Light spreads in between the the leaves of the magnolia tree and falls into the kitchen through the window. A brown, Gucci purse, sat on the side of the table. The walls needed painted as they bore the tell tale signs of young children. The chairs were haphazardly spread out. The remaining paper plates positioned at each seat indicated that tiny hands created lunch. The tile on the floor was cold from the AC that was running. They were patterned white squares with overlapping, black diamond shapes. Some of the doors of the oak cabinets were open, revealing either dishes or non perishables. The phone on the counter was ringing. Small voices echoed through the room, ignoring the call on the line. A man's bellowing exclamations about the, approximate, 100 lights being on as he shut the garage door behind him, drowned out the flowing, girly giggles. He is carrying a gallon of milk in one hand and a plastic bag of groceries in another. He reaches for the fridge to store the milk while a little girl tries to inspect the bag for treats. Another girl appears and they ask, nearly in unison, what he got for them at the store. A little boy dawdles in, curious about what the girls are doing.
A woman comes in, looking worn out, and asks what he purchased. He retorts with something sarcastic. She wants to go out to eat for dinner. He chooses the restaurant in Lewisburg. She hates Lewisburg. She wants to go to Cracker Barrel. One of the girls chimes in with a vote for Lewisburg. The other sides with the woman. He asks if they are all going to go out looking like that. Now, all 3 ladies join forces to barrage him with hurt looks and whining. They all go their separate ways and their voices trail off into different directions while they change clothes.
They reconvene at their starting point. They have all freshened up and they are all excited. They haven't decided on a destination. They argue it while determining which car to take, who gets what seat, and if she's going to be smoking those God Damned cigarettes all the way there. One by one, they go out the front door, turn right onto the path towards the driveway. The door closes, their sounds diminish as they approach the green van and pile in, and it backs out onto the street towards the sunset.
