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“Hey, Ben. What’s cooking?” Reed entered the kitchen after a long day of doing Science Stuff.
Ben just grunted.
“Something wrong?” Reed asked, imagining everything that could possibly have gone wrong.
“I’m fine,” Ben said. “It’s just… Johnny wants us to use the star bowls again.”
“Ah, those.”
“I hate them,” Ben continued. “Food gets caught in the corners, and there isn’t much room to move the utensils around.”
“I agree, it isn’t the optimal structure for scooping sufficiently.”
“So, you hate them, too?” Ben asked. “You don’t really want to use these, do you?”
“Well… I think they’re important to Johnny,” Reed said. “Something about using them when he’s had a bad day?”
“We’ve been using them almost every day lately.”
“Maybe something’s really wrong.”
“Not that he’d ever say,” Ben said. “That goofball couldn’t be serious if his life depended on it.”
Reed stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say, but was thankfully interrupted by someone else entering the kitchen.
“Is dinner done yet? I’m starving.”
Ben and Reed turned to see Johnny, whose eyes were red and teary. Not far behind him was Sue, who had been quiet all day.
“Just about,” Ben sighed.
After dinner, he groaned upon noticing that Johnny had left his bowl on the table. “I am so tired of him never cleaning up after himself! Do I gotta yell at him so he listens?”
“Please be easy on him,” Sue finally spoke.
“He’s a grown man, and he needs to start taking some responsibility!” Ben grabbed the bowl a little too forcefully, causing it to crack. Then, he slammed it into the sink, where it broke completely in half.
The cracking sound was followed by a loud swear from Sue, who looked ready to attack. He’d seen her angry before, but this felt much more raw and intense.
“What have you done?!” she snarled.
“Sorry.”
Her next words sent a chill down his spine.
“Those were a gift from our mother.”
Later on, Johnny came to the kitchen for a midnight snack of cereal.
Maybe I’ll use one of the star bowls. I hope they’ve been washed.
He could still hear his mom saying “Because you’re my little star,” as she handed him the gift. The memory made him smile.
Johnny loved how his family had always used the bowls for special occasions or whenever he had a bad day. So he continued the tradition, now sharing them with his new family. It really warmed his heart. Especially on days like today, which was the anniversary of his mother’s death.
He saw that he had left his dirty napkin on the table.
“Oh, oopsies!”
Then, he noticed something important was missing from his spot. His star bowl. The warm feeling left his body, and his heart started pounding.
“Huh, maybe it’s in the sink.” Johnny moved towards the trash can to throw away his napkin. Upon opening the lid, he saw it. His star bowl. It was broken, just like his heart.