the graceless

[instar]

Bella sits out, this year as every year, from gym class. It's just asking for a lawsuit. She does stretches and crunches and push-ups in the corner.

Comments

[instar]

Bella gets it.

"Hello?" Beat. "Hi, dad. Yeah. Bean stew. And a friend from school's over, he brought a - what? No. Dad, it is possible to make new friends without belonging to The Sharing. It's not even - Dad - Dad - you know I hate it when - Dad - I'll give you to Andi, okay?" She hands the phone over.

[pandion]

Andi takes it.

"Hi, Dad. No, he's pretty much Bella's friend. I'm having Meg over on Thursday though. Mm-hm. Yeah. Do you want to talk to Mom? No. Okay. Bye." She hangs up the phone and gives it back to Bella to return to its cradle on the wall.

[aeskhyne]

Trouble watches this whole process curiously.

[pandion]

"Are you going to eat your salad?" Andi asks Trouble.

[aeskhyne]

"Nope," says Trouble.

[kindestgarden]

"Why not?" asks Renée.

[aeskhyne]

"Don't feel like it," says Trouble.

[kindestgarden]

"It's nutritionally important to eat a well-balanced diet," says Renée. "If you only take care of yourself when you happen to feel like it, you'll get sick. You're not my child, so I can't make you eat what you're served, but I think you should."

[aeskhyne]

Trouble shrugs. "And I don't feel like it."

[kindestgarden]

Renée picks up his bowl of salad, puts plastic wrap over it, sticks it in the fridge, and touches the side of the pie plate to see if it's cool.

[aeskhyne]

It's just barely still warm.

[kindestgarden]

She starts cutting slices. The twins get the first two, Trouble gets one, and then she sits down with a sliver of her own.

[aeskhyne]

Mmmmm. Pie.

It is delicious.

[instar]

"This is very good. Thanks for making it," Bella says.

[aeskhyne]

"You're welcome," says Trouble.

[kindestgarden]

"I'd like a copy of your recipe," agrees Renée.

[aeskhyne]

"What recipe?"

[kindestgarden]

"For the pie."

[aeskhyne]

"Yeah, like I said. What recipe?"

[kindestgarden]

"You just play it by ear?"

[aeskhyne]

"Works out pretty well, don't it?"

[kindestgarden]

"Apparently!"

[aeskhyne]

He giggles.

[pandion]

"No way, whenever I make stuff up when I bake I get glop."

[aeskhyne]

"I," says Trouble, "have practice."