Free On the Line by Kathryn Ascher

table to
the only other empty chair next to Patrick and wrinkled her nose. “Janelle, you sit
there, I’m going to sit beside your father.”
    Janelle quietly did as she was told and moved to sit between Zoe and Patrick, across
from Zach. Once she was settled, George said the blessing and they began to pass
the dishes around. Janelle spooned food on to Zoe’s plate as Kelsey did the same
for Zach. When the plates were filled and the serving dishes back in the center of
the table, everyone began eating.
    For the most part, it was a quiet meal. Janelle kept an eye on Zach and noticed he
wasn’t eating. After about ten bites, he looked at her. He opened his mouth then
closed it with a frown.
    “Is there something you need?” Janelle asked him.
    His blond head bobbed up and down. “May I be excused?”
    “You’ve barely eaten anything, Zach. You need to sit there and clean your plate,”
Mary chimed in.
    Janelle looked at Zach’s plate. “He’s not going to eat all of that.” She met his
wide blue stare. “One more bite of everything?”
    Zach’s shoulders slumped as he picked up his fork. “O-kay.”
    “That’s just wasteful.” Mary’s scornful prattle reached Janelle and she turned to
glare at her mother.
    “Leave him be,” Janelle snapped. “If he’s not hungry, I’m not going to force him
to eat it all.”
    Mary looked away with a big sigh. “Well, if you insist. He is your son after all.”
    Janelle heard Kelsey’s fork hit her plate. She looked across the table at her sister,
noticed the slackness in her jaw and the fire in her eyes. Kelsey met Janelle’s eyes,
and Janelle shook her head once. Kelsey pulled her shoulders back, looked at her
plate, and resumed eating, albeit less heartily than she had been.
    Between sporadic bites of her own food, Janelle kept an eye on Zach. He finished
the required bites of food and looked up at her imploringly. Janelle looked at Zoe’s
plate, which was nearly empty, then at Zach.
    “You don’t have to eat any more, but can you sit there until your sister is finished?”
Janelle asked. Zach nodded and put his fork down.
    “I’m done.” Zoe looked up at Janelle, barbecue sauce stretched to the middle of each
cheek, and smiled.
    Janelle tried not to laugh as she wiped her daughter’s face. “You may both go.”
    The words were hardly out of Janelle’s mouth before her children were out of the
dining room. Patrick chuckled beside her as he watched the kids bolt. He picked up
an ear of corn.
    “I can’t believe you let him leave the table after eating so little,” Mary stated,
to no one in particular. Janelle let the comment slide. She wasn’t in the mood to
talk to her mother. Apparently no one else was either as Mary got no response to
her criticism.
    Kelsey was the first to slide her plate away. Janelle noticed she hadn’t eaten much
either as she followed suit.
    “Janelle, why don’t you and your sister get the kids into bed?” George asked.
    Janelle looked at her watch. “Their bedtime isn’t for another half hour,” Janelle
replied calmly.
    “Janelle, do what your father asks,” Mary snapped and glared at her daughter as she
shoved her plate to the middle of the table. “It was a simple request, there’s no
need to be so disrespectful.”
    Janelle’s chin dropped as she looked at her father. George frowned as he turned to
Mary. “She was hardly being disrespectful. I didn’t realize how early it was. I simply
think we need to talk, and it would be best for the children to be in bed.” He looked
at Janelle again, “And Zach looked a little tired.”
    “He is,” Janelle answered the question in her father’s voice. “He’s been having nightmares.”
    She slid her chair away from the table and heard Kelsey do the same. Patrick rose
and walked to Kelsey’s side. He helped her around the table and Janelle followed
them from the room. Once they reached the kitchen, Kelsey stopped and looked at Patrick.
Janelle looked away from the