Lucille smiled at her brother in law’s toast and raised her glass in response before taking a small sip of water, she’d lost her taste for wine with her present condition. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ace give her a small shrug and she looked at him with a look that told him she felt sure it would be all okay. At least she hoped it did.

Conversation turned to classes and school and took the pressure off of Lucille as chatter resumed. That was until Sybille slipped into the room. She looked a mess, flour showing in carefully plaited red hair, white smears on her face. Ace had told Lucille that the girl enjoyed baking and she imagined these were the signs of such an activity.

It seemed as if everyone would let this pass and Lucille was equally inclined to continue the pleasant vein of conversation that had begun instead of saying anything (after all it certainly wasn’t her place) when Mr. Nott’s comment floated through the silent air. Lucille stiffened, worried about what was about to happen. She caught Jolie’s look at the man, but then Mrs. Lukeson’s voice echoed harshly across the table. In the months that Lucille had gotten to know her mother in law she had never heard such a tone from her. It seemed rather unfair, knowing how kind Mrs. Lukeson always had acted toward her children, that Sybille might be reprimanded in front of everyone, in Lucille’s opinion it would have been more polite to try and continue on. For a moment she thought of saying something to intercede on Sybille’s behalf but it was not her place. Instead she watched as Sybille slipped out of the room cheeks as red as a dragon’s flame.

An awkward silence had settled into the room and Lucille once again found herself looking for ways to return the conversation to something pleasant. “The food is wonderful.” She commented blandly into the silence as she took a dainty bite of goose feeling her stomach roil instead of enjoying the meal.