Prelude

Chapter 4: My Only Boy Friends Were Nurses And Your Secret Service Buddies

Guinevere got home after lacrosse practice to find her parents arguing in the kitchen, her mom following her dad around as he waved a wooden spoon like it had all the power in the world. 

"You burn soup, Brian. Just let me make dinner."

"I burned soup one time!"

"One time to many!"

"I can make us dinner!"

"I would rather order out."

"Shot to the heart." Her dad gasped out as he gripped his chest. Her mom rolled her eyes as she pried the wooden spoon out of his hands. 

"Nothing against your cooking skills but the last time you made dinner, Guin threw up."

"You can't blame that on me!" 

"I can, and I will. Now out of the kitchen."

"You're going to have to drag me out of here and I would like to see you try." Her six foot six dad said, looking down at her five foot two mom while he put his hands on his hips. She mirrored his actions, staring him down (up) as Guinevere dropped her bag by the door and toed off her high tops. 

"We both know she can do it, dad." She said, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a Gatorade from the fridge before turning to look at her parents. Her mom smiled smugly as her dad's playful glare deepened. 

"I know." He admitted, making her mom's smile widen. 

"How about, I cook dinner and you two help unpack?" 

"You still haven't done that?" Guinevere asked, raising a brow as she took a sip of her drink. 

"When inspiration strikes, baby, it waits for no man." Her mom told her, one hand on her hip and the other using the wooden spoon to point at Guinevere. "The painters finished your room today though."

"Unpacking sounds fine. But I'm making dinner tomorrow night." Her dad butted in. 

"Of course, dear." Her mom said, sarcasm dripping from her lips as she flipped through a recipe book on the counter. Guinevere rolled her eyes and pushed herself off of the counter as she twisted her cap onto her bottle and looked for the kitchen boxes with her dad. "How was your first day of school, Guin?" 

"The morning could have gone better, if you get some calls about me missing some classes you can just ignore them. This afternoon was really good though." She said with a smile as she unloaded the dishwasher, putting dishes and silverware away wherever she wanted and then reloading it with stuff that hadn't been washed yet while her dad fumbled with a box full of pans. 

"Did you make new friends?" 

"You make it sound like I haven't had friends since Chicago, mom." Guinevere said. 

"You had cousins in Chicago, not friends." Her dad corrected as he pulled out a pan only for her mom to take it from his hand and fill it with some water. 

"For your information, I did make new friends. I'm a very likable person." Guinevere said as she pulled a few sharp knives from the dishwasher. 

"Slow down there Wolverine." Her dad said. "Are these new friends girls?"

"Three of them are. I'm going shopping on Saturday with two of them, by the way." She told her mom, getting a nod in response. 

"Three? How many new friends do you have?"

"I'm a very likable person, dad." She repeated. 

"How many boys are we talking here, Guin?" He asked, pulling his government face and crossing his bulging arms over his chest in an effort to be intimidating.