Behind The Glasses

Chapter 08 | The names Archer!

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"I threw myself into that fire, threw myself into it, into him, and let myself burn."
-Sarah.J.Moas, A Court of Thorns and Roses.
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Chapter 08 | The names Archer!

"Archer, why haven't you started preparing for our guests," Is the very first thing my mother says to me after her return from some errands she supposedly had to run. It's a Sunday, that's the norm for her.

"Excuse me?,"I reply with shock dripping from my tone

"Let me give you a short recap. The Knights are coming over for dinner in a couple of hours and you haven't even begun preparing anything."

"Me?," I ask incredulously.

"Yes, you! Don't worry. I'll help you," she says as she turns and exits my line of sight.

In her wake, she left me with my mouth hanging agape in utter disbelief. What the hell just happened? That woman is unbelievable. Wait...

I scramble up from my position on the floor, only to dash out of my room.

"Mom, you just do all the cutting and I'll do the cooking," I say wrapping my apron around my waist and assessing the groceries that she'd bought for the dinner and more. Woman can't cook, even if her life depended on it. I will give her this: Woman can definitely shop to save her life.

"Oui, Chef," she replies enthusiastically invoking a playful eye roll from me.

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It feels weird having to set the table for anyone else other than our quaint family of 5. Two fifths of the Harrison clan currently reside in the Harrison household. The remaining 3 are, hopefully, just temporarily out. Mom and I usually eat by the kitchen island as a way to suppress the void that is shed more light on by us sitting at a large empty table. The thought of leaving Mom all by herself hurts my heart but it cannot be avoided, only delayed. I'm dreading it and it seems we're both procrastinating on the conversation about the letters that have been arriving since mid semester.

I pull out our second best dining set as per request from Mother. I understand her sentimentality in that sense. I set off to work arranging the table, actively leaving out the chairs at the head of the table for only the King and the Queen  deserved to sit there. Okay... Mom, me, Hunter, Forest, Mrs. Knight and lastly... Mr. Knight. That makes 6 and all done.

"Chef..., I just heard the oven ding," Mom says with her head popping into the dining room. By the looks of it, she's already dressed to impress while I proudly smell like kitchen and sweat. Quite the combination.

"Finally," I breath making my way into the kitchen.

I pull out the lasagna dish from the oven and start placing it into a nice turquoise serving dish.

"Ummm..., Chef?," Mom says cautiously from the sink.

I just lift my head marginally, indicating that she had my attention.

"It's 17:27. That leaves you exactly 33 minutes to get ready before the Knights arrive and note that there won't be any traffic," she informs, throwing in a joke at how close the Knights live. "I'll finish everything off here. All the hard stuff is done. You can go get ready," she continues.