Enar's Vacation - Open Beta

Chapter 9

3099 Words

This is a beta version of Enar's Vacation. Changes can - and probably will - be made as a result of reader feedback. I hope you'll enjoy it and I hope you'll take the time to give me some feedback. It will help me make this story the best it can be.

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"Give me the mushrooms!"

"Linus, you should say please." Elsie grabbed the bowl of mushrooms and moved it over to the right of her plate, well out of reach for Linus.

"No! Stop!" Linus reached across his sister, grasping for the bowl "Linnea! Tell her to give me the mushrooms."

"You should say please." Elsie shoved at her brother, pushing him back into his chair again. "Linnea! Tell him!"

"You two..." Linnea set down her cup of tea and sighed. "Elsie. Stop hogging the mushrooms."

"But Linnea! He should say please!" Elsie pouted, and slapped at Linus' hands as he once again tried to reach for the mushrooms.

Linnea fixed Elsie with a stare. "Yes, and he will." She turned to face Linus. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes." Linus stared down at the plate in front of him. "Can I have the mushrooms now?"

Linnea crossed her arms over her chest and cleared her throat, not lifting her gaze from the boy for an instant.

Linus heaved a sigh - quite a lot bigger than really necessary. "Please..."

Elsie started to say something, but changed her mind when she caught Linnea looking at her - arms still crossed. Pouting, she too sighed, and pushed the bowl of mushrooms over to Linus.

Linnea leaned back in her chair and sipped her tea. A smile crept on to her face and she let her shoulders slump. Across the table from her, Elsie chewed on a carrot and Linus scooped up a pile of mushrooms on his plate.

Smiling to himself, Enar popped a piece of sausage into his mouth and chewed on it. Sure, the kids bickered and argued, but that's what kids did, right? They were meant to do that. It was only natural. They'd done it all breakfast, on and off.

He hoped he'd have more than one kid; two would be ideal, maybe even three. That way they could argue and play with each other. Not like when he was little.

Enar sighed and his smile disappeared. He had to find someone to start a family with as well, and soon - before it was too late.

"So, my friend." Rolf speared a potato on his fork. "Now that you're here. What do you want to do?"

Putting on a happy face, Enar shifted his thoughts back to the present. "Well, I don't really have any specific requests." He could think of a few things he'd like to do, but the brochure had made a point of how as a first-time visitor it was best to go with what your host suggested. "I'd like to see a little of what life here is like, but other than that I'm happy to just sit around and watch the grass grow."

"Hah!" Rolf chuckled. "Well spoken, my friend. Well spoken."

"Is life different where you live Enar?" said Elsie.

Enar smiled over at the little girl at the opposite corner of the table. "Yes, I think so - very different."

Elsie looked at him. "How?"

"How?" Enar frowned. "How it's different?" He hummed to himself and rubbed his chin. "Well, that's a big question. I will have to think about that."

"Okay, but what is the biggest difference?"

"Elsie." Erik cleared his throat. "Give Enar some time to think."