The Sullivan Sisters

Thankful

It'd been ages since Paloma cooked a decent meal. Outside of the rare occasions that Ava came over and demanded her home cooking, ramen noodles, poorly-made salads, and ham sandwiches became Paloma's staple meals further back than she cared to admit. But, these days, she managed to surprise both herself and Quinn by putting together above-average quality meals on a just about a nightly basis.

That evening's supper was breaded parmesan chicken on a bed of white rice—a dish Paloma never thought could be conjured up in her kitchen. Nevertheless, the tender meat and alluring scent were lost on the girl. Quinn was far too busy with the likes of her cellphone. Paloma had always been proud of her gift-giving abilities, but that one, she figured, must've taken the cake.

The teenager spent whatever downtime available scrolling countless miles on the screen of her phone, and though it hadn't gotten under Paloma's skin too much in the past (she'd done the same too many times to count), that evening was different.

"I'm invoking older sister power."

Quinn's brows knitted together in curiosity. That wasn't the first time her sister petitioned what always turned out to be an omnipotent strategy. As far as a decade and a half back, even with something as simple as deciding who was going to be picking the entertainment for their traditional Friday night movie, Quinn found herself losing at a fictitious game she never agreed to play to start with. Only thing was, she hadn't the slightest clue as to what she was going to be losing that time.

Paloma promptly filled her in. "No phones at the dinner table," she quipped, snatching the device out of Quinn's desperate clutches before she could plead her case.

Like a manipulative toddler, Quinn sank down in her chair and pouted her lips. "Come on, Plum. Please?"

The woman in question grinned incandescently. "Nice try." Using her fork, she pointed to the untouched food on Quinn's plate that was getting colder by the second. "Eat."

It took no more than a moment for Quinn to grab ahold of her utensils, albeit reluctantly.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Paloma effortlessly tossed her chocolate mane over her shoulders and awoke the girl's smartphone. Mischievous smirk on display, she hoisted up an eyebrow and threw the girl a somewhat suspicious look.

"Password encrypted, huh?"

Quinn shrugged. "Don't want kids at school going through my stuff."

Paloma's smirk didn't wane, but neither did her curiosity. She hummed. "And me neither, I suppose?"

"Preferably, no. I mean, I don't go through your stuff."

Amused, Paloma laughed. "'Cuz you know I'd kick your ass if you did. Besides, I'm not a teenager." She leaned in, her teasing nature fading by the second. "Anything on here I should know about?"

"Aside from ebooks and candy crush?" Quinn cut through her chicken, only meeting her sister's eyes with an unamused expression once the food made it into her mouth. "Not really."

Paloma relinquished her gaze to the phone and didn't bother swallowing her food first when she spoke. "What do you do on this thing all day, anyway?"

Quinn hastened to the phone with a great sense of urgency, but Paloma's reflexes proved to be greater. Admitting defeat, the teenager sighed and reclaimed her seat. "Nothing." When Paloma's eyes snapped back to the screen, Quinn bit her lip. "No phones at the table, remember? Your rule." 

Paloma flashed her a cheeky smile. After what seemed to be an eternity, she adhered to the teenager's wishes by swapping out the phone for her cutlery. "Who are you texting so routinely these days?" When Quinn shook her head, the woman pressed on without hesitation. "You gotten to know anyone at school?"