Regina by Mary Ann Moody

the
antique gas stove. I took a good whiff of the biscuits before I
took a lot. Grandpa made these from scratch every weekend morning.
Since he got up so early to tend to his vegetable garden, he made
these perfect and delicious biscuits. I sat down eager to gobble
these things down!
    Darn! There wasn’t a seat was available,
guess I don’t have to sit with them. I suppressed a giggle and
started scarfing the food down in the kitchen. Dad gave me a toxic
look as he sipped his coffee. What was up with him this
morning?
    Mom and Aunt Rachel started talking again and
the brats talked with dad. Only grandpa came over to me to ask how
I was doing. I was beginning to love my grandpa deeply. He would
talk to me about anything: his youth, life, marriage, life in
general. I told him about Jeff and my life in New York. We had a
lot of things in common. We loved old black and white movies, pork
chops, watching TV late at night, reading, and the ocean. A
carpenter by trade, he loved to show me how to use my hands.
    He gave me a hard pat on the shoulder as he
walked by. I smiled up at him.
    “Regina? Why don’t you come sit with the
family?” I have to say, my dad knew exactly how to push my buttons.
The problem is he never does. I told him yesterday I wanted to know
our family and I’m so not a morning person. His tone was calm and
mocking. No one would be able to understand it except me.
    Hiding my curled lip of anger, I picked up my
food and went to grandpa’s chair. Grandpa was already out the door
to work on something outside. I desperately wanted to follow him
and get away from dad’s terrible looks but I knew I couldn’t just
get up and leave. So I turned to the family and put on my best fake
smile. I was very good at it.
    “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Regina!
Mom told me all about you and New York City! How exciting to live
in New York!” Mekayla squealed, jumping a little in her seat.
    This had to be a test! She heard all about
me? Well, I hadn’t heard a thing about her and was pretty mad about
it. Trying hard to fight my anger from rising, I kindly turned my
head towards her and struck up a conversation about home. It was
easy to talk about New York.
    “I would love to go one day!”
    “Well, we’re cousins! You should come visit
us.” My fake smile was plastered on my face but making my parents
happy. I did want to know MeKayla but I was in too sour of a mood
to make a real attempt.
    “Tell you what? Let me get back to normal
today and later, we can have dinner in town! You can tell me all
about the people here and what there is to do. I can tell you about
New York.” Anything to get away from my parents, I thought.
    “Sure! I don’t have a car, though.”
    “You’re sixteen!” I gushed, finally happy to
find something in common.
    “Yes, mam. I turned sixteen last Christmas.
Getting my driver’s license was the coolest gift ever!” Pride
stretched across her face as MeKayla told me this. I had less than
one month to go.
    We talked a little more about Lee and what
there was to do here. My other cousin, Michael, talked to my father
the entire time. They looked in heavy discussion when I checked on
them. Dad was sitting with his legs crossed, engrossed in what the
kid was saying. What did that kid have to say that was so
interesting? I wondered with some jealously.
    I answered Aunt Rachel’s questions while
constantly checking my father’s gaze as I did so, but he was so
enamored with Michael he didn’t hear me.
    Breakfast ended shortly after that, they
started long before I came downstairs. We walked Aunt Rachel and my
cousins out to their car. It was a miserable little car. A beat up
Plymouth sat in the driveway. I think the color was green. I wasn't
sure because it needed a paint job very badly. When Aunt Rachel
started it up, I didn’t think it would make it down the driveroad,
but I saw it disappear safely over the horizon.
    “Did you enjoy meeting your Aunt and
cousins?” The pleasant