The Breakfast

Mark woke up and was happy that he didn’t need to spend time in the bathroom. Still no new assignment.

He inspected his truck to see if there was any visual change for the upgrade he bought, but there was none. He knew the truck like the back of his hand, so he would notice even the slightest change.

Then he went back to his room to take some of the money he got yesterday by spending some of his  TruckCoins. They had appeared in a small briefcase, which disappeared when he opened it.

He hid what he didn’t need on him so that nobody could find them, especially his granddaughters. Maria would keep asking him how he earned them, and Melinda would like to buy new things. So he had to be smart with them.

He walked his way instead of getting his truck, as he needed some time by himself.

Mark went to the nearby post office to mail the payment for a few bills. He probably could pay them all, but it would use almost all the money he got with him and be suspicious of doing so. So he decided only what he left too far behind on payments, and most of all, the bank about the loan he had taken.

Then he went to the market store to buy some provisions, as their fridge was almost empty. Finally,  he went over his usual spending budget, but not on an abnormal amount for a person to spend.

Since he didn’t have his truck with him and it would be troublesome to get them by hand, he had paid to deliver them at home, which was an option that the store allowed its customers to use.

He then started his way back home, taking only a few bags with what he needed to make breakfast.

As he returned home, he noticed his granddaughters hadn’t left their rooms yet. He could hear some voices coming from Melinda’s room, which he knew were from the latest show she wanted to watch. She probably had spent all night watching it and continues to do so.

As for Maria, he was uncertain what she could do, so he went to check on her.

On the way to her room, he noticed that the guest room door was slightly open. He was confident that it wasn’t like that last night, so he went to check it out.

As he opened the door to enter the room, he saw something unexpected. Maria was lying on the bed asleep while hugging a bag.

Mark recognized it as Tam’s bag, which he had left back here since he was told to do so. Mark wanted him to have fun and not to spend more time studying.

He knew that his granddaughters and Tam were friends since he spent a lot of time together, but he didn’t expect Maria to react like that. However, it seemed like Tam was more important to her than he thought.

He could tell that she had actually cried, but she probably did it silently, as he heard nothing throughout the night. He was a heavy sleeper, though, so that could also be the reason he heard nothing.

He left her sleep as he exited the room and closed the door as carefully as he could to not make any noise to wake her up.

He went to Melinda’s room and knocked on her door.

The voices of the show stopped as she probably paused it. After that, there was no sound coming from the room.

“Breakfast should be ready within the hour. Come and get something to eat then. “

He said nothing else and went to the kitchen to prepare everything.

Melinda joined him after a few minutes by taking one seat at the table, in which they took breakfast usually.

Mark could tell that Melinda didn’t sleep at all, as she had some black circles under her eyes.

“Drink some juice, young lady,” Mark told her.

There was no reaction, like she didn’t hear what he told her.

Mark worked next to her, put some juice on the glass, and left it in front of her. Then he put his hand over her head, messing her hair a bit.

“Wha… why did you do that, Gramps? You know that I don’t like it, “the young girl told him.

“Drink your juice. I am making some pancakes. “

Melinda looked at her grandfather with wide eyes. They used to have pancakes for breakfast a lot in the past. But not too much over the past years.

Mark used to make them for breakfast all the time, but because it was something he used to do a lot, it was also something he had associated in his mind with his lost family. But today, he felt like it was a special occasion, and he had to bring them back.

He knew that this would cheer them up, as it was their favorite back then, and by Melinda’s reaction,  he understood it was still the case for her at least.

She started drinking her juice, but after a bit, she stopped and looked at it strangely.

“I went shopping in the morning. They had some discounts today. “

He usually was buying some cheap orange juice, that its taste was not the best, but not the worst either. This time he took something more decent, which Melinda could quickly tell the difference.

After a few moments, Mark heard some footsteps and noticed that Maria was walking towards them.

“You…you are making…pancakes?“ the young girl asked in a voice full of surprise and confusion.

“Take a seat, Maria. But first, clean your hands and face. “

Maria did as her grandfather said, and in a hurry, she didn’t think it would be apparent on her face what she did yesterday. At least her sister didn’t seem to notice.

Soon, Mark finished the first batches of pancakes and let them have it with some of the syrup he bought.

Maria was suspicious after tasting the juice and seeing the syrup. Mark told her he went shopping and there were some discounts today. He could tell that she didn’t believe him, since she helped him with shopping most of the time, so she would be aware if there were any discounts.

For now, she said nothing and enjoyed her breakfast.

Mark smiled at them to let them know everything would be ok, and he truly believed this to be the case.

Today was the first day of a new beginning.