Family Ties

The morning light filtered through the kitchen curtains, bathing the breakfast table in a warm glow. Vincent sat with his family, enjoying the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and toasted bread. At the table were his mother, Amanda, his father, Michael, his brother, Jimmy, and his sister, Tracey.

"Where's the jam?" Jimmy asked, rummaging through the fridge with an expression of frustration.

"It's next to the butter, as always," Amanda replied, not taking her eyes off the skillet where she was preparing scrambled eggs. "Next time, try looking before you ask."

"Why don't you help me instead of criticizing?" Jimmy shot back, pouting as he pulled out the jam. "I'm just trying to make a nice breakfast."

"Only you could make breakfast complicated," Vincent joked, smiling as he served his plate.

"It's always the same with you, Jimmy," Tracey chimed in, grinning as she sipped her coffee. "You can't go five minutes without complaining about something."

"And what do you know about complaints? You're the queen of complaints," Jimmy retorted, frowning.

"Queen? No, I'm more like a princess. And you're just a jester," Tracey shot back, laughing.

Michael watched the interaction with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Jimmy, if you're going to complain, at least make sure the eggs don't burn," he said, carefully glancing at the skillet. "If you keep this up, you won't have any breakfast at all."

"And what do you know about cooking?" Amanda teased, raising an eyebrow. "Remember the last time you tried to make spaghetti, Michael? I don't think we'll ever forget the disaster it was."

"That was just once!" Michael protested, but he couldn't help laughing along with his wife. It was clear that these moments were part of their daily routine.

The laughter faded a bit as Vincent noticed a shadow of worry on his father's face. Michael fell silent for a moment, staring out the window with his eyes lost in the distance.

"Everything okay, Dad?" Vincent asked, breaking the brief silence.

"Yeah, yeah, just... thinking about work," Michael replied, shaking his head as if waking from a trance. "Nothing to worry about. Just... city life can be tough sometimes."

Vincent understood. He had heard enough stories about the criminal life and the tough decisions his father had to make. Deep down, it pushed him to want to carve his own path, one that didn't necessarily lead him down the same road as his father.

"I hope you're not thinking about a big heist, old man," Jimmy said in a light tone, ignoring the change in Vincent's expression. "Because I'm definitely not ready for that."

"You're always ready for a heist, brother," Vincent replied, trying to keep the mood light. But in his mind, he pondered the question: How long could he keep this up without his family finding out?

"Vincent, would you like to do something special today?" Tracey asked, interrupting his thoughts. "We could go to the park after school. We need some fresh air, and maybe have a picnic or something."

"Sounds great, Tracey," Vincent said, trying to distract himself from his dark plans. "Maybe we could bring some food from home. Something that doesn't involve burning the kitchen, of course."

"That's what you think," Amanda joked, serving the eggs. "Let's eat before they get cold. After all, we have a busy day ahead." She turned to Michael, smiling. "Remember, you have that meeting this afternoon. You won't want to show up hungry."

"I know," Michael said, taking a sip of his coffee. "Don't worry about me. I just want to make sure our kids have a better future than we did."

Vincent nodded, feeling the weight of his father's words. Even though he was planning something very different for himself, he couldn't shake the feeling of family expectations. He had to find a balance between his ambitions and his loyalty to his family.

After breakfast, Vincent got up to help clear the table while listening to the laughter and banter between his mother and siblings. Despite the underlying tension in his life, those moments of normalcy made him feel connected. But as he left the kitchen, he couldn't help but think about the next step toward his future, the path to building his own carreer.