The table

• Short story

								
 
My story begins as a gift to a newlywed couple. Four chairs around me, one for a mother, one for a husband, one for a wonderful young girl, and one empty chair. My life starts in a small house with lots of love, laughter, fighting, and happiness. There is a meal on me every night as the family talks about their day, of work, play and how to figure out how to raise their wonderful young daughter. There are games played on me, homework done on me, activities to entertain the child, and talks of discipline to the daughter. I am watching the husband now becoming a father.
Years later we move into a wonderful new home along with a new chair added to me. Shortly after there is a baby boy added to one of the chairs. He spits, and chews, giggles, and slobbers all over me. I watch as he grows and joins in on the family dinners every night talking, and laughing, fighting, and arguing and continuing to talk about the best ways to raise the children. There is homework, and games, and friends galore, that now sit around me. There are parties, cooking, crafts, homework, and all kinds of activities done with me. We still have my new chair empty for friends and family.
A couple of years later there is quite a scare. The family is gone for longer than normal! There is worry, and crying, and not too many meals. Things are quiet and no one is laughing. Then weeks later there is a chunky and beautiful baby boy filling my last chair. Everyone is happy, excited, and laughing once more. My chairs are full and bustling with activity. This new little boy does not like me as he loves to hit me with his fork and spoon pounding on me waiting for his food. He slobbers, and spits and chews on me just like the other boy. I still have dinner every night on me. There are games and laughter, discipline, cooking, homework, and talking on the best way to raise the children. The house is filled with love, my seats are full, and everyone is happy. I am getting dinged, scratched, worn, weathered. I do not mind as I love having my chairs full and I am surrounded by love. The family’s life is busier than ever but always find time to gather around me every night.
Then one weekend the family is gone. Suddenly, there are strangers around me. Cleaning me, and everything around me. There are pictures and food and drinks placed on me, and around me. There is a horrible sadness in everyone around me. My family finally returns home. The father, the mother, the daughter, the oldest son and ……? Where is the youngest son? Why is one of my chairs empty? Why is everyone crying? The house is filled with people and all of them are crying. The sadness is overwhelming and impossible to describe. There are people around me for weeks and no one leaves. The mother and father cannot stop crying. I miss the pounding of the fork and spoon upon me. The people start to leave, and the family starts to eat around me once more, but there is an empty chair that everyone keeps looking at wishing it were full. I wish I had the fork and spoon pounding on me and the spit and the slobber. I am sorry for complaining about it before and would give anything to have it once more. The family is not the same and no one seems happy. There are fake smiles and fake laughs, as the parents try and comfort the children.
Suddenly, I am packed up in a truck in a hurry and moved to a new home that is smaller but nice. There is pain everywhere. The mother and father never leave the house. There is less food than usual on me. The children are eating well but the mother and father are not. The father is having panic attacks on me late at night as the mother tries to comfort him. The mother is crying late at night on me as the father is trying to comfort her. I wish the youngest was here! I am certain that he could fix everything. The mother finally returns to work, but the father is still at home all day. He spends a lot of time looking in papers and calling on the phone trying to find work. When the family comes home, I notice that he completely changes how he acts when they are around from when he is alone with me. 
Finally, one day he goes to work, and I notice he is a little better and now there is a little more food on me. There is a little laughter and smiles here and there, but not the same as it was before. Everyone still comes around me every night for dinner. There are some games, homework, discipline, and a little laughter as everyone sits around me. There is an extremely uncomfortable feeling as everyone tries to ignore the empty chair. 
Then one day the father starts being gone for an exceedingly long time, all the time. The family eats less around me every night. There is lots of fighting and arguing and yelling all around me. There is a lot more food on me, but hardly anyone here to eat it. The mother is busy with schoolwork on me, and the children are constantly fighting. The mother is crying and struggling to keep her family together. When the father is home for short periods, he does what he can to bring the family together, but soon he leaves again, everything starts all over. My seats are emptier now and I can hardly look at the empty chair and the marks upon me from the fork and spoon pounding on me. There are games played on me, homework is done upon me, activities to entertain the children, along with talking about how to raise and discipline the children.
One day several years later there was a big moving truck in the yard. There were many people in the house packing everything up. I went into a different truck and was put into a storage building for around a year. Then one day I was picked up and drove across the country to a very charming little house in TN. The family is smaller now. There is the father, Mother, and oldest son. The house is a lot emptier now and the father is still gone for work all the time. The crying, fighting, and arguing is not as much as it was before. There is little more laughter but there is still sadness around the house. The mother and son are having their battles but are getting along pretty well.
A year later the daughter is now sitting back around the table along with her new husband. My chairs are full again and there is a lot of activity in the house again. There are dinners on me most nights, but the father is still gone a lot of the time. The daughter and her new husband are sitting around me spending time trying to find jobs and getting things in order to start their new lives together and preparing for a new child. One day there was another scare. Everyone leaves the house in a hurry, and everyone is nervous. The family is gone and out late every night. A few months later there is a very cute and adorable little boy around me once more. He also spits, chews and slobbers on me like the other boys did. It is wonderful to have a young child sitting at me again. My chairs are full once more, but somehow still an empty spot at the table.
Soon after the daughter, her husband, and new son are no longer around and have a place of their own. It is back to just the mother and son together most of the time. This does not last to long as the father is than home all of the time. The oldest son is grown now and is not around as much, and sits around me only on occasion. The mother and father still around me almost every night and have dinner. They play games and talk about there days. I notice that they are still not the same as they where when the youngest was sitting here pounding on me and the whole family was around me. The daughter, husband, and there son come over from time to time and sit around me and have dinner. This makes me very happy to see my chairs full and the family together.

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