Rough Night

Mom was not looking like she was in the best of moods but finding some food already ready for her did seem to relieve some of the annoyance she was feeling after waking up with what you assumed was a hangover. The food was already plated so you grabbed her a glass of water and got one for yourself as well, something plain probably being better for her senses in her current state.

“Thanks” she said, keeping her greeting to one word before taking a seat, the complete opposite of your usual dynamic.

You sat down opposite her and planned to eat in silence if it helped her recover any quicker but it seemed Mom wanted to talk even at the cost of her own head.

“Are you staying for dinner or planning on leaving before then?” Mom asked still keeping her words to a minimum, already knowing you were at least coming home after school.

“I don’t know when Grace wants us to leave but I think we will probably want to find somewhere to stay before it gets dark” you answered, realising that you were quite unprepared when it came to where you were planning on staying.

Your mind had been focused on your father more than anything and while you had pictured staying in a hotel, you didn’t exactly have the funds to afford anything too luxurious.

“Grace said she had already booked a place. You should be fine to leave later” Mom replied, digging into her food with her head down to avoid the light while you had to think about her answer.

It did ease your worries that your accommodation was sorted but having Grace be the one to think ahead and also pay for most of the trip didn’t sit right with you. The trip wasn’t anything special for her or Emma and was only to satisfy your own curiosity, nothing exciting or romantic, just a casual trip.

You had also promised Grace that you wouldn’t see her only you were ready to set off, including this morning when you would be taking Emma to school. You wanted to give her some space after last night but with the latest news, you needed to find some way to make it up to her. Emma would surely have some ideas on that but while you had Mom with you it seemed best to ask her as well.

“I didn’t know she had paid for a hotel. I’m glad she did but, is there anything you can think of that I can do to thank her?” you asked, not expecting much given Mom’s short answers so far.

“You seemed to have done more than enough to ‘thank’ her” Mom said back, her tone making it sound more like a tease than an insult but she still instantly regretted her words.

“Sorry I didn’t mean that sweetie, it’s just… You and Grace are still on my mind and I don’t think I’m ready to talk about that yet” she amended, looking up to show her sincerity while she sounded guilty over her choice of words.

“Grace seems to be in the same boat when thinking about me and you. It’s just she got to see you in action in the back of the taxi so I think she has a bit more to take in” you replied, giving her the reminder of what she got up to last night.

“Oh God. Please don’t bring that up for the moment. That’s another thing that I still haven’t processed” Mom pleaded, her head turning down again as her eyes drilled holes into her plate.

“She’s definitely gonna tease you over that a lot more than me so I’ll drop it for today. Just make sure you keep eating if it helps you feel better” you reminded.

Breakfast began in earnest after that and you had only made a small dent in your food while you had been talking, giving yourself chance to eat everything you had made. Mom also kept silent but you could see her looking slightly by the time she had finished off her plate, the glass of water also empty which likely helped her.

You still heard no sounds from upstairs so you were quite happy to continue sitting here with Mom until something interrupted your time together, having enjoyed a larger meal than you usually had after you hadn’t eaten in a while. Your plate was as clean as you could get it and Mom’s looked to be the same.

“You said you wanted to thank Grace” Mom stated, waiting until both of you had finished before she spoke.

“Yep, and I don’t think I want to ‘thank’ her the way you intended earlier. That's not my intention, at least not for this.” you replied, knowing your horny brain wasn't going to come up with any valid ideas if you went down that path.

“She doesn’t really like grand gestures so it’s probably best if you keep it to a minimum. It doesn’t have to be expensive either, just something sincere to show you have thought about her” Mom suggested, narrowing down your options but still leaving you clueless for the moment before she continued.

“I’d leave it a few days if I were you. See if she mentions anything to Emma or looks at something while you are on your trip. Just be a bit more vigilant and keep your eye on her” Mom added, giving some advice that you should probably use on all of your subjects and not just Grace.

You did have a habit of thinking about yourself first but you hoped you were getting better at seeing things from other people's perspectives. Even if you didn’t get better, you had both Emma and Lucy in place to tell you where you were going wrong, Lucy being the more likely of the two to actually give you a stern talking to instead of spurring you on.

“I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll check with Emma as well just in case she was an idea already but I’ll see if I spot anything myself” you said, agreeing with her.

Mom moved to pick up the plates but you stopped her and let her stay where she was, taking them to the sink and just starting to wash up before she could try and say otherwise. The first signs of someone other than you two being alive were heard from upstairs as a door was slammed shut shortly after you started the tap, Mom wincing slightly at the noise before giving you a knowing look.

The slam was probably unnecessary and if you had to guess it would have been Sarah. Lucy would be more sympathetic to a hangover compared to Sarah so you wrote her off as the cause of the noise.

“I’ll go and make sure that was actually Sarah as we will need to set off soon. You should probably go back to bed for a little longer” you suggested, refilling her glass with cold water while you were at the sink.

You could tell she still wasn’t feeling in tip top shape when she agreed without any fuss, leaving the kitchen behind with you following suit. You watched her head into her room after you made it upstairs and while you could hear the shower running, the doors to both Sarah and Lucy’s rooms were closed tight, giving you no confirmation as to how was actually up.