Playing the Blame Game

"Well, would you look at what the cat dragged in. You guys are here earlier than I expected. How's my favorite bunch doing on this fine day?" Patty, a waitress who has been working at Martha's Diner for eons, chimes as soon as all of the Whitmens, seven to be exact, pile into the joint.

Whenever they travel, being the rambunctious and vivacious group they are, they always seem to unintentionally attract attention wherever they venture. Add in the fact that their entire family is also blessed with good genes, making them scrumptious eye-candy, the Whitmens are a hard bunch to miss. Luckily for them, there aren't many people at the diner this morning so they won't have to deal with being ogled at or drooled over, which means that they can comfortably stuff their faces.

"Hey, Patty," Cameron beams brightly as he skips by the woman and towards their usual booth.

"Hi, Ms Patty," Alexander greets politely next.

"Sup, Pattycakes." Ian slips by and sends her a flirtatious wink that would have girls at his school squealing and hyperventilating in a matter of seconds. Believe it or not, he does have that kind of effect on the ladies.

Nick proceeds with an exhausted smile. "Hello, Mrs Waldenberg."

"How are you doing, Patster?" Chase grins, holding his fist out for a fist-bump. The woman chuckles and allows their knuckles to touch.

"Afternoon, Pat," Charlie says with a wave.

"Patricia." Mr Whitmen gives the woman a small nod of acknowledgment before he joins his kids at the biggest booth located in the back corner which seats up to eight people.

"Your elbows are in my way!" Chase huffs as he places his arms on the table.

"No, you just have huge limbs," Ian snorts, rolling his eyes.

"Nick, your foot is in my space," Cameron points out, peeved.

"It's not my fault I have long legs." His brother shrugs nonchalantly.

"Quit shoving me," Alexander groans as he jabs Chase in the ribs with his elbow.

"I'm moving. I'm not doing it on purpose, you pipsqueak," Chase retorts. A foot collides with his shin underneath the table and he yelps in pain. That is definitely going to leave a nasty bruise. "Who did that?" he scorns, glaring at Nick and Charlie who are positioned across from him. Mr Whitmen is sitting on that side as well, but Chase knows his father would never do such an immature thing. So that leaves only two suspects.

"I did," Charlie admits as she reclines and relaxes against the cushiony booth. "You're always making a fuss out of everything, Chase. Suck it up and quit being such a little bit—"

"And will you guys be having your usual?" Patty interrupts, placing two piping-hot cups of black coffee in front of Mr Whitmen and Nick.

"Yeah!" Ian exclaims enthusiastically, answering for everyone. "And if you could, an extra side of bacon cooked to perfection would be most definitely appreciated."

"An extra side of deliciousness noted. I'll go place your orders in. Should I bring your drinks out now or would you like them later?" she queries.

"I'll have my daily dose of OJ now. Thanks," Charlie announces, her eyes never abandoning Chase, who is scowling at her from the across the way.

"Apple juice!" Cameron adds in.

"A vanilla chai with whipped cream for me please," Alexander states.

"I'll take a blended caramel shake." Ian then pulls out his phone and starts smiling from ear to ear, paying no mind to anyone or anything else.

"Water is good for me," Chase grumbles, still glaring generously at his sister. Charlie could not care less about his petty feelings though. The two of them are always butting heads because of their personalities.

"I'll be back in a jiffy," Patty muses.

"Sometimes, I wish you weren't a girl. Because if you were a boy, I'd be pummeling you into a pulp right now," Chase comments darkly, his nostrils slightly flared.

"Gee, when did you learn to be so considerate? My gender didn't stop you from tackling me all the time when we played football back in elementary school," Charlie fires back.

"You can't even get in a scratch on Charlie right now, big brother. What makes you think you can even touch a single strand of hair on her head if she was a one of us?" Cameron jumps in, truly intrigued with his own inquiry. Chase might be older and bigger than her but that doesn't mean anything significant. The incident from earlier is a prime example.

"I've just never been seriously set on hitting Charlie because she's a girl, okay?" reasons Chase. After, he reaches over and smacks Cameron on the back of his head.

"That was a serious question, jerk!" Cameron cries.

"All right, let's settle down," Mr Whitmen instructs. Surprisingly, his kids decide to comply with his mandate. Realizing that they're waiting for him to say something else, he quickly sifts through his brain for a topic they can all take part in. "So... school's starting this week. Are you guys excited or what?"

Groans and moans of displeasure and agony immediately erupt and resonate throughout the whole place. Well, seems like his question has been answered. "Why'd you have to bring that up out of all things, dad?" Alexander drawls out as he starts to bang his head against the table.

"Seriously. Who gets excited about school these days?" Nick remarks as he takes a swig of his coffee. "I'm only a sophomore in college and I'm already over it."

"It's my senior year so I'm just going to kick back, party hard and have the time of my life. Don't say I didn't warn you ahead of time, dad." Ian smirks and locks his hands behind his head suavely. "I can't wait until Matt starts throwing parties again. They're going to be sick."

"What are you talking about?" Charlie gawks in disagreement. "Matt hosts some of the shittiest parties. All people do is, get wasted or hook-up there. It's stupid."

"Charlie, your language," Mr Whitmen chides.

"I mean crappy. Happy?" She corrects, trying to appease him.

"Very," he chortles.

Charlie is aware that her father does not approve of her or any of her brothers' colorful (and not to mention derogatory) vocabulary but what can they do about it? Cursing and swearing has somehow become a part of their daily lives. A habit they can't bring themselves to quit no matter how hard they try. She doesn't remember how it happened or who first started swearing but it's not like she minded and it's not like they used it all the time. Besides, vulgarities can be rather useful and helpful during certain circumstances. They can also get your point across to somebody, especially if you don't like them. So what's the big deal?

"Do you not hear yourself?" Chase clucks his tongue. "That is the precise definition of what a party should be, moron."

"How can you be okay with this, dad?" Cameron pipes up curiously, cutting everyone off. "Grandma Sue told me that mom used to hate parties and that if she was still here, nobody in our hou—ow!" Cameron is interrupted by a sharp pain to his thigh. Turning to Alexander, who is obviously the culprit, he frowns at him. "What'd you pinch me for?"

"Shut up, idiot," Alexander growls under his breath, losing his composure. He barely resorts to violence but for this one time, he deems it is necessary to make an exception. The atmosphere at the table has abruptly shifted. There is a heavy and suffocating feeling hovering above their heads as they slowly direct their attention to the man they all love more than anything else in the world. His eyes are fixated on the mug sitting in front of him while his expression has become blank and completely unreadable. "See what you did?" Alexander sneers quietly. "Now you've made dad mad."

"What? What did I do?" Cameron whispers, confused. "All I did was talk about mom," he reminds innocently.

"Kids, I'm going to step out for a moment," Mr Whitmen declares, getting up from his seat.

"Dad, are you—" Nick is cut short as their father speaks up again.

"I just need some fresh air that's all. And Cam, don't worry. I'm not mad." He flashes them a weary smile and, without another word, abandons the booth, the cup of coffee and his children. Once he is out the door, all hell breaks loose as everyone, but Charlie, starts yelling and baring their teeth at Cameron, looking like they're about to tear him to shreds. Needless to say, the youngest Whitmen is beyond terrified.

"Would you guys just shut the fuck up and leave him alone? He didn't mean to ruin dad's mood," she seethes, annoyed.

"Well, the little retard did. So much for an enjoyable Sunday," Chase spits as he folds his arm against his chest and turns away indignantly.

Stealing a quick glimpse of her baby brother, Charlie sees that his head is hung low. She knows very well that it hadn't been his intention to hurt their dad. After all, he was only a baby when she had left them. So what would he know? Absolutely nothing. Charlie isn't upset or angry with him like the rest of her brothers are. Why would she be? He didn't do anything wrong and the fact that her brothers, specifically Chase who is supposed to be the understanding and mature one since he's the eldest, are playing the blame game pisses her off to no extent.

"Just fuck off, Chase. So what if Cam mentions mom? It's not illegal and don't use the word retard as an insult. It's disrespectful, douchebag," she snaps before reaching over and patting Cameron's head. Her expression softens along with her voice. "Like dad said, don't worry about it. You didn't do anything bad."

Cameron tries his best to smile but deep inside, although he doesn't fully comprehend why, he feels like everything is his fault. No one dares to utter another word because they know that she's right.

"Okay, here are your drinks." Patty returns with a bright smile on her face. When she notices how dreadful everyone seems and the sudden absence of their father, she tones down the perkiness. Nobody is jumping out of joy or making sugary compliments like they typically do and she can tell that something is wrong. Not wanting to pry, she clears her throat and carefully sets their drinks down in front of them.

"Thank you, Mrs Waldenberg," Nick says when she spins around on her heels to tend to more customers.

"No problem, sweetheart," she replies gently, peering over her shoulder. "Sit tight, kids. Your order is almost finished." There is no type of enthusiastic reaction from any of them again, which is obscure, and whatever it is which made them like this, Patty does not have the heart to find out anymore. Because she already knows that there is only one thing that can get the Whitmens to be as quiet as a post. And that one thing—or should she say person—would be Rebecca Whitmen, their late mother.

Twenty minutes have passed and the perturbed tension from earlier has, somewhat, dispersed. At the moment, each of the Whitmen children is preoccupied doing other things. Ian is frantically texting away on his phone; Nick is reading a book he had brought along with him. Alexander and Chase are playing games on their portable game consoles, while Cameron is staring out the window, observing the people outside. As for Charlie, she is constantly checking the watch adorning her wrist, counting in her head the minutes ticking away until their father's return. Since the dispute had come to an end, the six siblings have not been paying attention to each other. In case more problems ensue and stir up another unwanted issue between them, they had chosen to distract themselves for the time being.

When the delectable scent of freshly cooked bacon suddenly reaches their noses, they stop what they are currently doing and glance up. Patty and two other servers have arrived at their table with the large order at last and the mood instantly changes. Just as the plates are being placed down in front of their respective owners, the bells hanging above the door jingle, announcing somebody's arrival. Charlie is the first to look back and she exhales in relief at the sight of Mr Whitmen. His face is slightly pale but the luminous smile he greets her with assures the girl that he is feeling much better. "This looks delicious," Mr Whitmen compliments as he takes a seat beside his daughter.

"Doesn't it always?" Patty chortles, slapping some more napkins onto the table. "If you guys need anything else just give me a holler, all right?"

"Of course," replies Mr Whitmen courteously. His children do not provide the woman with verbal responses but instead nod their heads and make grunting sounds. Before leaving, Patty's hand lands on Mr Whitmen's shoulder and she gives him a gentle squeeze. He takes a deep breath and watches as his children devour their breakfast. What would he do without them?

It is obvious that the situation that had them all on edge is no longer bothering them and he can't help but smile seeing them like this. Not many words are ever exchanged when the Whitmens are eating, especially if they're starving. Nevertheless, just being there together is enough for them. Even if they might not willingly admit to it. Although it may not seem like it, the Whitmens all love each other more than anyone in the world can ever fathom. Because the truth is, during times of adversities, they only have each other to depend on and that's all they need.