The Porch

Hannah Badger

Short Story, Fiction

Word Count: 535

Approx. Reading Time: 2 minutes

“So, was Sally excited to have started her first year of teaching?”

“She was. She’s been super excited ever since she finished her degree. Couldn’t wait to spend all of her time with middle schoolers, teaching them about mitosis and cell walls. Meanwhile, I can hardly stand when they come in the restaurant, they rarely tip my servers well and don’t treat any of my staff very kindly.”

“That’s a shame. If they treat her badly, just bring her on out here for a weekend, it’ll make her feel better for sure.”

“I’ll be sure to Dad, thank you.”

“Of course, you know you and her are welcome here anytime for any reason. You can even come just to escape that nice restaurant of yours. Cause, you know your ma and I love being out here, but it’s hard for us sometimes to cope with all our kids being out and about and far away from us. We hardly see any of y’all anymore. Only holidays, so we’d be glad to have you two out here,” he trailed off a little unsurely, as though he was nervous to suggest that they might miss my siblings and me.

“God, Dad, I’m sorry, you should’ve said something sooner. I’ll try and bring her out even if she isn’t trying to escape all the kids trying to deal with puberty and having their hormones skewed, and even if I’m not trying to duck out here away from the busyness of my restaurant and our lives. I can try and get Valerie and John to come out here too if you want.”

“Oh, please, you don’t need to pester them or anything, though a subtle hint that they haven’t been over in a while would be appreciated. Thank you, Jack,” he clapped me on the back before leaning back in his rickety wooden rocking chair.

“No problem, Dad.” I leaned forward on my elbows against the railing surrounding the wrap-around porch, I can feel the paint is chipped and the places where the wood is threatening to splinter. My parent’s offer is generous, though they do have an ulterior motive of wanting to spend more time with their family. I can’t blame them though, I also missed my siblings, and being here, looking out over the fields that stretch many acres, hearing the chicken’s cluck away, I can’t imagine any of us complaining about visiting. There’s nothing quite like being at my family’s farmhouse, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Perhaps, I will invite Sally out here, so we can both escape our responsibilities for a short while, I won’t have to worry about the next schedule or ordering more ice cream for milkshakes, and she won’t have to worry about grading all those papers. To just be here, no worries or responsibilities for two days sounds good to me. Even if I have to deal with John putting me in a headlock or Val slamming doors left and right, if I can manage to get them out here to see our parents. There’s nothing quite like the country, it’s so peaceful, even if you have to put up with pesky siblings or parents that love to fret over you.

Published: 20:00 ET, Friday, 16th September, 2022