Wish

Chapter 11

Jensen

"Good soup," I'm the only member of my family trying to make conversation. Everybody else just wants to look at the door then awkwardly at each other. "Nice and hot, eh Willow?"

"I miss Asha," Willow says, stirring his spoon around in the bowl.

"I know, but she'll be home soon," I say.

Our parents don't even bother to mumble an assent.

"Why don't we practice riding in the morning?" I suggest to Willow, "We can practice on the old ponies—that palomino you like."

"Okay," Willow says, less eager to ride and more happy to spend time with me. I've been too busy for him lately, I think.

"All right, I'm gonna head out," Baz says, rising and going to get his Fae armor from where it hangs near the door.

"You are ridiculous," I say, folding my arms.

"And yet---you lived to adulthood," Melody says, getting up as well.

"I'm not saying I tried hard, I'm not saying I tried at all, but it's been two hours and frankly I'm proud of myself," Baz says, shrugging unapologetically.

"Willow, Mama will be back in a couple of days, you can stay with your grandma okay?" Melody says.

"I'll mind him," I growl, "Somebody in this family has to be normal."

"I feel like it's not going to be you---certainly isn't going to be me," Baz says, "Seriously, drop him off at the pub if you get busy. Peter doesn't mind."

"Please, don't leave the child at the pub---Willow honey you go to your grandma's okay?" Melody reiterates.

"You're staying with me smalls----the pair of you are absurd, has it even once occurred to you that Ash'll be hurt you don't trust her?" I ask.

"It's got nothing to do with trust," my mother.

"I have impressed upon you kids many times I do not care how you feel," my father of course.

"It has everything to do with trust---it's her first quest, alone, about her own past. That's something she has the right to do herself, she's knows you're a message away and she knows damn well how to take care of herself---when---not if---when she catches you tailing her she's going to be hurt you didn't leave her to it exactly like you said you would," I say.

"Will she? Or will she completely expect this of us and be disappointed but not surprised?"

"Your father is right, Jen, this is very typical of us."

"It---actually is but that doesn't matter because you told her she was going alone and you'd be waiting here," I'm not letting them off that easy even if Asha expects all of us idiots to be five steps behind her. "She'll be disappointed you didn't believe she could take care of herself."

"But she won't catch both of us because we're going separately therefore she'll catch one and the one caught will stop her from catching the other and so she'll only be disappointed in one of us, and that one of us, will not be me," my father who doesn't know what's good for him.

"Oh you're on," my mother says, hitting him with her helmet before putting on her cloak.

"You're absurd. I'm disowning you both, I'm finding new parents, bye," I'm as petty as they are because I'm related to them. It's sad, but I accept it.

"Cool, bye see if your new family will adopt me too I'm in abusive relationship," Baz, because Melody is currently thwacking him in the head with her various pieces of armor as she puts them on. It wouldn't be so sickening if she weren't several heads shorter than him and he's half bending to let her do it.