Zoe watched her brother with concern. Not only was he dressed in his stereotypical gothic outfit, boots, skirt, bodice, but he was now setting the table like the house was on fire. If he wasn't careful, he'd likely break a dish!
She knew better than to scold him, as much as she would like to. Ever since Jon had started spending time and taking advice from those girls in Zoe's class, Athena and Zelda, he'd gotten darker and more withdrawn. At first it was only his clothes that changed, but soon enough his bedroom was redecorated, then his attitude began to slip. She hardly recognized him anymore.
Turning back to dinner, she pushed Jon from her mind. He was finished setting, anyway, and scrambling to run upstairs for some reason, so no longer her problem. She wasn't his mother, after all, just his little sister. Sure, she'd assumed much of the responsibilities a traditional, old-fashioned mother might have in a family. Right around the time that Jon had begun to "go goth", she'd adjusted her lifestyle as well. Nobody had forced her to, nobody had convinced her, she just enjoyed it!
There was something about cooking, cleaning, taking care of the bills, and organizing the household that gave Zoe such a thrill. Not only that, but the clothes she wore, slacks, house dresses, aprons, were all so wonderful! She could see why so many women of a certain age embraced the fashion, it was so comfortable!
Zoe had been glad when her parents had allowed her to take on so much around the house. It wasn't just enjoyable for her, but it also was much more productive. Her mother was, Zoe hated to admit, a bit lazy. If left to her own devices, the woman would sit around all day playing video games, listening to classic rock. Peaking around the corner, Zoe confirmed that her mother was sitting on the couch watching TV with Zoe's dad, wearing jean cut-off shorts, an Iron Maiden t-shirt, and sports socks. A bit of a slob, too.
Not that Zoe's dad minded. He seemed enamoured with his wife as she was. If you asked him, she was the perfect woman. They were as much in love today as they were they day they wed, something that Zoe took comfort in.
Zoe wiggled her purple-painted toes and proceeded to pull the ginger chicken from the oven. Life was so much better now that she was taking care of the house. Everybody had their job to do, so what if Zoe's was so much bigger? She was so good at it!
