The girl sat on the steps of the staircase, facing the door, waiting. Tick. Tick. Tick. The cloak kept taunting her, teasing her with what she was waiting for. Everyday her father would come home at exactly 4 o’ clock. The little girl would run up to him, and he would squeeze her in a tight embrace, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock chimed as the second hand finally completed its full rotation. The girl stood up, and just like clockwork, the doorknob turned and in stepped her father.
“Daddy!” She squealed.
“Hey buttercup! Did you have a good day today?” he asked bending down and hugging her close. She would follow with her customary “yes daddy” and then he would walk into the next room, where his wife would be preparing dinner for when he got home. They had a similar ritual to the little girls, but with slight variations of kiss location and pet names. The man ran on a regular routine, disliking sudden surprises.
The man’s name was Charles, but he preferred to be called Charlie. Charlie not only worked at a local bean producing super company, but in fact this extension of the business was his. His family was wealthy, and lived a comfortable life style. Rigid financing kept the money growing, and that’s how Charlie liked it. He was not a greedy man, but he preferred to provide a security net if anything ever happened to him, the house, or any other unforeseen expenses. His reputation at work was that of a hard workingman, always picking up the slack if any of his employees fell behind. Do not take this to mean he was easy on them, he was not in fact, he drove those around him very hard, but he was not beyond mercy. You could almost say that Charlie was a father of two families, work and home.
Charlie was married to a gorgeous woman named Claire who gave birth to their two wonderful children, Amy and Rory. Amy was four years old, and stayed at home with her mother each day while her bother Rory went to a near by private middle school. The family itself lived within a small, gated community, one their elder family members had begun themselves. In order to gain access you must be approved by one of the appointed family members, who would then look at your reputation, income, and if you would be an asset to the community. Needless to say it was quite a well-to-do area.
The family of four gathered around the table of dinner, Claire calling for Rory to come downstairs, when they were all seated they said grace and began to eat.
“Hey, I don’t think so,” Charlie gestured towards Rory who had been trying to feed the dog his Brussels sprouts, “Those are for you, not him.”
“But daaaaad...”, Rory moaned, dragging out the word as if he was stretching out taffy, “I hate this stuff! It’s like a booger mush of vomit.”
“Your mom worked hard on that, now eat.” Charlie stated firmly. Rory knew better then to argue after his dad had switched to that voice. Charlie was never easy on Rory, he was always pushing him to be better and work harder so sometime their relationship was strained. Rory knew his dad loved him, but sometimes it was hard to see when he was getting grounded for not having good enough grades, even if he had tried his best. Rory sulkily crammed the round vegetables into his mouth and made exaggerate motions of plugging his nose.
“There good for you, they provide…” Claire started listing of all the nutritional facts and why every young growing boy should be eating their green veggies. Rory rolled his eyes as his mother went on, she might take awhile. Originally Claire and Charlie alternated between making dinner and ordering out, but after Claire had started watching health nut documentaries she had insisted on making healthy dinners for the family each night. Where as they usually ate out once or twice a week, now it was a treat if they went out even once a month.
The rest of the dinner passed mostly in silence, afterwards the kids brought their dishes to the sink, rinsed them off, and they shoved them in the dishwasher, running off to turn on the television. The adults took their time clearing the table, giving them time to talk.
