That Tuesday Sandy walked into the kitchen at seven in the morning. Normally, he did not have to be to work until around nine; however, he had an early court date this morning. He came into the kitchen to find Seth and Ryan eating breakfast. Seth was eating Kellogg's Special K cereal, and Ryan was eating Captain Crunch. Sandy went to get some orange juice out of the refrigerator; however, they drank the last of it. He made a mental note to get some more on his way home that evening. Sandy did not have to drive them to school this year because with Kirsten gone, they were able to take the Range Rover to and from school.
"Good morning, guys," Sandy greeted them.
"'Morning," Ryan replied between bites of cereal. He was sitting next to Seth at the island.
"Hey, Dad," Seth said. He was just about finished with his bowl of cereal.
"So I was thinking that maybe we might go out tonight, for pizza or something? It seems like we are always stuck in the house. I thought it might be nice to go out for a change," Sandy told the boys.
"Sure, I guess," Seth mumbled. He knew his father was trying, but he really missed his mother. Even though he had been without her for an entire summer a year before, it seemed odd to be at his own house, and not have his mother around, especially at night or in the morning.
"What about you, Ryan? Wanna go out for dinner tonight?" Sandy asked him.
"Yeah, sure, sounds great," Ryan replied. He finished popping the Captain Crunch into his mouth. He finished off the last of his orange juice, got up, and put his dishes into the sink.
Since Kirsten had been gone, they had all been taking turns doing the dishes. Typically, when Kirsten was there, she and Sandy would do the dishes together. If they did not have a lot to do, she would wash them, and he would dry them. If there were a lot to do, she would rinse them, and he would put them into the dishwasher. This was a time that they would spend together nearly every night. They would talk about their days, and bond. Now one of them would do the dishes. They would just throw them into the dishwasher every night. It was less time consuming, which made the task easier to handle.
"So, Dad, why are you going to work this early?" Seth asked. He sat looking across to his father.
"I have an early court date, son. I can't even go surfing this morning," Sandy told him, sadly.
"Hey, man, come on. We're going to be late for school, if you don't hurry up," Ryan said to Seth. Ryan had gone and gotten his messenger bag. He was waiting for Seth in the doorway.
"Dude, I'm going as fast as I can. The hoover can only suck up so much at a time," Seth replied, sarcastically. He gulped down the rest of the orange juice, got up, put his dishes in the sink, grabbed his backpack, and began to walk out the door with Ryan.
"See you tonight, guys," Sandy yelled after them.
"Bye," Seth and Ryan replied in unison, as they walked out the door.