Mirror Image

Fourteen

By the time they picked their dishes, and Lacey's Mom added the extras she wanted. They had over ten dishes.

Lacey went over to the galley kitchen and pulled bowls and plates out of the cupboards. She found utensils, and bigger serving spoons, bringing them over to the table.

"Zena, would you help me? Does anyone want more coffee?" Lacey asked.

"No thanks." Matt shook his head. "I'm over my limit already."

Her parents shook their heads as well. She emptied the carafe and rinsed it out before setting up the machine for the next day.

"What are we doing for drinks with our food then?" Zena pulled matching glasses down and carried them to the table leaving them grouped together beside the plates and bowls Lacey stacked there.

"I ordered a couple of bottles of soda with this. Sprite and ginger ale, I didn't want any more caffeine. I'm jittery enough as it is," Deanne said.

"For the moment, let's not talk about what happened before, I'd like to know how your day went," James said as he stretched his arms over his head, arching his back against he chair he was sitting in.

Lacey ran through how they met, and Zena told them about her drama class. She mentioned how she'd already signed up for the drama club, as Miss Emma had the sheets there for them. They talked about the cheer squad auditions, and Zena gave them a short demo of the dance routine she was going to use.

"Zena, how did you get those scratches?" Deanne asked as Zena finished her hip-hop number. "Let me have a look. I want to make sure they're not infected."

"Nurse Agger did a good job cleaning them up for me. But Principal Dalton is going to charge Anya. Apparently, they have cameras in the hallways now." Zena said as she stood beside Deanne where she sat between Zena's father and her husband.

"These are deep. Must have hurt like the dickens." Deanne said. "Flip the lights on please, James."

"They still sting a lot. At least they're scabbed over now." Zena was glad to see the angry red borders around them had disappeared while they were talking.

"It looks like they should heal well. I hope you don't have any scars from them." Deanne stood to pace restlessly.

"If I do, I'm proud of them. I beat her at her own game. I got her caught in the act." Zena's fierce declaration brought applause.

"I'll take care of filing for a restraining order." James said and pulled a legal pad out of his file. He scribbled a few notes. "I'll call Dalton tomorrow morning."

They all jerked when the delivery boy knocked on the back door of the office, James went to give him his credit card and came back with two bags of food.

He put them on the table, and Deanne lifted wrapped egg rolls out of the first bag. She dished them out and dropped little packets of plum sauce on the table to go with them. Dinner was officially served.

Lacey realized she was ravenous. What was it about emotionally charged days that brought out her appetite? Everyone was munching, reaching for more food from the bags as they finished their egg rolls. She wanted wonton soup and went to look for a bigger spoon to ladle it out into a bowl.

Bringing the ladle back to the table, she asked, "Does anyone else want soup?" Zee nodded and she filled two bowls. Putting the lid back on the Styrofoam container, she handed one to her twin.

She met Zee's eyes as their parents brought each other up to speed on what had happened over the years they'd been apart. She wondered what would make best friends like they seemed to be, stay apart. Not even contacting each other on important days, until one of them died. She wanted to know if Elise and Lawrence were still alive, but they couldn't be. Otherwise, she and Zee would have different parents and be together. Maybe they did talk to each other, just not when she knew about it.