Jefferson Starship

It got worse when Muriel got home.

“Please let me go,” she said as she and Juliet got close to the house. “I can walk by myself.”

“Okay,” her daughter said. Juliet was about to let go when she looked up at the house.

“Mum,” she said.

“What?” Muriel asked. Juliet pointed forward. The old biddy lifted her head.

“Huh?” she asked. Tre stood inches away from his mother and older sister.

“Hello, mum,” he said. Muriel looked at him with big eyes.

“Tre?!” she asked. “What are you doing here?!” The old biddy looked like she was about to faint.

“Jo and I split,” Tre said.

“Who’s Jo again?” Muriel asked.

“My wife,” he said. “Or rather ex-wife.” His mother wanted to faint.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“No!” Muriel wailed. Tre looked at Juliet, but she shook her head with a confused look on his face.

“Oh…” he said. Muriel wished that she could fly away right now.

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“So what are we doing again?” Lewis asked.

“We’re going to stop by the church to help again,” Aisha explained. The other two old biddies stared at her.

“Why?” Clyde asked.

“They need our help,” the leader said. Lewis and Clyde rolled their eyes.

“Look,” Aisha said. “We have to give back to this community. They have given so much to us. We have to show that we care.”

“Why?” Clyde asked again. Aisha rubbed her forehead and sighed. Why do we keep going through this?

“Come on, ladies,” she said. “We can’t do anything for Muriel. It’s not our problem. They are her family. She has to deal with them on her own. We are not needed.” The leader saw the looks on the other old biddies’ faces. She threw back her head and groaned.

“Sod it!” she said. “We’ll go and check on Muriel!” Lewis and Clyde’s eyes lit up.

“Cheers!” the farmer shouted. Aisha threw back her head and rolled her eyes, groaning.

“It feels like I am baby-sitting!” she complained to herself. Lewis and Clyde were too busy dancing around to pay attention to her.

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Tucker and Annie prepared for the lunch shift at the Sunny Plum.

“Think Muriel will be okay?” Annie asked.

“Yeah,” her husband said. “Those biddies are always bouncing back.” She finished cleaning the table.

“We haven’t seen Juliet in years,” she said. “It’s weird to know that she’s related to her mother.” Tucker lifted his head.

“Why is that?” he asked.

“Juliet is much more responsible and has her life put together. Now her son, on the other hand…” Annie made a strange face of judgement.

“Oh come on,” Tucker said. “Tre wasn’t a bad kid. He’s just…”

“Lazy? A prick? Annoying little shite?” Annie asked. Her husband moved his head around and shrugged.

“Special,” he said. Annie picked up the rag and put it on her shoulder.

“What happens when Tre comes back?” she asked. Tucker looked at her with wide eyes.

“You don’t think he actually would, would?” he asked. His wife stared him in the eye.

“You’ve known how the boy is for how many years now?” she asked. Tucker looked like he had been hit by a truck. The man turned and walked to the kitchen. Annie tilted her head, blinking.

“Honey?” she asked. It took her a moment to realize what she said. The poor woman shuddered before turning and joining her husband in the kitchen.

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Aisha, Lewis, and Clyde walked up to Muriel’s house.

“We are not staying long,” the leader reminded them. “We are just checking on her and we’re leaving.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Clyde said, waving her off. Lewis knocked on the door. The three old biddies looked up to see Tre greeting them at the door.

“Oh, hey,” he said. “Your mum’s mates, are you?” Aisha, Lewis, and Clyde looked at with big eyes and jaws dropped.

“Think we’re leaving after checking on her?” Lewis whispered.

“We can stay a little bit longer,” Aisha said back in a low voice. The whole time, Tre stared at them as their words went over his head.