Jon sat at the table, talking with his sister. It was such a weird experience for him, being able to have this kind of back-and-forth with her. They talked about school (she was a model student now), their goth mother, and music. Strangely enough, when Jon brought up the subject of boys, his sister only blushed and changed the subject.
About the time Zoe was pulling her chicken and rice out of the oven, the two of them heard their father pulling up in the driveway. Zoe quickly set the dish down and Jon couldn't help but notice how much she brightened as she looked out the window. When he finally walked in, she seemed so excited that he almost expected her to run over and give him a big kiss like his mom sometimes did (and man would that have been a weird sight, he thought to himself).
"You're just in time, dad." said Zoe, setting the pan full of food on the table. The two of them exchanged warm smiles and then Zoe walked over to the stairs and called up to her mother. "Mother! Dinner's ready!"
After a few tries and only getting loud music in response, Zoe finally turned to Jon and asked him if he would "kindly go get his mother and tell her that we're going to be having dinner."
Finding the whole situation immensely humorous, Jon took her up on the offer.
