In the Kitchen

There was a kitchen not as clean as the one in the image, but a kitchen filled with clutter and love. It was a kitchen that had even last appliance and gadget that one could want to make delicious and healthy meals, but will the mother have a chance to use all that she has collected? There should be a shelf where she kept all her secret recipes, but were they really secrets or just really special to her and her family.

One day as she was making breakfast for her family, she heard a noise coming from outside. She went to the backdoor and opened it slightly just enough to see what may be out there. This time it was just the neighbor's cat looking for a morning snack. The mother went back in and continued making her family's favorite breakfast of pancakes and sausage. She already made the coffee that her husband really liked along with tea that her children liked with this particular breakfast. She set the table each with their favorite dishes and utensils. She cleaned up as she cooked, so when the food was done and set on the table, she called up the stairs "Hey guys, breakfast is ready!"

She went back into the kitchen and waited, but no one came a running. She went back to the stairs and yelled one more time "Hey guys, breakfast! I make pancakes, sausage and tea." She decided to go upstairs, and check and she started in her daughter's room, she looked in and all around no one was there, she went to her son's room, she looked in and again no one was there. She went to her and husband's room and looked everywhere including the master bath, and no one was there either. She thought, what is going on here.

She and husband were not having any issues that she knew about and in fact they were getting along really well even during his bad days at the office. The children seemed not to have any issues. Of course they had their daily concerns about school and what to do on the weekends, but nothing serious. Some people would say that our family is like that old television show 'Leave It to Beaver'. I admit I am no June Cleaver, but this is just too darn weird. Where are they?

She put on her shoes and went out to the garage to check there and when she got there was no car. She didn't hear the car leave last night what the hell is going on here. She ran over to the neighbor's house to see if they saw her husband and children leaving last night or early this morning. She knocked on their door. "Morning, Julie, what's up?" Did you see James and the kids go anywhere last night or early this morning? None of them are home. No, I haven't seen anything. No, wait there was some loud noise, but we just thought it was all those stray cats or something in the trash cans, so we just went back to sleep. Sorry, I wish I could tell you more.

Julie walked back to the house and went back to the kitchen and cleared the breakfast from the table and cleaned up. She wrapped the pancakes and sausage and put them in the refrigerator and turned the tea into a pitcher of iced tea. She then sat, warmed up the coffee, and got a cup and sat and thought again where they all could be. She dropped her napkin bent over to pick it up and bumped her head hard and fell.

When she woke up, she was in her bedroom next to her husband. She eased out of the bed and checked on her kids and they were tucked in their beds as well after giving them a peck on their foreheads. She wandered back into her bedroom and sighed. Thank goodness it was only a really bad nightmare. She rolled over gave her husband a big hug and went back to sleep for a little while longer.

When she got up the table was set the way it was in her nightmare.