As dinner neared an end, Mark began to prepare himself to clear the table. Clearing the table was the job that Mark had every night and he didn’t think about how that wasn’t his job anymore. As he started to get up, Mary began to get up at the same time which caught Mark off guard. Seeing this, he sat back down as Mary began to clear the table. The light bulb went off in Mark’s mind as he recalled that Mary was living his life and would have gained his duties as well.
Dinner wrap up was kind of nice as Mary as Mark didn’t really have to lift a finger. His father and him simply sat at the table and watched as everyone went on to do their tasks. Mary cleared the table and brought the dishes to the sink as Carly used the sink to rinse them off. Once rinsed off, she handed them to Ben who delicately placed them inside of the dish washer. To Tim, this was just a normal night with his kids doing what they were supposed to do but for Mark it was much more.
When the dishes were done, everyone immediately dispersed. Tim got up halfway through the process as Mary and Carly took off once their jobs were done. The only one who didn’t take off was Ben who after putting the last dish in yelled, “Done!” The door still remained open as it took Mark a second to realize what Ben was trying to say. He was done his job but had no clue how to run the dish washer as Mark got up and closed the door for him. Pressing a few buttons, the dish washer came to life as Ben clapped his hands and celebrated.
“Good job honey,” Mark said to Ben, realizing he had to play the part of his mom fully. Ben continued to clap as he soon came over and began to hold his arms up. “He’s still doing this?” Mark thought to himself as Ben always held his arms up whenever he wanted to be held. Being 4 years old, Mark expected Ben to be aging out of such behavior but it seemed he was wrong. Knowing what he had to do, Mark bent over and picked Ben up, taking him upstairs so Ben could get ready for bed.
It was somewhat fun playing the part of Mary as Mark walked upstairs with Ben in his arms. He couldn’t believe his mother was still able to hold Ben as he wasn’t very light. Once the pair made it upstairs, Mark put Ben down and told him to go get his stuff. Mentally, Mark tried to recall all the times he’d seen his mother get Ben ready for bed and simply recreated them in real time. He walked behind Ben as he ran to his room and began to dig through his drawers. Soon, Ben pulled out a pair of pajamas which didn’t really match. The top had pictures of dinosaurs while the pants were mostly cars. If Mark wasn’t trying his best to act like Mary, he’d most likely let this slide but he knew his mother would never let Ben wear mismatch pajamas.
“Are those the same set?” Mark asked as Ben smiled and shook his head no. “Let’s find a matching pair, honey.” Ben immediately began to dig around his drawers again, pulling out a pair of pajama pants that once again didn’t match the top. Mark told him to try again and this time he pulled out a shirt that matched the car pajama pants. “Good job dear,” Mark said as Ben celebrated once again. Now came time for Ben to get a shower as the pair made their way over to the bathroom where Mark prepared the water for Ben.
Ben wasted no time getting ready for his shower as he stripped and immediately jumped in. The water still needed small adjustments as Mark did so, ignoring that Ben was already in the shower. Once the temperature was set, Mark smiled and closed the curtain. Mark sat on the toilet seat next to the shower as he listened to the water flow. This gave Mark a little time to reflect as he couldn’t believe what he was doing.
