"Mother, is there any chance that can I have twenty dollars?" Sam asked, heaping cereal onto his spoon.
Lucy grinned and shook her head fondly. Sam always had the habit of calling her 'mother' when he was asking for something or talking about something he considered to be serious.
"Sure sweetie, I think we can swing that. Why? Do you have plans?" Lucy asked kindly, picking up her mug of tea, "you two and Michael?"
Now that she had a job, she wasn't so stressed about money and it felt good to say "yes" without worry. Lucy would have done anything for her kids, including giving them the last of her spending money if that's what it came to but it was nice that she had it to give freely now.
Elizabeth smiled over at her, shaking her head in the negative.
Michael had yet to wake up and Elizabeth was pretty sure he would be busy tonight, too, though she didn't voice her thoughts.
Lucy had gone to get him, egged on by Sammy but Grandpa had told her not to bother, muttering about letting sleeping teenagers lie.
"Nah, just going to the movies with some friends" Sam told her easily enough, slurping the cereal loudly from his spoon.
"Oh! Wonderful, Sammy!" Lucy was beaming brightly, "look at you, friends already!"
Sam cringed a little bit but Lucy's tone was serious. She wasn't joking, she wasn't being patronizing. She was genuinely happy that he had made friends.
"What? The comic book guys?" Elizabeth asked through a little laugh, taking a bite of buttered toaster waffle. She suppressed a grin as she chewed, "you should see them, Mom…"
"Yes, the 'comic book guys'..they're cool" Sam said with a defensive nod before softening. He knew that Elizabeth wouldn't let that lie go, "well...yeah, not cool but they're OK..."
Elizabeth laughed again, she definitely wouldn't have described them as cool, either. She broke off another piece of waffle.
"It's so great you're making friends already" Lucy beamed, ruffling Sam's hair, "…my boy!" she cooed jokingly.
"Mom-" Sam dove away from her hand with an embarrassed smile, shaking his head, trying to right his hair as Elizabeth added, "-you didn't meet these guys, Mom"
Lucy just chuckled.
"I'm just glad you're having fun" she smiled warmly, "so, is Michael friends with these comic kids?"
"No" Sam said with a shake of his head and an easy shrug of his shoulders. The somewhat hard set of his mouth betrayed his real feelings, though.
"Nah, he's got his own things.." Elizabeth said with a little shake of her head, no shared annoyance dancing over her features. She had spent the night with Dwayne, she didn't care if Michael ditched her a million times over, not anymore "..you know"
She met her mother's eyes and a knowing light seemed to brighten within them.
"Ah.."
"Girls" Grandpa said, slurping his cereal much like Sammy had.
Sam looked at Elizabeth, who seemed to be in an incredibly good mood that morning, "I did ask if you could come tonight but they kind of have a no girls rule…" he told her, feeling guilty, brushing over the comments about his stupid big brother.
Grandpa snorted derisively, his spoon scraping against his full bowl of cereal, "yeah, well young boys are stupid, give it a few years, Lizzie…"
Elizabeth shook her head, smiling at him. She was glad Grandpa joined them for breakfast, she always liked his company, "God no, Grandpa. No...I'm-yeah..no thanks" she replied, laughing.
The Frog Brothers were so not her type.
She smiled as she took a small sip of her tea, happy with her thoughts, her memories of last night.
Memories of Dwayne.
Sam shuffled in his seat and glanced across the table at Elizabeth. She looked pretty happy, pretty content but he still felt bad that he'd left her the night before and that he was going to leave her alone tonight, too. She didn't have friends yet. He opened his mouth to comfort her but Grandpa had continued.
"Still, it's a stupid rule" Grandpa mused, as he dumped another batch of cereal into his bowl – his third helping of the morning. With a wink at his granddaughter, he carried on, "remember this, kids: there are no finer treasures than the opposite sex"
Both Sam and Elizabeth cringed and Lucy laughed.
"Oh, Dad.."
Grandpa blinked, "well the same if that's what floats your boat"
As Lucy laughed, he shrugged, "I lived through the sixties..."
"To be honest Grandpa, I don't think it's their rule…" Elizabeth replied with a grin and a shake of her head.
She didn't particularly want to imagine Grandpa in the swinging sixties. Something told her he had a lot of fun. She scrunched her face up playfully at Sam who returned the gesture.
Looking at her, Sam knew there were no hard feelings from the night before. "Yeah, it's probably the female population's rule" he confirmed, "but do you wanna come?" he asked again, one last time just to be sure.
Elizabeth laughed, "no but thank you for the offer. I'm good" she saw the fleeting look of concern on his face, "I promise.."
She didn't want him to worry about her.
She had plans of her own.
Sam nodded with a grateful smile, going back to his cereal.
He looked at the box resting beside Grandpa's bowl.
"Well, I actually have plans too" Lucy announced, cradling a the mint tea she was drinking "I am going on my first business trip"
"Business trip?" Grandpa demanded from beside Sam, "I thought you were a cashier?" there were no insults in his voice, just honest facts.
Lucy shook her head with a knowing smile, "No, Dad. I work on the register, sometimes, but it turns out I'm more of a manager, assistant" she waved her hands, "I encompass a lot of roles!"
Grandpa nodded, "I'm proud of you, Lucy"
Lucy smiled happily, pleased to be on the receiving end of such an honest compliment.
"That's awesome - what's the trip, mom?" Elizabeth asked.
Sam moved the cereal box closer to him.
"Well, I had work yesterday afternoon" she smiled at her daughter, she was the only one who knew about her evening date, "and it was mentioned that there's a convention but Max-"
"Who's Max?" Sam interrupted, watching as Grandpa took the box back and re-filled his bowl with heaps of cereal. The bottom of his bowl must have been pure mushy sludge but there he was, adding more.
Four helpings?! Sam frowned, looking back at his mother.
"The owner, sweetie" Lucy said, "he said he can't make it but it's a great opportunity for the business and he asked if I would go. All expenses paid, weekend trip. Can you believe?!"
"Uh, yeah I can!" Elizabeth said as if it was the most simple, obvious thing in the world, smiling through a happy laugh.
Sam had taken the box of cereal back away from Grandpa and was filing his bowl as Grandpa watched.
"I'll be going straight from work" Lucy cautioned them, "so I can't make you lunch or dinner today. And it's a weekend trip so, guys. Sam-" Sam was watching as Grandpa topped up his already heaving bowl with cereal, "pay attention, sweetie. It's a weekend trip. I'll be gone from pretty much now until Monday night, maybe Tuesday-"
"-maybe Tuesday?" Elizabeth asked, tilting her head.
"I can stay a day later if I want to…" Lucy said with a smile, "how kind is that?"
"Incredibly kind" Elizabeth replied, before silently mouthing "he likes you!".
"Sounds like a good boss, Mom" Sam said, distractedly.
"Sam, sweetie, eat what you have before adding more, OK?" Lucy said, her attention drawn to his bowl, "anyway, the point is: I can't cook for you so please, be responsible. Eat some vegetables..God, I feel like a broken record"
She glanced at the empty chairs tucked in beside Elizabeth, "tell Michael, too.."
"Sure, mom" they both intoned.
"Dad, you too?"
"Tell Michael?"
"No" Lucy sighed with a small smile, "eat some veggies. All those root beers and cookies..."
"Eh, The Widow sees me just fine" he assured, going back to his heaving bowl.
In the end, Sam allowed Grandpa to win the battle of the cereal and as the younger Emerson stood scowling a little over the sink as he washed up, Lucy mused how she had to buy more.
The empty box went into the trash.
Lucy left for work quietly and without much fanfare, popping a small suitcase in the trunk of her car. Elizabeth had given her a tight hug and encouraged her to enjoy the extra day on Tuesday, whispering that she had a feeling Max might make the trip down.
Lucy had left with a twinkle in her eye.
Grandpa had locked himself in his workroom shortly after breakfast, leaving Elizabeth and Sam together, killing time and chatting in the uncomfortable but spacious living room.
There was still no sign of Michael despite Sam taking a deliberately, unnaturally loud and long toilet break in their shared bathroom. The two younger siblings had spread out on the hard sofa, Elizabeth reading a book and Sam looking bored, flicking through a tacky looking comic.
"You're into vampires?" Elizabeth asked him, looking up as he emitted a particularly loud and bored sigh.
"No" Sam closed the comic and tossed it onto the low, cluttered coffee table.
"So you're reading it because…."
"The guys-the Frog Brothers-" he clarified "wouldn't stop their chatter about this stupid comic but it's just horror trash.."
Elizabeth chuckled a little and closed her own book.
"You must be excited to see a movie though. A movie screen is just a big TV, right?" she said teasingly.
"I feel like it's been years since I saw a TV screen" Sam replied dramatically, shaking his head, "the more I think about this movie, the more I need to see it"
"What are you seeing, anyway?" she asked, furrowing her brow and trying to think what blockbusters were currently out.
She was coming up blank.
"No idea" he replied slowly, "damn, I should have checked before confirming"
She brushed him off, "no, it'll be nice to just hang out with friends. You'll be fine-"
They both looked over as the bottom stair creaked.
As if he hadn't been missing in action all morning, Michael wandered into the living room and deposited himself with a plop into the old arm chair. He must have been extra quiet when coming down the stairs, until that last creak they hadn't heard a peep from him. He was wearing last night's clothes and sunglasses and-
"Holy shit is that an earring?" Sam exclaimed, staring with wide, shocked eyes at his brother.
"Huh?" Michael asked, confused.
"An earring"
"What?"
"Michael. You have a silver cross dangling from your lobe.." Elizabeth expanded, peering at her brother.
It didn't look bad but it wasn't quite his style. Or at least, it hadn't been his style. She wasn't so sure anymore.
Michael reached up with a frown and touched his ear.
"The other one, dummy" Sam said, frowning too.
"Do you seriously not remember getting pierced?" Elizabeth asked him, kicking her legs off the sofa and sitting forward.
What did he get up to after he met Star? She hadn't heard him come home and Sam didn't mention any zombie like noises, like the first night's performance.
Sam did the same, mimicking her movements and learning forward on the sofa to watch his brother.
"That isn't you, Mike" he said intently.
Michael frowned, he didn't remember. The truth was, he couldn't remember much from last night. He'd spent a lot of time with Star, he remembered being on the beach but everything else was cloudy.
He must have had something to drink.
"Yeah, I got it done last night. What's the problem?" he lied easily, pushing aside his thoughts.
"The glasses?" Sam asked.
"It's bright. I told you that the other day?" Michael said, beginning to frown at his siblings.
Jesus, what was with the third degree?
"Guys, can we maybe not pile on me? Just..chill out" he stretched a little.
Sam and Elizabeth shot a glance at each other.
Michael slumped into the chair.
"Did you even shower?" Sam asked, continuing relentlessly, "What time did you get back?"
"Sammy.." Elizabeth mumbled, shaking her head softly. It didn't feel like the right time to be confronting Michael.
"Lizzie" he retorted, turning back to Michael, "well? Did you shower? What time did you come home?"
"Jesus, Sammy! When did you turn into Mom?" Michael asked with a bewildered laugh.
It sounded hollow.
Sam tensed, "answer the question"
"Which one?"
"Stop being a jackass and answer the question!"
"OK. Enough, Sammy" Michael held up his hand. He was drawing the line at the name calling and he could feel a headache coming on, "stop."
"When did you pierce your ear?"
"Sammy, come on-" Elizabeth shook her head, looking between her brothers. Sammy looked angry, Michael looked tired.
It was weird.
She hated seeing them like this, so tense and cold and annoyed. She didn't quite understand why Sam was so bothered.
"Look, I'll make tea or coffee or something. Come help me?"
"No" Sammy said with a shake of his head.
Michael scoffed.
"Why don't you toodle off and get Michael some salt water for that ear instead, Liz?" Sam offered primly, then cuttingly adding, "probably more useful to him than a cup of tea.."
Elizabeth blinked, stung.
Toodle off?
Why was he snapping at her?
"Oh God, leave her alone" Michael rolled his eyes, "I got a piercing-"
"And a leather jacket! And now you're always wearing those stupid glasses? And sleeping late and coming back-" Sam was speaking fast now, his frustration from the past few days seemingly about to reach boiling point, "-at stupid o'clock!"
"I'm just having fun!" Michael snapped "Why is this even bothering you so much? What's wrong with you?"
"Me? Something's wrong with you. You've been acting super weird since-"
"Since what Sammy!?" Michael spat.
This was an argument now.
"Since you started trying to impress that girl!"
Both Michael and Sam had stood, glaring at each other.
They were almost shouting.
Jesus, where had this anger come from?
"Guys, be quiet, Grandpa's right there..." Elizabeth began, hating to see them fight but they ignored her, it was as if she hadn't spoken.
This was brother on brother.
She knew that if she tried to intervene, either one of them would shoot her down.
She was collateral damage, this was a fight between Michael and Sam.
"You know what, Sammy?" Michael scoffed, "I can't help it if you're jealous. Yeah, I'm seeing that girl. Why don't you go out and make some friends, find a girl of your own and get off my Goddamn back?"
"Michael!" Elizabeth gasped, unable to stop herself.
That was a low blow.
"No! Don't even" Michael said, holding up his hand to her, "as soon as I walk into the room, you start attacking me out of the blue?"
"That's not-" she spluttered, looking at Sammy helplessly.
She hadn't done anything but here she was, drawn in anyway.
"You've been weird for days" Sam insisted angrily, "this isn't out of the blue! Why'd you think I asked Elizabeth to hang out with you the other day? Huh? Why Mike? Why? Because you're being a weirdo!"
"You tried to get her to spy on me?!" Michael fumed.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and shook her head.
Nice one, Sammy. She took a breath and looked at her older brother, "it really wasn't like that..." she offered but she knew it would fall on deaf ears.
As Michael stared at Elizabeth, she wondered briefly if he would admit that he had left her that night, that he had left her again yesterday. She wondered if that was partly why he was so enraged because he knew he was in the wrong..but Michael rounded on Sammy once more, "I went to the beach with you! I cooked you lunch! What the hell is weird about that?"
Elizabeth opened her mouth, thought better of it and let Sam speak over her.
"Really? Really!? I remember that you woke up at lunchtime and you slept the whole time at the beach!" he retorted.
There was a clang from Grandpa's workroom and Elizabeth hissed, "would you two stop it? Grandpa is right there.." she glanced at his room before looking between them both, "Jesus, what is this?"
She had never had to play peace-maker for this long. Usually they would rough and tumble a little, maybe have a nipple twist battle or stomp to separate rooms before making up. This was new.
"I'm done. Get a life, Sammy and stop butting your nose in mine" Michael instructed angrily, shooting them both a look of disgust.
He shook his head before moving away from them, heading towards the stairs.
"I have a life, buddy and it's more fun than drinking and getting piercings I don't remember and sleeping all day-" Sam shouted at his brother's back, watching as he ascended the stairs two at a time.
"-and brush your teeth!" Sammy shouted his one final insult before Michael's door slammed dully from above.
"Sammy..." Elizabeth reached out to touch her brother's shoulder.
She hated it when the fought.
"What's his problem?" he spun around to face his sister, "a piercing? He doesn't even remember how he got it!"
"He said he did" Elizabeth said quietly, shaking her head and sitting back on the sofa.
"Oh please, you know he didn't remember. You know him. You know when he's lying" Sam was pacing in front of the sofa and Elizabeth pulled her legs back to give him space.
"This isn't like him, Liz" Sam said, staring at her, "You see it, right? You see how he's being weird?"
"I-" she paused.
Yes.
Michael was acting strange and it wasn't like him to come home late, to not shower. To ditch her. He wasn't a party animal. And wasn't he acting a little strange around Star? Yes, a little...
Was Sam justified in this anger? Was Michael really acting so out of the ordinary? She didn't know.
What was a few late night parties, really?
"Sammy, he is acting a little strange. He is. But maybe-"
Sam tutted before imploring, "Liz. Don't "maybe" me. You know him. I know him. And I know something's up"
With a sigh, Elizabeth kicked her legs back down and off the sofa. She nodded, "OK. Fine. Whatever, I trust you but…I don't know, just give him some space. Take a step back. You know, clear you head a bit"
"Take a step back? No way Liz" Sam replied seriously.
"Jeeze..give him some space at least?"
Sam grunted.
"You're going to have to apologize to him, you know? You shot some pretty low blows there.."
"Nothing that he didn't deserve..." he replied stubbornly, sitting down on the edge of the sofa.
She rolled her eyes.
"Did he really deserve that?"
Sam shot her an annoyed glanced but she could tell he was doubting himself, "you don't even know if he did come home super late"
"He wouldn't tell me"
"You didn't exactly ask nicely"
"Whose side are you on?"
Elizabeth tutted, "seriously? Sides?"
"What did you two do last night?"
"Huh?"
She was caught off guard by his question.
"After I met the Frog Brothers? What did you two do?"
Elizabeth shrugged, "we went to the carousel and then he left to find Star"
"Just her?"
She nodded.
Sammy shuffled on the sofa and she stood up, "Sammy, you're my brother and I love you and I get what you're saying but.." she glanced up at the stairs, "..I don't know. You handled that badly"
"He's being bad" Sam insisted.
"OK. Well, I'm going to read in my room"
"Think about it, Liz. Can you honestly, honestly put your hand on your heart and say that's our brother?"
"Yes. I can honestly put my hand on my heart and say that that is Michael"
"Ha-ha" Sam stood, "you know what I mean"
Elizabeth sighed. Michael had left her on the boardwalk twice. He had been sleeping a lot, sure..he seemed hungover and grouchy at worst..perky at his best. But he had made them steaks the other day, he'd been fine before running off to find Star yesterday.
She opened her mouth, wondering if she should mention the truth about them separating at the boardwalk but Sammy looked so annoyed, so..frustrated.
She didn't want to add to it.
Michael had done a shitty thing but it wasn't malicious. The information would serve only to rile Sammy up further.
"Yeah" Elizabeth conceded in the end, "I do know what you mean..and yes, he's being a little weird but I really don't think it's the crisis situation you're making it out to be..Arizona wasn't exactly party central, let him settle.."
Sam sighed and shook his head.
"Look, let it go for a bit OK? Just have fun tonight.."
Sammy nodded and picked up a bunch of TV guides from the table in one giant scoop, "and then what?"
He flicked through the pile in his hands and glanced at the varying covers.
"Dunno" Elizabeth shrugged, "see what happens"
"'Dunno', gee, thanks Liz" Sammy chose the magazine he wanted to read and plopped the rest down on the coffee table. They covered his comic and a bunch of old letters Grandpa had lying around, "that's helpful"
"Sammy, please..just have fun with your friends tonight?"
Maybe they would be a good distraction for him.
"Yeah, sure"
She nodded and moved to the stairs, "Liz?"
"Yeah?" she looked back at him.
"Sorry.." he looked away sheepishly, "I didn't mean to snap at you, too.."
She smiled, "S'OK, Sammy. I know.."
"We're cool?"
"As ice" she assured.
"You gonna be OK tonight?"
She nodded, "yeah, I think I was just going to hang out, read. Maybe check out the library?"
"Nerd" Sam said with affection, opening the TV guide fully.
"Ah, there's the brother I know and love" Elizabeth said with a little laugh, wanting him to relax a little. She hoped he could wind down.
Weird though they were, perhaps it would be good for him to hang out with the Frog Brothers. A good change of scenery.
Some new faces.
She grinned at him, one last 'no hard feelings smile' before hopping up the stairs and heading towards to her room.
She hoped that Sammy and Michael could look after themselves for one night. She had an outfit to choose.