Flashes of Inspiration

The Great Horde

Jenny looked around the kitchen, vaguely horrified. It wasn't like she had never seen this before, but she was simply never able to get used to it. It looked like a bear had torn through the room. A very careless bear. Or a small hoard of teenagers.

"Briiiannn?! Benjamiinnnn?!" she called up the stairs.

She received the answer she expected: silence.

Ollie wandered into the room, seemingly oblivious to his children's wake of destruction. "What's going on? Ben and Brian went over to Ingrid's house for a gaming session. Our wi-fi kept going down, so they flew the coop."

"Yeah, after they rampaged through here like cavemen!"

"It's okay, babe. I'll clean it up. I gotta start making dinner soon anyway. It's pasta night!"

Jenny smiled. Any night they had pasta, Ollie cooked...and cleaned up.

Ollie opened the dishwasher and began loading in dishes and half-empty glasses of soda.

"What are you smiling about, Ollie? They tear the place up every time they have a get-together."

"They're teenagers, what do you expect?"

"Oh forget it, you're barely different than they are yourself."

Ollie looked at her and his smile widened. "Well, if I'm still a teenager, I got the prettiest girl in the class!"

Jenny softened and smiled back.

"Better get your feet set, though, darlin'. You know they're going to be ravenous as a troop of barbarians."

They worked together to clean up the kitchen, then Ollie got some water on the stove and started the pasta boiling. Soon they heard laughing and carousing outside. Jenny raised an eyebrow and looked at Ollie.

"They’re back."

"The whole crew?"

Jenny peeked out the window. "Yep. The whole crew."

Ollie laughed. "Guess I better make some make some more pasta!"

"Might as well make sure there's a mop handy, too!"

NOTES: ▶︎

Word Count: 299
Submitted for "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" 
Prompt: Use the phrase "They're back"