Robert Troy nodded. "Good, good."

Robert and his family bowed their head as Robert prayed. His prayer wasn't long, but he prayed for the food, his family and their new guest. When he finished, he rubbed his hands together and said, "Forgive me for bragging, but my wife is one of the best cooks you'll meet in your life."

Taylor reached for Jack's plate. "That's not true, Robert. I'm sure Jack considers his mama to be the best cook. Or his special someone, if he's got one..." She dished out some pasta for Jack and handed his plate back to him, taking her husband's afterwards.

Rosamunde looked up at Jack as her mother spoke.

Kevin walked out into the bustle and the hustle of the portal to encounter more noise than he had heard since the embassy was attacked by Ronians. Over a year ago, Kevin sighed and then proceeded to scan the room for any sign of his younger brother.

He figured that Nate would be against one of the walls somewhere, holding his skateboard and trying to act nonchalant. Yep there he was; leaning against the back wall, wearing his usual black baseball cap, slightly off to the side, no graphics, plain red shirt, and jeans. That was his little bro.

Kevin waved over the crowd as he yelled “Nate!” the said boy looked up and motioned for Kevin to come over. Kevin looked down at Serria and said “Follow me, he’s just over there” as he pointed.

When Kevin finally made his way to Nate, the younger greeted the older with a extended hand, meaning to get a hand shake. What he got was a big bear hug. “Let. Me. Go.” Nate said, Kevin dropped him, “Good to see you again, Kev” Kevin smiled “Right back at you… Oh, let me introduce you my friend here. This is Serria, Serria, this is Nate”

"Hi." Serria said, smiling pleasantly. She extended her hand to Nate. "It's nice to meet you. Kevin told me a lot about you." She glanced up at Kevin for a moment, wondering if he had anything further to say.

****

Jack's green eyes met Ro's, and they assured her there was no one else. He passed a reassuring smile in her direction, then turned back to Mrs. Troy. "Well, Mrs. Troy, I do think my Mom is best. But, I believe you are probably second best." he grinned and took a bite of his pasta. After swallowing it, he pretended to sit in rapture. "Yep....Mr. Troy you sure have ground to brag on. This is mighty fine cooking."

Rosamunde smiled back at him as she handed her plate to her mother.

Taylor chuckled, shaking her head. "With all the bragging Robert does, I can save my breath. He does enough of it for the both of us. He isn't usually a proud man, but when it comes to talking about his wife and daughter, his head grows larger than a hot air balloon." She served some pasta for herself and finally sat down.

Robert grinned across the table at his wife and then turned to Jack, "So, forgive me for being out of the loop, but I really know nothing about you. If I know my daughter and how she runs her mouth non-stop, you probably know everything about us, whether you liked it or not. Care to return the favor and tell us a few things? New conversation and topics are always welcome at this dinner table."

Rosamund swirled her pasta around her fork and then lifted it to her mouth, listening.

Now that ze Sunrise of Life has reached 200 pages, please continue ze fun here. Merci!