[SCI, 8x1] What's Missing?
The front door opened with a jingle as the keys dangled from the lock, Lori trying to juggle them and several bags of groceries at the same time. The twins, Jon and Michael, ran in the door behind her, anxious to deposit the bags they were "helping" carry in the kitchen so they could return outside to their bikes. Even little Samantha tried to help, a bunch of bananas clutched to her chest as she followed her mom from place to place. Once the kids had dispersed it didn't take long for Lori to put things away, other than what was needed to cook that night. William would be home soon, and she wanted to have dinner ready near then so there was more time after to spend as a family. "New house, new traditions" she thought to herself as she started the range.
~~~
"Jon! Come set the table, dinners almost ready!"
It took a few minutes, but eventually the front door opened and Jon came trudging in. He moped into the kitchen to get the plates and silverware, then sighed to make sure the world knew how he felt about his horrible life of servitude. Around the four sides of the table he worked, starting with his mother's spot. The second side was for Samantha, just a sippy cup and a plastic spoon for her. His side got a plate and a can of Coke, and finally dad's seat to mom's left. The same places every time, just where everyone liked to sit. He hopped up into his seat, popped his Coke, and waited for grub.
~~~
Food was served and the meal well under way when Jon hit them with the question.
"Hey mom, can I get a brother?"
Lori looked at her husband, who did his best to hide a grin, then put her fork down and looked over at her son.
"Are you planning on running over to the brother store and picking one out?"
"Of course not, I don't have a car. Dad could pick him up on the way home!"
William suddenly lost a bit of his grin, Lori's turn to smile over at him now.
"It's not quite that easy Jon, there's a lot more planning involved than that. Besides, I heard there was a sale for sisters, wouldn't you want one of those instead?"
"Bleh!" Jon leaned against the wall to his left, and sighed again at the bother of it all. "If that's the case I'm fine on my own! Maybe I'll just get a dog."
They all laughed good at that, then went back to finishing their meal.
~~~
Lori gathered both their plates and carried them into the kitchen. William followed a few steps behind, and as she put the plates in the sink he wrapped her up in his arms. He surprised her with a rose, kissing her as the base of the neck as she gasped in surprise.
"For my beautiful wife, on our first night in the new house." He gave her a little nibble on the neck. "Shall we give the bedroom a test drive?"
She laughed softly and gave him a swat. "Go check it out and I'll be in in a sec, just want to finish up in here."
He gave her a soft, teasing kiss then backed out of the kitchen, his eyes never leaving hers. She gave him a few seconds to get down the hall, then quietly followed out of the kitchen to give him a surprise of his own.
~~~
She retired to her bedroom with a cup of tea and her book, settled in under the blanket for a nice quiet night alone in her new house. Just the thought of it made her giddy, quickly followed by a bit of anticipation.
"Oh Lori, what are you doing. This house is waaay too big for you. Planning to fill it up, find a nice husband, make a big family?"
She sighed, then smiled to herself. That was exactly what she longed to do. She daydreamed for a bit while she sipped her tea. It wasn't long before she felt drowsy, set the book aside and turned out the light.
~~~
The sun was barely up the next morning when the keys jingled against the lock and the front door opened. Miss Watson led the couple into the living room, turned to them with a smile.
"As you can see, the house is fully furnished and should have everything you need right from the start. The kitchen is behind me, bedrooms down the hall to my left. Feel free to look around, I'm sure you'll love the spacious rooms and tasteful decor."
Robert smiled at his wife. "This looks like just the place we were hoping for." He turned back to Miss Watson. "We have a large family, and being pre-furnished will help make the move a lot easier."
"Oh, I'm sure it will! This house needs a big family, you could almost say it calls out for them."
Robert looked around again, scratching his head with a puzzled look on his face.
"Hmm, I don't know though, it feels like something is missing."
Miss Watson flashed him her best sales smile. "Oh, I'm sure soon we'll look back and see that what's missing is you!"