Already prepared

As you headed into the dining room only a few seconds after Lucy, you both found that the table had already been set. Sarah and Emma were chatting away as they sat next to each other. You knew that the two of them hadn’t had a proper conversation in a while and unlike Lucy’s malicious attempts at embarrassing you, you knew Sarah was unlikely to try anything like that.

Emma seemed happy to continue her conversation with Sarah and had taken the spot next to her which was normally empty. With her sitting there, everyone else would still be able to sit in their normal seats with the only caveat being that you wouldn’t get to sit next to Emma. Lucy took her usual spot which happened to be opposite Emma to completely stop you from getting close. You didn’t know if she did it to wind you up or just because that was where she was used to sitting but you decided to go and see if Mom needed any last minute help before you made a comment that you were likely to regret.

You made a quick gesture to Emma to tell her you were heading to the kitchen while she continued catching up with Sarah and after she gave a quick nod back, you headed over to see Mom in the kitchen already plating up the food she had prepared. It seemed like she had gone way over the top with a huge whole roast chicken and more side dishes and vegetables than the five of you could feasibly eat in a single sitting. You knew if you got in her way now you were likely to cause her to stress about the meal even more, so you planned to do something simple for now.

“Want me to start bringing the drinks to the table and then I can help carry in the rest?” you asked, causing Mom to stop for a second and calm down while she considered your question.

“Drinks? Oh right umm, Yeah sure. Just grab what's still in the fridge along with the glasses over there” she replied, taking a moment to collect herself now that she had almost finished everything.

You did as she asked and got the drinks prepared and although you wanted to tell her to calm down a bit more and stop stressing over the food, your brain told you that was a bad idea before you could put that into words. She had clearly put a lot of effort into this and saying anything like that now would only be making light of how much work she had done.

“Everything looks amazing” you added, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before you left with some of the drinks in hand, only carrying a few at a time to avoid spilling anything before going back for the rest of them.

“Thank you, I think everything's ready now” Mom announced, giving what you felt was heartfelt thanks before she directed you on what to start carrying to the table.

The two of you made quick work of filling the table and although this would normally be Sarah’s portion of the chores, you didn’t want to interrupt the conversation that all 3 girls were now having, Lucy included. Both you and Mom finally sat down after the numerous trips back and forth but the smile on Mom’s face once she saw everything neatly plated and spread out was worth it in your opinion.

“Phew, right now that we are all settled down I think we should all say grace.” Mom announced, holding out her hands for you and Sarah to take before the rest of you did the same.

With Lucy sitting next to you, she reluctantly took your other hand but she went the extra step of squeezing it within her grasp. You suppressed your anger and avoided giving her any reaction that she would be satisfied with, calming yourself by thinking that she was only pushing herself deeper down the KDK rabbit hole every extra second that she made skin to skin contact with you.

“Thank you Lord for the meal that we are about to enjoy with all our hearts. And thank you for letting us share this moment with both family and friends alike. Amen.” Mom prayed, keeping her prayer shorter than usual given that everyone seemed to be waiting to start chowing down on the food already on their plates.

“Amen” everyone else replied, immediately picking up their knives and forks before digging in.

You had to admit that Mom had outdone herself with everything that she had prepared, leaving the table silent other than a few grunts or sound of approval. Everyone seemed happy to focus on the meal for a little while as everyone's preferred side dishes were passed around the table for them to take what they wanted.

“This is really good Mom” you admitted, getting nods of approval from everyone else still enjoying their food.

“Thank you sweetie” Mom replied, taking that as an opportunity to start a proper discussion now that the initial wave of hunger had passed.

She asked about everyone's days with you being the first to reply. Sarah and Lucy followed suit before Mom asked Emma and finally got round to asking her the questions she had been planning on asking ever since she first got in the door. She started with the simple ones asking her how school was going and how Grace was doing with her job given her busy schedule as of late, before slowly ramping up the questions into a deep dive into Emma’s life.

You had heard 99% of what Emma had said before but you didn’t lose interest given that you could listen to her talk for hours if you wanted to. You did have to help Emma out here or there when Mom asked a question that Emma couldn’t immediately answer and tried to take some of the pressure off of her when Mom bombarded her a bit too much.

Still, the topics changed throughout dinner, ranging from Emma’s career goals toher extended family she took the time to visit before going back full circle to school once again, prompting Sarah to jump back into the conversation.

“Oh yeah, you two must be going to prom together right?” Sarah asked, looking between you and Emma to see who would be the first to answer.

“Oh Prom! I completely forgot you guys would be having that this year, it felt like only yesterday when Lucy was having hers. She looked so gorgeous in that dress, I think I’ve got some photos somewhere of when…” Mom reminisced, unexpectedly embarrassing Lucy in the process.

“Mom please!” Lucy quickly interrupted, letting you see a rare blush on your sister’s cheeks that told you that you somehow needed to get your hands on them photos before Lucy.

“Oh you looked great and you know it. Anyway, sorry for interrupting” Mom replied, letting either you or Emma carry on from where you left off.

“We… haven’t really talked about it yet but I don’t see why not” you answered, looking towards Emma for confirmation.

“Yeah I think it will be fun. I think everyone else we know is going even if they don’t get a date so at the very least we can just hang out as a group again” Emma nodded, her excitement rising now that she thought about it a bit more thoroughly.

“That does sound good. And what about you Sarah? Are you going with anyone?” Mom asked, curiosity leaking through in her voice that made Sarah second guess giving a response right away.

“I…”