Butterswap

23

Last night, mum announced that we were going to have a Disney movie marathon, piling us all in into the in house theatre. Of course, my father couldn't keep up, and fell asleep halfway through the third movie, Coco. My mum and I watched till the early morning, before deciding to call it a day/night.

When we woke up in the late afternoon, a burnt smell from the kitchen wafted into the theatre and I winced.

"Mum?" I asked, shaking her awake.

"Sweetie." She yawned, before jumping to her feet.

"Ralph?" I shouted as I stumbled out of the theatre and turned into the kitchen.

There, my father stood as he watched helplessly on at the burnt pancakes.

"Dad!" I rushed over to the stove and snatched the spatula from him. I surprised my entire family with my ability to flip the pancake over perfectly. I smirked, Keenan had taught me this particular skill when I slept over at his house. However, that piece could not be salvaged because it had been far too burnt.

"Where's Ralph?" His cooking was the best. I mean, I grew up with him as our chef.

"I told him to take the day off. I wanted to do a little something for you all."

"Let the expert show you." I winked at the both of them. I poured the pancake mix inside the pan and poured milk. I waited for a few minutes for the mix to start to sizzle and form as my parents watched in amazement.

"That boy taught you all this?"

"Well, yeah."

"Here you go." I said as I flipped the finished pancake onto the first plate. "Try it."

"Its good, like, really really good." My mum laughed as she forked the whole thing into her mouth. "More." She lifted the plate back into my hand.

I looked at her and I realized how much she'd aged. The skin around her eyes were more wrinkled than when I left. Her skin was a little saggy, but she still looked beautiful. A sophisticated woman like her would never lose her elegance regardless of her age.

I looked past her at the mirrored wall opposite the large kitchen and grinned. We looked like a family. Finally.

I flipped the last few pancakes and we settled down on the dining table.

"What should we do today?" I asked, my mouth stuffed. I snuck a glance at my dad and I could tell he was resisting the urge to tell me not to speak with my mouth full.

My dad looked at my mum.

"Well, we could head to the beach?" My mum suggested.

"I would love that, but the fact that I had a horrid tan from the cliff diving adventure makes me have to turn that down."

"Ooh, I know. A helicopter ride, how about that? You've never been in my chopper, have you?"

I don't tell him that that had been something I had wanted to do since I was seven, he just never had the time to take me for a ride in it.

"Yeah, I like that." I smiled.

I could tell that they wanted to spend time with me, to make up for all the lost moments, the lost years. I could tell that they were really trying. However, I could tell it was still awkward for my dad, considering the fact that we had never spent much time together before.

Breakfast went on and despite the occasional awkward silences where I can actually hear vigorous chewing, I found myself enjoying the presence of my family.

Breakfast was over and our helpers cleared the table for us.

"Hello? Yes, this is Evans. Prepare the helicopter for me, please. Thank you. I'll be there in about an hour." He hung up the phone.