Morning all and happy Friday. I had a fabulously quiet day yesterday. Of course taking yesterday off means that today as a Friday feels strange. MY brain keeps telling me it is Monday. Which is odd. But here we are. So timers at the ready for the last prompt of the week. And off we go.
No idea what the story is, but I suspect she is going to need to be involved more in the deal than anyone expects. Also I kind of chunked in backstory where it should have been spread out. I like the family adjacent angle where there is no bond of blood or really familiarity, but the expected familial compliance. I think it could be a fun idea to play with. Although if I do anything with this it will need to be completely re written.
Friday, June 28th: It was considered a delicacy.
It was considered a delicacy. I knew that offering it to me was a token of respect. I accepted with all of the appropriate forms and everyone seemed pleased with the outcome. The taste was unexpected and not entirely pleasant, even though the others around the table seemed to enjoy it. I knew that part of the appeal was the rarity. It was not only costly, but to be allowed to purchase required a special permit.
It was a permit my hosts had and offering this treat to their guests was a way to show off that permission without directly bragging. I acknowledged their status and all was well. I was quite proud of myself for making it through the interminable dinner without disgracing myself actually.
I didn’t want to be there, in fact I had tried everything I could to avoid being there, but my presence was requested, required. And so here I was.
‘Now it is done,’ I thought as we filed out. We piled back into the car and pulled away, everyone seeming relieved that it went well.
“Thank you for coming,” Frank said. “They wanted to see the whole family before they committed to a deal and since Stacy mentioned you…”
“My presence was required.” I completed the sentence.
Silence filled the car and I was relieved when they dropped me off outside of my apartment building. I left the car, as eager to be away from them as I was the dinner. I was technically family, but not really. I was brought in when Frank married my mother. I was at boarding school for the bulk of their marriage. I saw Frank during holidays. Then my mother died in a car accident. Six month’s later Frank married Stacy and I stayed at school for the holidays. They had three children who I could identify mostly because Frank sent photos to me.
I long since left school and started out on my own, so it was rare that I ever saw Frank and to be honest unless I had the photos of his children in front of me, I doubted I would be able to pick them out of a line up. As all three were underage, they had not been invited. Only adult members of the family were needed it seemed.
‘I wonder why Stacy actually mentioned me,’ I thought as I climbed the stairs and entered the code for the front door security system. I couldn’t think of a context in which Stacy would even think about me, let alone mention me. We weren’t close. It wasn’t as though I held some sort of residual anger for her taking my mother’s place or anything. I simply didn’t know her. there had never really been a reason to get to know her.
‘It’s over now,’ I thought as I climbed the stairs. I could go back to my life and once again forget about the lot of them. How wrong I was.
Ten til Midnight 