Happy Valentine’s day. I send air kisses your way. Admittedly today’s prompt doesn’t seem all that lovey-dovey but as Valentine’s day always seems to hold just as much heartbreak as it does love, I don’t actually mind. Besides what a sentence becomes is all in the writing. So let’s set those timers and see what we see.
Not exactly where I thought this would go, but I kinda like it.
Wednesday, February 14th: Sean glared at Michael.
Sean glared at Michael. As usual Michal had no idea what it was that he had done. He sat and accepted the bowl of mashed potatoes, doling out a spoonful onto his plate before passing the bowl along. As he half listened to the conversation flowing around him, Michael scrolled through the events of the past few weeks trying to figure out what brought Seans’ ire this time.
As he spent most of it neck deep in contracts for the upcoming year he wasn’t aware of much beyond his own paperwork. ‘But t doesn’t take much does it?’ he reminded himself.
He nodded politely to a comment his mother made about the possibility of an upcoming family vacation. He knew it wasn’t to make sure his schedule was clear. He knew enough that when his mother talked family vacation it was with the understanding that he would be the one who remained behind to keep the family company ticking over while the rest of them were away.
She brought it up now so that he could clear his schedule of any personal obligations during the time they were gone. Not that it would ever be said. She would give the dates and he would find them gone for the specified length of time. There was one time where he thought he was included and showed up bags packed, only to be told that he was needed here. Ever since then, he knew that she gave him the leave time that was at least a few hours after their actual departure. A couple of times he tried to stop by, once to wish them well and another time to get his father’s signature on something before he left. The neighbor filled him in.
Michael knew he wasn’t his grandfather’s favorite. As long as his grandfather held the family purse strings tightly then he knew that the others would not favor him. Dimly he wondered if this would change when his grandfather finally passed.
‘Only if I somehow managed to inherit everything.’ It was an unlikely scenario, but the thought made him smile briefly. The sight of it made Sean’s frown deepen and his mother to pull back in her chair. Michael wea sure that if she didn’t have Botox ensuring she didn’t frown then she would have. As it was he could see the muscles in her face attempting to move. He suspected his smile wasn’t pleasant.
Michael let the expression fall and tried to do his best to keep a neutrally pleasant expression on his face for the remainder of dinner. Everyone seemed to relax. At the end of dinner, Michael stayed only as long as necessary before slipping out and going his own way. If his mother planned to drop more scheduling hints or Sean tell him why he was annoyed, Michael didn’t want to hear it.
Not for the first time he thought about leaving. Of going somewhere…else. Becoming anyone else. Then he thought of all those who counted on him. He did his job so they could do theirs. Without him, they would be forced to deal with his family. He could not inflict them on someone else. His plans to run away fizzled.
Ten til Midnight 