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Chapter Forty Three- The Kids Aren't Alright

Roy never thought he'd find himself sitting at the dinner table of MacKenzie's deceased relative with her entire family during a supposed wake, and copious amounts of red wine and poorly cooked meat.

He came to know their identities; Sparrow and Timothy of course, Danny (their obviously drunk father), the grandmother Nan, grieving silently over the loss of her daughter, and MacKenzie's two aunts; Denise and Debbie. Oh, and one of the pallbearers, Timothy's friend Donovan.

There was silence at the table before Sparrow offered her voice: "I wanted to come together tonight to celebrate my mom's life. She loved porkchops. And-and..." she trailed off before  bursting into sobs. She gripped Roy's hand tightly under the table. Roy glanced over at MacKenzie who was staring straight ahead.

"Your father still selling those soda fountains?" Danny mumbled to MacKenzie.

"Sure is," she responded.

"The ole family business!" He exclaimed.

"Danny, please," Nan hushed him.

"I was expecting him to get fucked down there," Timothy said through a mouth full of food.

"TIMOTHY."

"What. You think diners are that important?"

"I'd say so," Roy said, reminiscing about the painfully rich coke dealers.

"Wait, who is this guy?" He peered down the table in confusion at Roy.

"Timmy I told you my boyfriend was coming."

His brow furrowed. "This whole time I thought you batted for the other team."

Nan's eyes widened. "TIMOTHY." She caught her breath and smiled at Roy. "I didn't see you at the burial."

"My boyfriend is a praying man," MacKenzie said firmly.

Your boyfriend is a sinner.

"We're not getting a name or-"

"I'm Roy."

"You got yourself a cute one," Roy was unsure which aunt was which. One was plump with faded red hair and the other was stick thin with a head full of flattening blonde curls. "Roy."

"You catch him in California?"

"It's funny, Roy and I met-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt but your relationship is irrelevant to mom's passing," Sparrow smiled pitifully.

MacKenzie frowned.

"You two gonna get married or what?" Danny piped up.

"I, uh..." Roy began.

"You know why I divorced my wife? She was fucking everybody in Bismarck."

"Shirlena is in the ground and this is how you're talking about her?" Nan exclaimed.

Sparrow began to cry again.

"That. And her spaghetti sucked dick."

While catching her breath, Sparrow quietly left the table and closed the dining door behind her.

"I'm sorry, I should go..." MacKenzie whispered to Roy.