The Last Night

After dinner, I scraped my plate and set it in the sink. "Mom, I'll help you wash dishes." I then opened the dishwasher and started unpacking the clean dishes.

Stellan laughed behind me. "Don't look now, but I think your mother is in shock."

I turned around with a plate in my hand and both Mom and Dad were staring at me with their mouths open.

I shrugged. "Do you mind if I help?"

Dad snapped out of it first. "No! Not at all!" He scraped his plate into the trash and set it in the sink along with mine. "I'll be in the living room, should you need me."

Stellan laughed. "You know, after this, she's always going to expect you to help out."

I ignored him, vowing to enjoy this time with my parents, knowing it would be over soon.

Mom smiled. "Okay. I'll tell you what. I'll unpack the dishes and then I'll let you stack the dirty ones once I've rinsed them. Okay?"