A Dance of Life

57

"An hour is a long time," I say by way of greeting as I open the door for my dad and Diana. My face lights up as I see my dad's arms filled with food.

He rolls his eyes and enters the house, forcing me to move out of his way. Diana follows closely behind, carrying a medium-sized paper bag with what looks like the edge of a picture frame sticking out.

"What's that?" I ask her, locking the door and trailing after them to the dining room.

"None of your business," she tells me in a fake sweet voice, placing it at the corner of the room.

I huff and decide not to bother asking more questions, I'm clearly only going to get snarky comments in reply.

"Do you like the table, Pop-Pop? Annelise let me set it for dinner," Lucas asks in a bubble tone, sporting a toothy smile.

"Oh? Good job, little man, it looks amazing," dad replies giving him a fist bump. "I wish Annelise was this enthusiastic about it when she was your age."

"Hey! Now I'm ready and willing to do stuff, but no one allows me to. Even the act of nesting has been taken away from me," I sniff, wiping away fake tears.

"Oh shush up," Diana laughs as we all sit. "You wouldn't have been able to achieve what your dad and I did."

"And me!" Lucas interjects, opening his takeaway pack of fried rice and breaded chicken.

"What your dad, Lucas, and I did," Diana adds smoothly. She picks up one of the two wraps and dribbles ketchup all over it. I have nothing against ketchup, but the amount she lathers on makes me silently heave.

My dad hands me my pack before opening his, which is a pair of Lucas'. I open the white styrofoam to find a grilled salmon, a small portion of basmati rice, and stir-fried vegetables.

"Ooh, merci, Papa," I say, mouth-watering from the sight of it.

"Diana could you please lead us in prayer," my dad says, folding a napkin onto his lap.

"Huh? Prayer? I don't-I don't know how to pray," she stutters, looking fearful.

"The basic step is talking to Him; just say the words that come to heart," he tells her, a kind look on his face.

"I—"

"I can do it!" Lucas interrupts, bouncing on his seat. "Nathan taught me. Our Father in Heaven, thank You for this food that you've provided. We know that there are people out there who can't have food, so thank You. Amen."

"Amen," the rest of us chorus, Diana's voice lagging slightly.

I watch her from across the table as we all dig into our respected meals, her face not as bright as before. I try to catch her attention but she refuses to look up, not even when pieces of chicken and lettuce fall out of her wrap, and she has to pick them up by hand.

"So ... the great unveiling is after dinner, right?" I ask, hoping to distract and maybe lighten D's mood. "I kinda miss sleeping alone, no offense to Diana of course."

"Yup, that's the plan. Would you lead the tour, Diana?" my dad answers, catching on to my plan.

"Okay, sure," she says under her breath.

I take a couple of forkfuls before trying again, kicking my slippers at her under the table but probably missing. Either way, she glances up at me, her brows squeezed together.

"Do I have to be blindfolded? What's the plan, D, come on, come on," I try, pouting dramatically at her.

She sighs and shrugs, cleaning her mouth and hands with a serviette. "Um, we're meant to show you the room and at the end unveil something for you ... I mean, it's for you and Nathan, but I don't think we have to wait for him."