Simplicity

"Jason, quit hogging the T.V.," Ashton moaned, trying to grab the remote from her older brother's hand. "You've been watching it all day!"

"No I haven't," the fifteen-year old said, holding the remote out of her reach. "Besides, I'm in charge."

"No you aren't!"

"Do you see mom and dad around?" Jason asked. "No. If they're not home, the power of authority falls to me."

"But I want to watched Catwalk!" Ashton said.

"That show's stupid anyway," Emma said simply, looking up from the board game she was playing with Tyler on the floor.

"It is not!" Ashton said indignantly. "It's the greatest program ever."

"Not better than Adolescent Power Penguins," Tyler defended.

"Please," Ashton scoffed. "Catwalk happens to be a sophisticated show. Unlike that garbage, it actually-"

She was cut off, though, as the front door slammed open and Sam came storming in.

"Sam!" the four kids heard their father yelling after her as he entered the house. "Sam, you think you storming off solves this problem?"

"Well I can't talk to you right now!" Sam yelled. "You're acting completely irrational and I don't want to waste my breath!"

"Well too bad, we're talking!" Freddie snapped, his face red.

The kids exchanged glances. They had seen their parents fight, but not like this…

"What's there to talk about?" Sam retorted.

"Well for started, we can discuss how you don't try to make huge investments without talking to me about them!" Freddie exclaimed.

"I was trying!" Sam argued. "You weren't listening to anything I was saying! You shut me down before I could say two words!"

"Well you need to be shut down sometimes!"

"You wanna know what you need?" Sam said. "You need a good, strong punch right in the-"

She stopped though as she looked over at the kids, almost as if she had just realized they were there.

The four were watching the scene in awe, what to watch on T.V. far from their minds.

"Kids, go upstairs," Sam said firmly, taking the strict tone she rarely used.

"What's going on?" Emma asked. "Why are you guys yelling at each other?
"Go," Freddie said sternly, pointing to the stairs. "Now!"

The kids knew that when Freddie raised his voice like this, as he had done on so few occasions before, he meant business.

So the kids quickly hurried towards the stairs.

"What's that all about?" Ashton whispered.

"Why are they yelling?" Tyler asked tearfully.

"Let's listen," Emma said softly as they reached the landing.

Jason nodded, and they all sat down at the top of the stairs, out of sight to their parents, but still able to hear every word.

"I don't know what fantasy world you live in, Sam, but you can't throw money around like it's no big deal," Freddie spat.

"It's not throwing around money!" Sam hissed. "It's an investment. You get the money back!"
"There's no guarantee of that!" Freddie yelled. "What kind of irresponsible person tries to gamble away twenty thousand dollars of our savings?"

"You're acting like I was giving the money to a stranger!" Sam screamed. "It's my cousin. He's been dreaming of opening a restaurant since we were kids! This starter money would help him out! And he said if the restaurant winds up not working out he'll pay us back!"

"Yeah, because your family's just so honest and trusting!" Freddie scoffed. "They haven't stolen a dime!"

"Hey! Don't you talk that way about my family!" Sam fumed. "It's not like you come from a line of saints!"

"Oh my God…" Emma whispered. "They-They're really fighting. Like really fighting."

"I know," Jason said slowly. "Mom and dad argue, but-but it's always about stupid stuff. Like what to watch on T.V. or-or whether to cut a sandwich into squares or rectangles."

"The bottom line is we're not giving anybody twenty thousand dollars for some stupid restaurant," Freddie said.

"Since when do you get to control our finances?"
"Since I'm the one who sits there every month and balances the checkbook! And I can't believe you thought I wouldn't notice twenty thousand bucks missing!"

"You won't even hear me out on this!" Sam yelled. "You're so stubborn and close minded! You never think anybody's right but yourself, I'm sick of it!"

"Well one of us has to be right about these things or this whole place would fall apart!"

"Like you hold this place together!" Sam snapped. "See, this is why I have to do things behind your back! You think whatever you say is totally right!"

"You know what, Sam? I'm not dealing with this now," Freddie said.

"Well no one asked you to deal with anything!"

The kids then heard the front door slamming shut.

"Did one of them leave?" Ashton whispered.

Jason stood up and carefully leaned over the banister to look down in the living room.

"Dad did," he said. "Mom's downstairs…she looks mad. And I think she's crying."

"I don't want mommy to cry," Tyler pouted.

"Why would they say those things to each other?" Ashton asked. "They're our parents. They're supposed to love each other."

"Not much loving going on down there," Emma mumbled.

"Guys…all parents fight," Jason said, attempting to comfort his younger siblings. "It-It's no big deal. I bet by tomorrow everything will be back to normal."

"Promise?" Tyler sniffed.

Jason smiled at his brother. "Promise."

The next morning, though, thing did not seem much better.

For starters, when the kids went downstairs for breakfast, instead of finding both parents in the kitchen like always, only Sam was present. It seemed as if her anger from the previous night had only intensified. She was mumbling under her breath as she packed lunches with a scowl on her face.

"Mom?" Emma finally said after several minutes of tension-filled silence. "Where's dad?"

"I don't know," Sam said simply. "Out."

Before the kids could inquire further, though, the back door opened and Freddie walked in. He was wearing the same clothes as the day before and he didn't even glance at Sam.

"M-Morning, daddy," Ashton said softly.

"Morning," Freddie mumbled.

"Let's go," Sam said, handing the kids their lunches. "You're going to be late for school."

The four kids exchanged worried glances as they stood up.

"You promised they'd be back to normal!" Tyler whispered to Jason.

"I-I know," Jason said. "I don't understand this either, Ty."

….

That evening tensions were still high in the Benson household. At dinner Sam and Freddie didn't say a word to each other.

"Good dinner, mom," Jason said, taking a bite of his meatballs.

"Yeah…really good," Emma nodded.

"Delicious," Ashton added.

"Thanks," Sam muttered, barely looking up from her plate.

Silence fell once again, and the only noise that can be heard were the sounds of the knives and forks scraping against the plates.

"How come you two don't love each other anymore?" Tyler suddenly blurted out.

Emma and Ashton dropped their forks and Jason almost choked on his water.

Sam and Freddie both looked up, locking eyes for the first time all day.

"Tyler…" Freddie said slowly. "What-What makes you think your mom and I don't love each other anymore?"

"Because you guys were yelling at each other all night!" the seven-year old exclaimed. "And you aren't even talking anymore!"

"Sweetie, that-that doesn't mean we don't love each other anymore," Sam said.

"Yes it does," Tyler said. "You guys said when you love someone you treat them nice. Yelling isn't nice."

"Ty, we've had this discussion," Freddie said. "Just because your mom and I argue sometimes-"

"Well this wasn't some stupid argument about something dumb!" Jason spoke up, startling Sam and Freddie. "You were both saying stuff…"

"Yeah, you can't blame Tyler for thinking that!" Ashton nodded.

"Yeah!" Emma agreed.

Sam and Freddie exchanged ashamed looks.

"Guys…I still love your mom very much," Freddie said softly.

"And I love your dad," Sam said.

"Then why aren't you making up?" Tyler asked.

"Tyler, it's not that simple sometimes," Sam sighed.

"So you don't love each other?"

"We do," Freddie said. "It's just-"

"Then how come you can't make up?"

Sam and Freddie looked across the table at once another, having a silent conversation of their own.

"Kids," Freddie said. "Can you please give your mom and me a moment?"

Jason, Ashton, Emma and Tyler all got to their feet and headed out of the kitchen.

"Are we gonna listen?" Ashton whispered.

"Duh," Jason nodded.

The four stooped down outside the kitchen, straining their ears.

"Well…this isn't what I wanted," Freddie spoke. "Our kids thinking we hate each other."

"No," Sam said softly. She took a deep breath. "I shouldn't have tried to invest twenty thousand dollars in my cousin's restaurant. That's a huge amount of money and we should both have a say in what we do with it."

"Thank you," Freddie said heavily. "And…I suppose I could've at least listened to your reasoning about the investment and heard you out before I just put my foot down like that. That was wrong of me. And-And I shouldn't have said those things about your family either…they're good people."

"Thanks…" Sam said.

The two didn't speak for a moment.

"Where did you go last night?" Sam finally asked.

"Some motel," Freddie sighed. "It was horrible. I-I couldn't sleep without you there, even if I was mad at you."

"I couldn't sleep without you either," Sam admitted. "It was…lonely."

"Well if it's okay with you…can I join you tonight?"

Sam chuckled. "Why? You wanna make up properly?"

"And I'm gone!" Jason said, quickly turning towards the stairs.

"Gross!" Ashton cringed as Emma gagged, following their brother.

"I don't get it," Tyler frowned. "What do they mean?"