I love the weekend, not necessarily the chores I have to do on the weekend but at least I have the greatest mother in all the land of everywhere. While I’m working on laundry she’ll come sit and help me. When I’m doing the dishwasher she’ll say “Just unload it and I’ll reload it.”

She does this for my sisters as well, I can’t imagine how hard she works to keep the house not a disaster every waking moment with Ani’s artistic streak literally streaking over the walls sometimes. She does this all despite having multiple medical issues that make it hard to walk. Gotta tell ya, your mom’s got a slightly unbalanced game against mine.

Today, while I was working on laundry, she slowly walked up to me and sat down silently. The tension was so thick could be cut with a knife, she was worried for me. “How are your grades looking?” finally broke the silence.

“They’re the first three letters of the alphabet” I quipped back, not being very serious in a hope she would move on from the topic.

”You already have a C? Cmon Clay.” She kinda leaned forward for a moment, face questioning me intensely.

”A is one of the first three, but I see what you mean, I’m all good” I waved a hand as if brushing away accusations. She frowned and didn’t press me further. We worked in silence until we finished 

“what are you doing after you’re done?” Came as soon as she had stood up.

”whatever chore you need done next, I got nothing planned.” I had canceled plans with my friends because they were getting to be a bit too much. I’d planned to ask everyone to play a board game after dinner I was hoping for risk but it wasn’t my turn. I think anyway.

...

My father was sitting staring at the board in front of him, deep in thought, my mother said “take your turn Stan!” My father jumped in his seat and said

“I’m going! This game is just not very fun against you two.” I looked across the board again while nodding. My mother controlled north america and australia. I controlled africa and had managed to push my dad into a corner in south america. He just kept frowning before attacking the stacks of troops keeping him there.

It didn’t go very well for him.

After my father was out of the game, my sisters burned their armies attempting to defeat the other in Asia. Eiry wasn’t even paying attention at this point and ended up making tons of mistakes that let Ani... make mistakes that contrasted Eiry’s so that it became a stalemate. My mother and I battled ruthlessly for mexico when an opportunity presented itself. She had 2 cards, meaning that she wouldn’t be able to pull out a massive army next turn. I used the early relocation card I had drawn to move a large stack and annihilate australia from the fringes of Asia. 

I could have finished her North American control but if something went wrong... we were near even in troops so as the defender she might have the advantage. I ended my turn, drawing a card, I would play it safe. Her warm practiced pokerface twitched for a moment. I had messed up or just won the game. My mother... used a card to sacrifice troops in her recruitment phase to gain cards equal too 1 plus her controlled territories. I blanked before extending my hand out and saying “good game”. My hesitation costed me again ARGH. We all said our goodnights after congratulating my mother on a another “hard fought” win and went to sleep.

I lay awake in bed for awhile, reading about Zagreus’s thirty-fifth ascent through the underworld. I hoped he would make it this time but was ultimately disappointed. It’s ok, he can always try again.