Who: Mark and Helen Blackthorn What: Making dinner while stuck in quarantine Where: Helen's apartment When: Last week Rating: G Status: Complete
Mark had picked a terrible time to come back to America, but the current situation with the virus also drove home the fact that he should make his way back to his family. The downside was that he was going to have to self-quarantine, which meant he wouldn’t be able to see the rest of his siblings for two weeks. Thankfully he had Helen. Their closeness in age and everything that happened with their mother bonded them in a unique way. It had been nice when Helen had come to visit him over in England, but he hadn’t been back to America for longer than a Christmas holiday in a couple years.
“You sure you’re not going to kill me after 2 weeks?” Mark called out from behind the closed door to the bathroom. He had taken a shower immediately when he arrived at Helen’s place. He needed to wash off the plane and the crowds at LAX to get through customs. He had sent the majority of his stuff back to his dad’s house, but he had a few weeks worth of clothing in the stuff he brought to Helen’s, so he was able to change outfits before he left the bathroom. He ran his fingers through his wet hair as he padded barefoot into the kitchen.
Over the last few weeks, Helen had been worried about her brother, what with him being overseas and all, so when he finally said he was coming home, she had been extremely relieved as well as happy that he was going to be coming home and then the travel ban had been enacted, followed by self-quarantining, which meant that while Mark was going to be staying with her regardless, now he was basically confined to the house for the next two weeks. “If I did kill you, only the family knows you came back. I could hide your body and tell them you decided to leave and no one would be the wiser.” She smirked as she glanced over at the sound of her brother coming into the kitchen.
“So you’d better not become a pain in my ass.” Not that Mark had ever really been a pain in the ass; they had almost always gotten along better than any other brother and sister that Helen knew. “So I can make mac and cheese or hamburger helper.” She said, holding up both boxes for Mark to see.”
“Wow, that’s so dark of you, Helen. You’ve changed,” Mark gave her a mock gasp of shock before his face broke out into a grin, “And hey, I do have friends back in England that know I was coming back here, so they would wonder where I went.” It was pretty hilarious to listen to Helen speak like that because he had left the majority of his life back in the UK, but he was ready to start fresh here.
“I’ll do my best to stay out of your way,” Mark promised as he took a look at the two items in Helen’s hands and contemplated his options, “Hmm… I think mac and cheese is obviously the clear winner here. You can’t go wrong with that one. I’m just waiting for the kiddos to facetime and complain about dad and ask me to please come over.” It was only a matter of time before that happened and it would be hard for him to resist the puppy dog eyes all the younger Blackthorn siblings possessed.
“Or is this how I’ve always been and you’re just now finding out?” Helen smirked and put the box of hamburger helper back in the cabinet before she went to retrieve a small pot and began filling it with water for the macaroni and cheese, “Did I tell you that Livvy kept asking me to let her stay over the night before you got back? I mean, I would have let her, but then this whole thing happened and obviously dad doesn’t want any of them out of his sight.” Helen completely understood and thought it was better for their younger siblings to be home with their dad and stepmother anyway.
“Oh, granted we haven’t spent more than a couple weeks together in a while, but I don’t think you were capable of murdering me,” Mark countered with a laugh. His sister really hadn’t changed that much and it was pretty easy to fall back into their old patterns. Their bond had always been strong and he hoped they would be able to handle 2 weeks together in close quarters. At least this way he could get Helen to catch him up on everything he had missed, “Aww, that’s so sweet of Livvy. I honestly don’t think she would have minded being in quarantine with us but Ty probably would.” He wasn’t surprised that their dad had wanted to keep the kids at home though.
“I can assure you that murdering you will be my last resort,” Helen laughed as she put the pot on the stove and turned on the heat, “If Livvy had stayed here then was forced to stay for two weeks cause of your quarantine, Ty would have shown up in the middle of the night so that he wouldn’t have to be away from her for two weeks.” While Helen and Mark weren’t twins like Ty and Livvy, she was often reminded of herself and Mark when she saw Ty and Livvy together.
“I mean, you have to deal with me already and I can’t imagine trying to handle those two in quarantine together. They would go stir crazy a few hours into it,” It was great that their siblings were active, but Mark knew that they wouldn’t enjoy staying home at all for a long period of time. Helen was right that they did have a similar relationship to those two because it had been just the two of them for quite a while, “So, how’s the museum going?”
“Ty probably wouldn’t mind it too much. Just give him some books and he’d be fine. Livvy though would go stir crazy.” Helen checked the water to see if it was boiling yet, “It’s good. We were in the middle of putting together a new exhibit when we shut down so it actually gives me a chance to go over my layout and see if I should move anything around.” Helen had always enjoyed spending time going to museums so working at one was like a dream come true.
“Okay, you’re not wrong on that one. That boy could get absorbed in a book and not even know the house was burning down. Livvy is like a puppy that needs to burn off her energy,” Mark chuckled at the thought of that. Every Blackthorn sibling had a very strong personality, “And that stinks you don’t get to work on it right now, but that is nice to go over the layout. Maybe they’ll let you guys in there to work on it with a skeleton crew.” It was great to see Helen have a job that she loved. Modeling was fun, but Mark was thinking about possibly trying to use his degree at some point.
Helen nodded, “That is probably the most accurate description of the two of them that I’ve ever heard.” When the water was boiling, Helen dumped the macaroni in and stirred in a bit before turning back to Mark, “Maybe. I think they were talking about that, but we don’t know anything definite yet.” She had to admit that it would be nice to be able to go in when the museum was closed and get things done without any interruptions, but she knew that wasn’t really up to the museum so much as the state. “So what plans do you have once your quarantine is over?”
“So glad I could give you that description then,” Mark laughed. He truly adored his siblings but they were a totally mismatched family, but somehow it seemed to work well for them. He listened patiently before moving to grab a glass and fill it up with some water, “Ahh, gotcha. I’m really glad you found something you love, Helen, I’m like a proud little brother when I brag about you to my friends. And my plans? I haven’t even really thought about it - obviously see the rest of the family and if the world is back to normal I should get myself into modeling here.”
“Well you should get on that. Dad isn’t gonna give you money forever.” Sure, their father had bought Helen’s condo, but that was more because he’d wanted to ensure that when she moved out she was living someplace where she wouldn’t have to worry too much about upkeep and necessary maintenance. “Hey, wanna play a game after dinner? I have a ton of board games and never have anyone to play with unless one of the kids comes over.” She turned off the heat on the macaroni and turned to the sink to drain the water.
“I’ve got a lot of money saved up,” Mark countered; his modeling gigs paid quite well and he had a lot saved up after paying for his flat in London, but he had at least one roommate to help split the cost. He knew he wouldn’t have much trouble finding a new job here, but he had to wait until all this was over, “And sure, what kind of games do you have? I refuse to play Monopoly with you.” That definitely caused some almost-fights when they were kids; that game was evil.
Once the water was drained and the macaroni was back in the pot, Helen got the butter and milk out of the fridge and went about mixing the cheese packet in, “You’re lucky that you’re pretty. I doubt you’ll have to look very hard to get a modeling gig.” She smirked as she teased her brother then moved to get bowls out of the cabinet, “Oh, you’re no fun. Monopoly is the best game. How about Clue then?”
“Bless our mother for these genes,” Mark commented with a grin as he kissed his fingers and held it up to the sky. He really did miss his mother often in moments like these, but he was thankful to have Helen around, “I know I’m no fun, but Clue is also way more fun. Alright, let’s grab our food and you can find the game.” He moved to fill up some glasses with water to drink and helped her carry things into the living room.