Something Blue - ZekeTina

Order For One

By the time lunch hour had come the next day Gene hadn't figured out a way to mention what he'd seen last night. The second eldest Belcher had been distracted as he moved in and out of the restaurant all day helping out with promotion for the incoming wave of tourist these coming weeks. It was becoming clear he would have to harbor this secret for much longer than he desired. Walking out he gave his sister one last glance, the opportunity would come up he was sure of it.

Turning away from the booth of three Tina tacked the order for her father to see and returned to the counter to ring up a customer. Their mother, who had excused herself this morning to visit their aunt Gale, had promised them a slow day but even then Tina should've known not to wear her glasses. The thick black frames slid down her nose so frequently she'd regressed to scrunching it up to save herself from raising an arm again.

From the corner of her eye she sees her sister. Headphones on and music blasting Louise picks up the tub of dishes and retreats back to the kitchen. Briefly she looks back but she's met with Tina's back, their neighbor Mort had just come in for his usual. Turning the faucet she took a plate and began scrubbing. Louise hated the feeling of wet food and how the splashing water would often seep into her apron leaving a wet blob but she did like the peace.

All she needed were her headphones and a good playlist, at the moment she was deep into punk rock but that could change she wasn't sure yet. The drying rack was filling up so she slowed down and rested against the counter. She wasn't the type to let anything bring her down, guilt was not a word in her vocabulary, but Louise had forgotten how difficult it was to hide things from her overly observant sister. Not to mention Gene had kept eyeing the two of them every time he rushed into the restaurant. Tina may have not been questioning her yet or even behaving out of the normal odd but the youngest Belcher could feel it, the imminent threat.

She wasn't sure how it had all come to this, although she knew exactly why and yet her feelings had become increasingly influential. Anger or pettiness had been something she was used to giving into but never something like this, especially not because of such silly reasons. Louise could feel herself become flimsy with every moment she continued with this, it had been three months already but it felt as if her entire life revolved around this now.

With a grimace she shook her head, of course she would want to dump this all on her sister. Tina had always been a good person when it came to helping carry a burden. The eldest Belcher was good like that, but Louise couldn't stomach it so here she was washing dishes in silence allowing herself to wallow for the remaining two minutes and fifty seconds left of this song.

Peering over his shoulder Bob took notice of his daughters sulking mood, as of lately it seemed she was more distant than ever. While prepping an order he though back to a few nights when he was brewing some tea for Linda who had just gotten off the phone with Tina. There was a moment where he let out a tired sigh, your three adult children all under one roof again was not what he'd planned at this point in their lives. All it took was one glance from Linda and suddenly any gripe had vanished, he was not oblivious to his children's lives. If they needed to come home then he would do whatever it took. Bob hadn't been afforded that opportunity growing up, he would not be like his father.

Ringing the bell he handed the plate over to Tina who had just finished serving drinks for a booth. Mort looked up from his book "Thanks Bob." he called as Tina placed the plate down. She turned and gave her father a knowing smile while looking into the small window "That's very sweet of you dad." she gestured back at the mortician they'd known most of their life and a man who Bob had grown to be friends with "It's just common curtesy, customer service." he answered still laboring over the grill.

Tina glanced over at her sister who was organizing the cutlery. Her father spoke up catching her off guard "Does she talk to you?" she can tell he's realized how absurd the question is as he clarifies "Your mother says you two should have some girl-talk, you know because your- you know she just worries and your sister doesn't tell her much of anything anymore." he rambled and Tina wasn't sure what to make of it, it had been a while since one of her parents had inquired her for information on her siblings private lives. She stepped back and shook her head "We don't do much of that these days." she stated referencing to her fathers phrasing girl-talk, that was a rare ocurance between the the two Belcher daughters, their love lives hadn't been much of interest to the other in a long time.