Status Quo — Part 2

At nine years of age Jenny had stirred my mother in a way that nothing else had.

Anna, my eldest sister, was proposed to earlier that week and the whole house was a buzz with conversation. Jenny was against the idea even before the proposal popped. When Anna shared the news with us, Jenny couldn’t contain her dismay.

The thing with kids is, they can really get away with a lot.

My dad tutted at her and my mum bore into her skull with her gaze like she’s known to do. But Jenny was oblivious. She looked at Anna and asked her why she would even consider it.

Anna, unaccustomed to a direct question, stopped dead in her tracks, got red in the face and burst out crying. Mum told her to leave the table.

I got up to put the kettle on.