Ike sat in the kitchen. An oversized bowl of Cookie Crunch sat in front of him. He thought of pouring it out, but he knew that Trisha worked hard to buy food for herself and Brad.
"Force myself to eat," he muttered, picking up his spoon once again.
"Eat," Walker demanded, slamming a plate down in front of Ike. "Now, damn you."
"Dad, I'm not hungry." Ike tried to hand the plate back. He refused to look at the green gook that was supposed to be green beans. "Look, I'll just wait until Mom gets home."
Walker's eyes darkened. "You'll eat whenever I damn well please. Which is now. So eat and be happy about it. Besides, your mom isn't coming home. I killed the fucking bitch."
"Is your cereal okay?"
Ike turned his attention to Trisha, who was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He couldn't remember seeing her look so shy and afraid.
"Yeah, it's great. Thanks." He lowered his head. Shame and guilt were washing over him. "I, uh, wanted to apologize. You know, for the window and everything. I'm sorry, so..."
"It's okay." Trisha shifted the bright yellow bag on her back. "Anyway, I've got to get to school. I have a lot of homework to make up and all that. Help yourself to anything in the house. Zac and Dusty are out shopping. They probably won't come back until late. Call the school if you need anything."
"Okay. Thanks." He watched Trisha walk out of the house. It hadn't been so long ago that he had been in love with her.
"Please, Isaac? I'll love you forever if you'll just drive us to Baskin-Robbins." Trisha fluttered her dark lashes at him. "Please?"
He glanced at the faces of assorted friends and family and agreed to drive them, but it was her that won him over.
He grinned and threw an arm around her shoulder. "Anything for my baby girl, you know?"
"You're such a sweetie." She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.
His smile didn't faded for quite awhile.
Ike finished his cereal automatically and stood to rinse his bowl before placing it in the dishwasher. "Shopping," he exclaimed abruptly.
He continued talking even as he dressed and brushed his hair. "Perfect. I'll buy a bunch of stuff for them to make up for the trouble. Let's see. I'll need a few two-liters of Dr. Pepper, lots of popcorn, some milk and peanut butter. Everybody'll get some new clothes, Brad can have a new skateboard, I'll get Zac a drumset, I'll get a bunch of baby stuff for Dusty and Trish would love to have a new laptop. This'll be great..."
The doorbell ran as he was brushing those perfect white teeth. "Wonder who that could be."
He swung the door open, revealing his little brother. Foamy white toothpaste ran down his chin and onto his new black shirt.
"Taylor?"
