"How are we going to get out of this town?" Sleep filled Maple's voice. Her head lay in Staton's lap; slowly his fingers laced every red strand cascading down his thigh. A shallow sigh and a couple breaths later she sat up sitting on his lap leaning...
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"How did everyone's day go?" I ask, leaning over the pan as the vegetable sizzle in the oil. I was excited to get home after my first day of training. Today had been a major success for me, I'd gotten the job at the grocery store just around the corner from our house. Plus I was lucky enough to get a discount on groceries. I couldn't wait to tell the rest of the crew.
I had texted Staton as soon as I found out of course. There was no way I was keeping something like this away from him for more than a few seconds. He was stoked to hear I had gotten a job, and very quickly gave me the same great news. The tire shop had hired him, and he had a wonderful first day learning about all the different things there were to know in a tire shop.
He would be mentoring for the next few weeks as he got better and more comfortable with the tools and such. That's two out of five with jobs, and honestly, I couldn't believe that we had gotten them so quickly. I was eager to hear how the day went for the rest of the group.
Julia was in the dining room, setting the table, as Breygan and Staton were standing outside drinking a beer and grilling some chicken. Aria was on her phone, playing some sort of puzzle game. She was the last one to get home, and she hadn't really been in a good mood since.
Once the vegetables were fully cooked I set them to the side and started working on the potatoes. Tonight was going to be a big meal to discuss and hopefully make a game plan for our future. Tonight was also the night Staton and I was going to bring up the need for a second car. Especially now that he had a job that was a little further away. It wouldn't be reasonable for him to Uber there every day.
Breygan opened the sliding patio door, leaving it as he placed a large plate of chicken on the center of the table.
"Dinner is ready bitches," He shouted, his voice echoing in the house with the lack of furniture we had. We were lucky that the people had furnished it, but they were very stingy and had only done the bare minimum. Something was better than nothing though.
Aria was the first to stand up and head towards the table. I'd left the vegetables on the stove so that they would stay warm, and placed the baked potatoes on a plate, bringing them over to the table. Staton helped grab some more plates. The kitchen was lively with everyone buzzing around to gather their utensils and other things needed to devour the food.
"Hey watch out," Julia shouts, as Breygan steps back onto her toes, trying to get out of the way of everyone. Slowly people began to take their seats, filling their plates to the brim with food.
A part of me couldn't help but smile at how much we felt like a family right now. It was the little moments like this that made everything worth it.
"How did your day go?" Staton starts the conversation off. Everyone was too focused on their food to even acknowledge that someone had said something. We wait for a few moments before Staton clears his throat. Nobody seems to listen. Aria is still on her phone, shoveling some of her baked potato in her mouth while Julia devours the vegetables.
