ALONE TOGETHER I OWEN GRADY

Round The Table

Round The Table

Living just to keep going

Going just to be sane

All the while not knowing

It's such a shame...

"It's snowing, Mommy," Morgan pointed out, craning her neck, trying to see further out of the window.

"I know, baby," Cassandra said distractedly, squinting at her sketch.

"Can we build a snow-person, later?"

"It's a snowman," Gray corrected her as Zach glared over his head at Cassandra for the umpteenth time.

"Whatever," Morgan said, flipping her fingers in a 'W' shape at him. "Snow-person is more p-o-l-i-t-i-c-a-l-l-y correct."

"No, it's not."

"Yeah it is!"

As they argued, Cassandra alternately sketched Zach and shovelled Cheerios into her mouth like popcorn, ignoring her nephew's deathstare as she did. She had been secretly working on a profile portrait of Zach in oils as a Christmas present for Karen ever since she'd arrived, determined to capture the boy before he became a man, resulting in her sketching him in different moods and poses, trying to find one to fit. He had become a giant since she'd last seen him, his growth spurt accompanied by episodes of acute self-consciousness and acne, often getting on everyone's last nerve with his long silences.

The only reason Zach barely tolerated her sketching was because he had a crush on Tori Higgins, the cute girl from next door, her family having moved in at the beginning of fall, and she came over every other morning, Zach obsessed with impressing her. Tori had deemed Cassandra 'the coolest aunt ever' and observed the progress of Zach's portrait with great enthusiasm, resulting in Zach's reluctant compliance. However Tori was unfortunately more interested in it than Zach, confiding in Cassandra that she wanted to design and make her own jewellery. She was a year younger than Zach, but gave the impression of being older, speaking with a gravelly voice that reminded Cassandra of Kathleen Turner. She had various body piercings and dreadlocked blonde hair, her rebellious image sitting at odds with her serious manner.

"When can we have pancakes, Mommy?" Morgan complained, fiddling with her fork. "You keep saying we'll have them for breakfast, and then we don't!"

"Raise it with your auntie," Cassandra advised, "I don't keep this table."

"Auntie Karen keeps a mean table," Morgan pouted, making Gray's head snap up.

"My mom's not mean!" Gray protested. "You're just a greedy pig!"

Morgan glared at Gray from under her bangs. "I-am-hungry!" she then bellowed, leaning over the table in her mother's direction. "I-wanna-pancakes!"

"Is the one and only Tori coming over today?" Cassandra asked Zach, quickly changing the subject as she mock slapped Morgan's hand away from her cereal bowl. "She said she was going to show me some designs for a ring and bracelet set she'd come up with, inspired by Star Wars no less, which should be interesting. I'm expecting stark lines and muted sparkle."

She dramatically framed the words with her hands, but the effect was lost on her audience, Zach just shrugging his shoulders before resuming his deathstare. Gray shot her a funny look before resuming building his Lego tower whilst Morgan merely muttered mutinously to herself about pancakes again. Cassandra rolled her eyes before returning her attention back to her sketchbook, carefully shading in a tuft of Zach's hair whilst helping herself to another handful of Cheerios at the same time.