[Glimpse] Family

"-Derelict. It's an adjective. It means run-down or dilapidated.

-Huh?

-Derelict. I didn't know what it meant last time, so I looked it up.

-Well, bully for you.

-I don't think you fit that definition."

There was a pause as Margaret chewed on something. Rowan was once again sitting on the wooden chair, but it had been moved closer to the coffee table, where a Scrabble board had been lain out.

"-There's no way you can spell derelict with what's on the board.

-You're right, I can't.

-Then it doesn't matter what you think."

He nodded.

She had been surprised at first, when he had come back with the game. After that, she told him he was even more stupid than the more stupid she already thought he was for coming back. Rowan hadn't said anything; he'd been called worse things already. They had played for a good while, with Margaret giving no quarters and Rowan trying to match her vocabulary.

"-I don't think I like this game.

-Then why did you bring it.

-Dunno, seemed fitting 'cuz we were talking about words."

Margaret chewed some more. Was it a nervous tick?

"-Why did you come back? Are you maybe a masochist?

-You seemed lonely," he shrugged. "I get that."

She stood up and went to the pantry. It was a cupboard somewhere in the back of the room, hidden away from sight, like so many things about its owner. Margaret came back with a tin box of butter cookies and pushed the Scrabble board aside.

"-I don't want to play anymore.

-So we're sewing instead?"

She opened the box to reveal there were actual cookies in it.

"-Don't get crumbs on the carpet. My husband made the chair you're sitting on. One of his first carpentry projects. I've always found it uncomfortable, but he said it was a good way to see a person's character.

-I think it's fine.

-Liar.

-Fine. Do you have some pictures, maybe? Of your husband."

They spent the rest of the evening looking at an old photo album. There pictures of Margaret and her husband, Simon. They had met young, but married late. Margaret told Rowan that family wasn't a commitment to be taken lightly. She had looked radiant in her wedding dress; he had looked handsome. Both looked happy and very much in love.

"-When did Simon pass away, if you don't mind me asking?

-Seven years ago. It was a heart attack.

-I'm sorry for your loss.

-Ah it's fine, it's been so long ago.

-Still. You loved him, I can tell from the pictures. He looks like a nice person.

-Look at that, it's already this late. You should really go.

-Okay. What game should I bring next time?

-Don't bring anything, we'll be sewing."