Cleaning himself up Ace headed downstairs for breakfast to find everyone at the dining table. Danny still hadn't left for school and the kitchen was a mess. His mother and Pam hurried around to set a decent breakfast for the family while his father, uncle, and Mandy enjoyed their morning coffee sticking their eyes to their smart devices.
"Good morning everyone," Ace greeted as he seated at the dinning table next to his cousin who was engrossed in a MOBA game on his overpriced handheld console.
"Good morning," everyone greeted back without sparing him a glance causing Ace to feel lonely even if he was at the table with the people he cared for most.
"Ace, have some juice. Breakfast will be right up. We are running late thanks to certain someone," Pam said as she poured him a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice giving her husband the stink eye.
Listening to his aunt's words, Ace's expression froze as he screamed in his mind, 'Auntie Pam, too much information. I don't want to know what you, husband and wife, do in your bedroom at night.'
"How many times do I have to apologize? I overslept alright. Every day I wake up at four in the morning like clockwork but I don't know why today I overslept," Dan argued, helping Ace realize he had misunderstood his aunt's words. Not dwelling on it, he pondered if Emi's talisman was to be blamed for this.
"You still refuse to use an alarm clock, huh," Al commented on his brother's quirk while scrolling through his iPad.
"Not only does he not use an alarm clock he doesn't allow me to use one. He says it is a matter of pride for him but if Marty had not woken us up the cattle would still be starving and rolling in their filth," Pam complained.
She had to put her regular household work on hold to team up with Dan and their ranch hand Marty to make up for the lost time. As any respected rancher would, Pam and Dan prioritized their cattle over anything else. Therefore, she could not prepare the breakfast on time.
"Pam, you should have woken me up. If nothing else I could have helped prepare the breakfast at the least," Mary said as she whisked the eggs to prepare scrambled eggs despite Pam asking her not to and enjoy her morning coffee with the rest.
"Now, that is her matter of pride. She could never allow her guests to cook their own breakfast. It must be killing her to share her kitchen with you," Mandy chimed in, putting down her phone. Then, she turned to look at Ace and flirtatiously said, "Hey, you."
Ace ignored her but Pam warned with a stern voice, "Mandy!"
"What?" Mandy acted innocent frustrating Pam who ordered her, "Help me set up the table."
"Breakfast isn't even ready yet," Mandy argued, yet she reluctantly headed into the kitchen to fetch clean cutlery and set the table.
The table was finally quiet again, but the silence was soon broken by Dan who asked his nephew his plans for the day, "Ace, what do you plan to do today? Don't tell me you plan to hole up in your room the entire day."
"Yep, that is exactly what I plan to do," Ace answered without any shame or doubt as that was the only way for him not to let his uncle force him into helping him.
"You can do that any other day. Today, we are going crabbing at the lake. Danny, you are coming too," Dan decided for everyone.
"Dad, what about school?" Danny asked lifting his head to face his father, finally hearing something worth diverting his attention from his game.
"You are going to miss the first period anyway. So, take the morning off and go in the afternoon," Dan said ignoring his wife's stare knowing what exactly she had to say.
"Yes!" Danny exclaimed. With his dad's love for his boat, they would end up spending the entire day at the lake so he wouldn't be able to attend school in the afternoon and would get the whole day off.
With her son's blatant celebration, Pam's stare at her husband intensified. No matter how thick Dan's skin was he could no longer ignore his wife and remarked, "Pam, it is not every day all the Lander men get the chance to spend some quality time together. Besides, Marty will handle things at the ranch."
"Fine, do you need me to pack the lunch?" Pam agreed, as her husband made a sound argument. Like her son, she knew her husband would end up spending the entire day at the lake so she offered to pack some lunch.
"Thank you, hon, but today we eat what we catch. Right, guys," Dan looked at his fellow Lander men for support but not getting any he wanted to repeat himself aloud only to be stopped by his brother's deadpan look.
"Just the men? I am sure Mary would love the lake," Mandy brought up Mary, knowing Dan would reject her if she demanded to tag along with them on their 'boy's trip.'
Before Dan could say something, Mary spoke for herself knowing what Mandy was up to, "Nope, I won't."
She felt sunbathing on the boat deck surrounded by a beautiful lake was a good way to spend her break but she couldn't stand the thought of Mandy in her revealing bikini trying to seduce her son.
"You heard her. It's decided, the Lander men are going crabbing. AI, help me carry the cooler and fishing gear on the boat while I hitch the boat trailer to the car," Dan left hurriedly before Mandy could demand him to bring her on the trip. Just like that Dan hijacked Ace's schedule for the day.
"Sure," Al would rather spend his day on the couch with his iPad sipping his coffee or beer but he went along with his brother's demand feeling it would be a good experience for his son.
"I will help too," Ace tagged along with his uncle and father after emptying the glass of orange juice in a hurry.
"Aren't you coming?" Dan stopped in his tracks and asked his son who returned to playing on his handheld console.
"No, call me when it's time to go," Danny said, but seeing his father wasn't going to take no for an answer, he reasoned, "I haven't had my breakfast yet."
"Neither did we. Stop making excuses and follow me, it won't hurt if you skip a few breakfasts," Dan ordered his son indirectly calling him fat. Danny complained to his mother, "Mom…" But to his surprise, his mother who never judged him for being obese agreed with his father, "Son, go help your father. I will call you when the breakfast is ready."
As much as Pam wanted to respect her son's choices, let him make his mistakes, and learn from them she could not help but compare him to her nephew who looked like the god's gift to humankind, and ultimately found herself forcing her ideals on her son.
Dan was the most shocked and elated to see his wife take his side about their lazy son for once. So, he could not help but grin ear to ear as he hurried his son, "You heard her, move your ass. Help me carry the crab nets and the fishing gear onto the boat."
Betrayed by his mother, Danny could only submit to his father's wishes commenting, "What's the point of having the boat if you don't keep your fishing gear in it?"
"Uncle, where is the cooler? I will move it on the boat," Ace offered, ignoring Danny's comments.
"Wait, the cooler is filled with ice and beer, it will take at least two people to move it. Let me remove the tarp covering the boat first, then I can help you move the cooler," Dan was impressed to see his nephew take the initiative. He would love to see some of it in his son but he would be satisfied if he did his share of the job without complaining.
"No need, I can manage," Ace insisted on moving the cooler by himself. He wasn't a fan of fishing but with the presence of Dame Wasp, he looked forward to it.
The brothers wanted to advise Ace not to push himself but glancing at his bulging muscle tightly wrapped in his t-shirt, they swallowed their words wanting to see if Ace could truly move the cooler onto the boat alone.