Missy inhaled deeply as she sat down and smiled. This dish was something she remembered fondly, something her mom only made once in a great while. Pork stew, with fresh vegetables and homemade bread. She swirled it around her bowl and blew on it, letting the scalding liquid cool.
The chairs at both ends of the table squeaked and Missy watched her mom and dad sit in their seats. She glanced at the three empty spots where her sisters used to sit. They'd escaped years ago, sick of the endless rules that governed anyone under their parents' roof. All of them were pushed over the edge in one way or another. Missy would have left long ago, if she was of legal age.
Missy's mother spoke to the teenager and her father. "Okay you two, time to dig in." She had a polite smile plastered on her face, though it didn't reach her eyes. It never reached her eyes.
Missy plunged her spoon into the bowl and ate bite after bite. Her father ate as well, if less enthusiastically. Her mother sat with her hands under the table, watching the two of them eat. The last time her mother had made this stew was the night before Tabitha, her eldest sister, moved out. Missy vividly remembered watching her eat while tears streamed down her face. Missy never knew why she was crying that night, though she suspected it was guilt over leaving her sisters behind. It had been over four years since Missy had seen her now.
"Enjoying your special stew?" Missy's mother asked.
Missy looked at her and nodded. It tasted just as she remembered it from when she was younger.
"I thought you would. I used a secret ingredient that I think you really enjoy."
"Secret ingredient?" Missy asked, using her bread to soak up the remnants of the broth.
Her mother leaned back in her chair. "Yes. I found it in your room a couple of nights ago."
Missy stopped chewing and put her bread down. She felt a pit form in her stomach. "In my room?"
Her mother nodded. "Yes. I think you called him Brian."
Missy's stomach churned. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. "No," she said, looking at the pot of stew in the middle of the table. Among the vegetables, she swore she saw the white of an eye bobbing near the surface.
"You girls are all the same, sneaking boys into my house, thinking I'll never find out. What part of no boyfriends is so difficult to understand?" Missy's mother threw Brian's wallet onto the table. "Well I don't think we'll ever have to worry about you sneaking a boy into this house again, will we?"
Missy thought she was going to be sick. She stood up, but her mother glared at her. Missy sat back down, holding her stomach. Her mother pulled her butcher's knife out from under the table.
"Now, let's discuss your punishment, shall we?"
