It All Started With A Lamp

Chapter 15

Jack's POV:

                     After Mason confessed his secret love for kids, Marie walked out to the living room in her nightie. "Oh! Hello, boys. I didn't know you two were awake! Here, why don't I get started on breakfast?" At the mention of breakfast, my stomach growls. My body just now noticed that I've awake for three hours and haven't had anything to eat, I guess. Marie laughs, "I'll take that as a yes. How about some french toast? I make it extra sugary!" Mason raises his eyebrows in a playful way, "Why, Marie, are you trying to fatten us up? I'm starting to feel a little like Hansel right now," he and Marie laugh. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. So yes on the french toast?" we both nod really fast, like little kids being offered dessert before dinner. Marie laughs at our childishness, then scurries into the kitchen. We hear a few clangs and some cursing, but decide to ignore it.

                   Hank walks into the room and yawns, "Mornin' boys, didn't know you were up. Marie's fixin' breakfast, I suppose?" We nod, and he plobs down besides me. "So, did you boys get enough sleep?" Mason pipes up, "Yeah, it was good enough, I suppose. You?" Hank smiles, "Oh, I slept fine, thank you." There was an awkward silence. I turn to Hank, "So, do you want us to just pack up and hit the road, or..." I trail off. "No, no, stay for breakfast. Marie only cooks like this once a year, and we already had our once for this year. So we should share this time, don't you think, Danielle?" He asks his daughter, who I just now noticed had walked in the room. She snarls, "As long as there's enough food for me and they leave right after eating," she changes moods, giving Hank puppy eyes, "right daddy?" She asks so sweetly and looks so innocent, that Hank crumbles, looking away to protect himself. Mason and I share a look as if to say, "What a brat, how can they tolerate her?"

                      Marie comes in from the kitchen, ringing a bell, "Breakfast! Come and get it!" She declares, and we all head to the dining room. Again, the smell hits me before anything else. A warm, citrusy, syrupy smell; sweet and calming, yet tart at the same time. I see the table, covered in food, next.  There are cinnamon rolls, french toast, bacon, eggs, ham, cereal, and fruit covering the whole thing, leaving no room to put our plates. Marie speaks up when she sees our confused faces, "We won't be eating here, no, we'll be eating in the dining room. I just put the food here so that we would have plenty of space where we actually eat. Just think of it as a buffet, plates are right here," she points to a stack of plates on the corner of the table. We each grab one, then get in line to stock up on food. I was first in line, until I let Marie cut in front of me. Then Hank, then Danielle. I was almost at the back of the line, and was about to let Mason go ahead, but then realized I didn't have to.

                           "Hey! Why did you let them cut in front and not me?" Mason complains, and it sounds so stupid I chuckle. "Are you letting me stay at your house? No, so you can't complain." He grumbles something under his breath about me loving them more than me, but I've stopped listening. I moved on to the food. First, I go for the french toast. Then the cinnamon rolls. Then the eggs. And finally, some fruit, (I'm sorry, bacon lovers, but I'm not. I don't like bacon...). I sit down at the table, and start eating.

                         After breakfast, I help Marie with clean up while Mason tries to pack our stuff. Why tried? You might ask. Well, that's just it, he tried. And failed, drastically. The guy came into the kitchen three times asking me to help him pack. In the end I just sent him out to help Marie with the dishes, but that didn't work either. It was going fine for about three minutes, then I heard a crash, some swearing, a wack, and complaints. So, Marie and I agreed that it would be best if he just stayed put and we finished up. This meant it would take longer and require more work, but it was for the best.

                   We were done in about a half an hour, which meant it was time for us to leave. I load our stuff into the trunk of our car, and are tempted to shove Mason in there with it. we hug everyone and say goodbye.

                 "Oh, I'm gonna miss you boys. Stop by if you ever need a place to stay, our door is always open," Marie says, sniveling. I give Hank a handshake, and hop into the car. Mason follows, and we both wave as we drive away. I slap Mason's hand away as he reaches for the radio, hoping for a little peace and quiet like when I first woke up. "You know, this is my car. I should be driving, and I should be able to decide whether or not we listen to the radio."  I nod, barely listening. "I would still bat your hand away even if you were driving. I really need a little peace right now, can you do that for me?" He nods, his spirit broken just a little, and we settle into a comfortable silence.

                A few hours later, our stomachs growl, and we both have to pee, so we pull over to a gas station. I get out of the car and walk into the restroom. Pulling down my pants, I see a dirty homeless guy in to corner of the restroom staring at me with one pale blue eye while the other stares off into space.