The Playgirl Parker #Wattys2016

"You're the knight in shining armour!"

"Sit down everyone!" My mom cleared her throat, and soon everyone took their seats. It was more of a procession, banquet or a party than a dinner. Like, ten people...seriously?

Anyways, I'd fixed the arrangement before, and gestured everyone to their seats being the responsible and smart little host I was..

At one end of the rectangular table sat mom. At the other end sat, in spite of my not wanting them to sit face to face like a couple but that being the sensiblest thing to do, Jeremy.

Then, people sat in front of each other afterwards. All us girls, Jo, Evelyn, Nora and me sat on the left side, and in front of us sat Lee, Sean, Daniel and Bennett respectively.

Soon everyone was settled.

"The food looks really great!" Nora said, smiling politely.

"And I'm sure it'll taste great too." Lee added, eyeing the food like a wolf.

"I think you arranged the dishes wrong, Ms. Parker," Sean chuckled. "Our dear friend Lee is going to need more than one dishes. And it is definitely not safe to put that delicious looking chicken in front of that wolf."

"Fine, I'll help you move it." Jo reached forward, and with a smirk at Lee, pulled it towards us.

Lee scowled, but stayed quiet.

"Can I have a cherry?" Evelyn asked, struggling to be seen over the table.

"Not yet, Evy." Jeremy smiled, and actually looked fatherly for a moment there.

"Yes, Evy," my mom echoed. "We have to say Grace before touching our food."

"But Ashley had one befo-" she began to say, when I glared at her.

"Who'll do Grace tonight?" I interrupted, smiling sweetly before my mom begins to lecture me on how eating cherries before actual food would spoil my appetite.

"How about Bennett?" Evelyn piped up.

My mother looked at Bennett interestedly. "You will?"

He smiled graciously. "It would be a pleasure, Ms. Parker." And we all held hands, except him, who brought forward his wine glass, and took a spoon in the other hand.

"Repeat after me." He said, and began to speak.

"Let's all begin eating by the Great Lord's grace, Let's admire the food on our plates till it stays, Let's hold hands as we eat what on our plate, lays, Let's celebrate it, because not celebrating would be the work of a craze, Let's eat now, as we pray like man prays, To have good food on our plates till the end of our days." He finished, and we all smiled.

"That was definitely an interesting Grace." Nora smiled.

Bennett grinned, at being appreciated.

"I didn't know you had such a poetic and creative friend."' My mom smiled, warming up, as she added, "Now tuck in, people!"

Soon we were finishing all that lay here and there and everywhere around. Except for a few, "This is delicious" or "This is scrumptious" or "This is scrumpilicious" and that sort of other comments, the room was silent.

"Can I have that?" Evelyn pointed to Jo's glass of wine.

Jo took it farther away from her reach. "That's not for kids, Lyn."

She sulked, as she kept on sipping at her orangeade.

"I must say honey," Jeremy suddenly said. "Your cooking skills have improved for the best."

My mom blushed. "It was nothing..."

"No, really!" He insisted, smiling broadly. "This soup reminds me of the one you made me on our honeymoon."