In Jupiter

Him

"I'm sorry" Alex said, to no one. He was sat on the couch in the living room, phone in hand. It was low in battery, sitting on 23%. The noises in the kitchen must have woke him, he figured. And he must have fallen asleep after getting home, which shouldn't have been long ago. The time on his phone read 7:23 AM.

"Alex," his mom called from the kitchen, "Do you want eggs?"

"Sure" he called back. She could never manage to not be loud, no matter the situation. He felt like telling her to be considerate or something, but didn't bother.

He stood and looked for an outlet in the living room, preferably one already with phone charger. Plenty of outlets but no chargers. Walking through the dining room toward the kitchen, he noticed the dog bowls. One was empty, two near full with water. 'Fresh water' as his mother put it, because animals don't like drinking old water, especially if there was any hair in them.

"Mom, where's your charger? I need to charge my phone."

"By the trash."

No mom, above the trash.

After plugging in his phone and despite of things they could talk about, he just stood there quietly. He unlocked his phone and looked through the news, social media, and old texts.

The smell of bacon intensified by the seconds, but Alex tried his hardest to ignore it.

"Everything's ready. Go wash your hands."

He helped her set the table and didn't sit until she did. The remote was on the table next to the napkins but the TV remained off.

"Alex, how was the drive?"

"Good." He stirred his eggs.

"Did you see anything interesting?"

Oh, she wants to make conversation. "Yeah, I guess. I think I saw only eight cars going south. Everyone's leaving, it seems."

"Oh."

He spoke more after a few seconds of stillness, "So," then drew a blank. There was little he could think to say.

She looked up from her plate. "So?"

"I'm sorry," he told her. He was sat on the couch, phone in hand. It was low in battery, sitting on 23%. Something must have woke him, probably all the noise in the kitchen. His mom, whether she was cooking or conversating, had a hard time keeping the volume down. The time was 7:23 AM according to his phone, and he couldn't recall what time he had even gotten there.

"Do you want eggs?" his mother called out.

"Yeah," he called back.

He stood and looked for a phone charger, despite doubting he'd find one. Walking toward the kitchen, he noticed the dog bowls by the fridge. One empty, two filled with water. Most likely 'fresh water,' as his mom would put it. The dogs wouldn't drink it if it tasted old or had their hairs in it - she would claim. But if she had ever walked them, she'd have known that thirsty dogs would even drink from muddy puddles. He thought about asking if she still changed the water for the cats, but didn't bother.

Above the trash, he thought as he plugged his phone in to charge. After waiting a little, he unlocked it and looked up news articles. He fought the temptation to say anything regarding the smell of burning bacon and said "You could be more considerate."

"Hmm?" she asked, as if she didn't hear him.

"You were loud when I was sleeping over there."

"Oh, okay."

She spoke again after some time, "Did you wash your hands? Everything's ready."

He complied and proceeded to set the table.

Toasted bread, eggs, bacon, and coffee. It looked very appetizing but he didn't sit until she did.

"So, how was the drive back?"

"I don't know," he scrambled his eggs, "Good I guess."

"Did you see anything interesting?"

Alex slowly kept stirring the eggs on his plate, "Cars. Eight cars going south. Everyone else was going north. Nothing else interesting."

She didn't reply.

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?"

"I don't know." He put his fork down and noticed she had already done the same. "Mom?"

"Sorry. I got lost in thought." She resumed eating.

Something happened, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Do you want to know what happened in DC? What we talked about?"

"It's just bad news, right?" She saw the surprise in his face. "You didn't pick up, just talked through texts, and you come home exhausted. So I know it's bad news. So no, I don't want to hear it."

He started eating as things quieted down again. The clock on the wall read 7:34. "Mom, could you please leave? Take the car and go as far north as you can?"

She sighed. "You know I won't."

"He's gone mom, and he's not coming back."

"You don't know that for sure."

"Mom, he's not-"

"Enough, Alex!" she cried as she hit the table. "Can't we just have a nice breakfast, just sit here-"

Her voice withered. The feeling returned. The time on his phone read 7:23. It needed to charge. There was nothing nice about that breakfast.

"Do you want eggs?" his mother cried out.

Sorry. "No."