Meet the Grandparents Part 2

Posted on Fri Apr 14th, 2023 @ 8:20pm by Lieutenant Commander Finnley Keating VII

Mission: Character Development
Location: California
882 words - 1.8 OF Standard Post Measure

From the outside, the Keating family dinner would’ve looked like a typical family affair, but closer inspection revealed otherwise. Quinn sat in his seat next to Kacey, completely on edge. All of his senses were inspecting the immediate area, searching for whatever it was that his mother and daughter had gotten up to. His father sat across from him and spent most of his time lecturing his son on everything he could be doing better. In truth, he was quite proud of what Quinn had accomplished, he just wasn’t very good at expressing that.

“You know if you spent less time out on that beach, you could’ve had that old shuttle in your garage fixed up by now,” Finnley the fifth mentioned between mouthfuls of his salad.

“That shuttle is a hobby, just like going to the beach is,” Quinn noted.

“Besides,” the junior most Finn broke from her own conversation with her grandmother to back up her dad. “I’d have been pretty disappointed if he completed it without me.”

“Speaking of which, how much longer are you home for? Will you have time to stop by?” Her grandfather asked.

“Uhm,” Finn squirmed in her own seat.

“That’s yet to be determined,” Quinn interjected, hoping to save his daughter from that tough conversation. “Finn has been given a few different options and she’s working through them all right now.”

“Yea, that,” Finn replied. “I’ll be sure to let you know whatever I decide on, but for now I want to keep it a surprise.” She hoped phrasing it that way would put the topic to bed.

“Fantastic,” her grandfather beamed. “Perhaps one of those options involves a promotion?” He leaned half across the table as he asked before putting his hand up. “Wait, no. I don’t what to know until you’ve decided on what your next move is. I always knew you’d go far, Finn.”

She swallowed hard and nodded with a hollow smile, wondering if he’d still feel that way if he knew the whole story. Quinn, recognizing the pain returning, quietly reached for her hand next to him and gave it a reassuring squeeze, and nudged her shoulder. Finn smiled in response, remembering all they had discussed the day before on the mountain. He had been right, that she had done the best she could, and though that memory would follow her around forever, she didn’t have to dwell on it.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Grandpa Keating got up from the table. “I need to hit the head.”

Finn and her grandmother shot each other a look of anticipation. They had specifically chosen a juice concoction for the evening’s beverage knowing that it would lead to her grandfather’s need to run to the restroom at some point. It wasn’t a guarantee that he’d be the first to go, but it was a likely conclusion considering they had loaded his glass with a slightly higher prune ratio.

“Oh no,” Quinn caught the glance and almost stopped his father, but he was too late and the door slammed shut to the restroom. It only took one second more before a series of tiny explosions could be heard combined with a clear high pitched yelp.

“Dammit Rory!” Grandpa Keating’s shout could barely be heard over the laughter coming from the dining room table.

“What did you do?” Quinn looked between his mother and daughter.

“Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to make sure his heart was still working alright,” Rory raised her voice just enough so that Finn senior could hear it.

“We wrapped some silver fulmate and sand in little pieces of paper and taped them under the lid to the toilet,” Finn said between bursts of laughter. “The pressure of someone sitting down would cause them to go off. Nothing major. It wouldn’t cause any damage, just enough noise to…”

“Scare the literal shit out of someone?” Quinn’s voice was gruff with a mix of amusement and annoyance.

“Yes, that,” Rory chuckled.

Quinn nestled his face into his palms. “Right, you two started this so now you two are going to deal with the consequences.” He pushed himself away from the table and let out a small chuckle before heading towards the garage.

“I can’t believe you would do something like that,” an irate Grandpa Keating emerged from the crime scene moments later. “You about gave me a heart attack.”

“Oh shut it, Finn,” Rory said. “It was a good bit of fun and you’re just fine. Now sit down and we’ll finish dinner.”

“Should I? Or did you rig my chair while I was gone?”

“I guess you’ll have to sit and find out, or eat your dinner standing I suppose. Makes no difference to me,” Rory shrugged before winking at her granddaughter. They hadn’t messed with his seat at all, but it was fun to watch him squirm in anticipation every now and then.

“I should’ve known to expect as much,” Finn’s grandfather hesitantly took a seat and then breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened. “One of these days I’ll get you two back for all these tricks.”