

She ended the call before he could finish but pretended to be on the line still.

'Yeah, I'll let him know' she said before putting the phone back on the hook.

She closed her eyes for a second and worked up a deep breath before turning back towards the table.

Little brown eyes gleamed with hope at her, she feigned a smile 'He says he won't be able to make it today, his cars no good in the rain, but he said he loves you very much and he'll see you soon.'

'What if we pick him up?' he quickly offered.

'I'm not so su-'

'I'll go get my jacket!' He interjected as he bolted upright.

'Hold on now we can't just go pick him up'

'Why not?'

'He's busy with something too'

'Maybe we can help?'

'No. He has to handle this himself' her frustration started to get the better of her. 'Just go. Sit down, and eat, please.' She added trying to force calmness.

'Okay.' The light left his eyes even as he tried to force a smile.

She sat down at the table again and helped him to make his plate, she spooned cold potatoes and lukewarm green beans onto the dish.

'Thank you'

She forced a smile as she prepared her own plate. Now that all hope had been sufficiently choked from the situation, the silence that returned pounded her ears like a drum. The child sat and moved his potatoes to and fro with the tip of his fork before finally asking to be excused. He pushed in his chair, took his plate to the sink, and trodded out of the room, up the stairs, and into his bedroom.

The mother stood up, shook her head walked over to the wall, and turned the dining room light off. She sat back down in the dim room now illuminated only by the faint glow of the setting sun. She knew that she would have to go and comfort her child, but having hardly eaten anything all day, she decided to take this moment and try to enjoy the dinner she had rushed home to cook. As she sat alone and tried to enjoy her lovely meal, she became so lost in her thoughts. So lost she became that it took her quite some time to notice the tears that had begun falling into her food. It took her even longer still to notice her child who stood at the threshold of the room and watched silently. Eventually, she looked over and noticed him, she smiled and gestured for him to come over. He wiped his own tears from his eyes with the back of his hand and walked over to give her a hug. She held him close and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. The rain had come to a stop and cleared way for the last dregs of sunlight to trickle into the room. The clock ticked on, reminding them that each moment was precious and fleeting, she smiled at him gently, 'You know you've only got 15 minutes till bedtime right?'

'It's not even a school night.'

'Rules are rules.'

'Pleaseeeeeee' he grinned more with each e he drug out.

'Okay alright, 15 minutes extra and then that's it. Okay?'

His tear-stained cheeks now beamed with joy over this small win.

'Thank you, love you mom.'

'Uh-huh, I love you to.' She chuckled and started to clean up the table.