Food For Thought.

Posted on Mon May 12th, 2025 @ 12:20am by Lieutenant Faith Hawkins

1,431 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: R&R
Location: Deep Space 9.

A couple of days after his arrival, Matthew made arrangements to meet his second daughter and youngest granddaughters for lunch. He’d made a booking at a tea room, arriving several minutes before the agreed time. “Matthew Hawkins.” said Matthew, after being asked for his name by the waitress. He was then shown to their table. “Thank you.” he said. Matthew then asked for a pot of tea for himself, Faith to enjoy upon her arrival. His wait was not a long one. Faith soon arrived with Meredith, Beatrice in the buggy she had made to transport both girls at the same time. It was essentially a pram, but with a platform built onto the back for a small child to stand on. It was surrounded by a large hoop which served as the handle to push the buggy along. A bar separated the platform from the basket containing Beatrice. This was for Meredith to hold onto. “Hey Dad.” Faith said, as she uncoupled the hoop, folding it down to enable Meredith to alight. “And a hello to you too.” responded her father, warmly.

“Grandad Matthew!” exclaimed Meredith, jumping onto Matthew’s lap and nearly knocking off his spectacles. This prompted a chuckle from Matthew, who sat Meredith in his lap while Faith removed Beatrice from the buggy.

“Be careful with your Grandad’s glasses sweetheart.” urged Faith.

“It’s fine, Faith.” replied Matthew, ruffling Meredith’s hair. A few minutes later, Beatrice had been placed in a high chair next to Faith, with Meredith opting to dine next to Matthew. The tea which had been ordered upon Matthew’s arrival had been delivered and poured. As far as Faith was concerned, all was good in the galaxy. Now all that remained was to choose what she’d be eating.

“What are we eating today Meri Moo?” asked Matthew, looking down at the menu currently held by his third granddaughter. He had already made his choice. Faith was still weighing up the somewhat limited, yet equally appealing choices. “Ah, lasagne.” he said, smiling at Meredith, who had pointed out her choice to him. “I thought you’d choose that.”

“And chips. Please.” confirmed Meredith.

Matthew replied. “Ooh, I don’t know about that.”

“Please Grandad.” came the response, with that trademark beaming smile. Matthew confirmed Meredith could have whatever she liked. This was a day for her, her sister and mother. Faith expected her daughter's choice too. Lasagne was a favourite of Meredith’s. “I think a club sandwich will do for me please, Dad.” said Faith, looking up at her father. She’d already placed some banana slices in a tub onto the tray of Beatrice’s high chair.

Matthew nodded and then went to place the family’s order. While he was gone, Faith couldn’t help but smile. Matthew’s visit had been totally unexpected. Perhaps it was fate. Picking up her tea, she took a long, slow sip. She had always been closer to Matthew than her mother, Emily. If anyone could be considered Faith’s hero, it was him. She intended to make the most of every second of this precious time.

“There we go.” said Matthew, sitting back down a few minutes later. He too was happy. Yesterday he had brought Keira, Heidi and Lydia here. They then spent the afternoon enjoying the facilities which Deep Space 9’s promenade deck had to offer. Today, it was Faith, Meredith and Beatrice’s turn. “Won’t be too long.”

The food was delivered ten or so minutes later. Meredith couldn’t tuck into her highly anticipated lasagne fast enough. As he ate, Matthew considered whether to raise a particular subject. After a few minutes of thought, he decided he would. “We can always make this a more regular thing if you wanted to.” he said, trying to sound reassuring. He didn’t want to sound like the stuck record he was often accused of being during Faith’s recent maternity leave.

“Not this again, Dad.” replied Faith, placing the remnants of the first half of her sandwich back on the plate. She had hoped there would be no discussion of work, or Matthew’s new project today. Not because she wasn’t interested in the latter. She just wanted to focus on spending time with her father. She then began to give some of the banana slices to Beatrice. Bananas were a favourite of hers.

“You’re right.” replied Matthew, pausing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned it today.”

“If I do take up this offer of yours.” replied Faith, after a long pause. A good minute or so. The half-eaten portion of club sandwich was now back in her grip. Admittedly, she’d recently began to consider the offer Matthew had made a couple of months ago. It sounded like a great opportunity. “I'd like to bring some people with me. Obviously, only if they want to.”

If Matthew was being honest, he never expected Faith would consider his offer. He knew how adamant Faith was about doing everything by herself. “Of course.” he replied, sincerely. “Like I’ve said before. You do what you want to do, Faith. If you want to carry on exploring out here instead of working in a design lab.” a pause. “I wouldn’t blame you.”

A change of subject was made, discussed at length. Plans were being made for how the family would spend the rest of their afternoon, early evening together. That evening, Faith had insisted Matthew be their guest for dinner. Matthew readily agreed, much to Meredith’s delight. With that settled, the family would first go shopping for some ingredients. Then, they’d take in as much as they could of the promenade deck over the following few hours. Matthew had done broadly the same thing with his older daughter, granddaughters yesterday. Lunch, shopping, activities. Faith, Meredith and Beatrice’s afternoon however, despite it's identical structure, would be rather different.

“Genie was asking about you all.” said Matthew, between bites. He too had selected the club sandwich. With chips, some of which had ended up on Meredith’s plate. Faith couldn’t be any less interested in anything Genie Cleminson had to say. Her former colleague, friend was not someone Faith wanted to discuss. Or even hear the name of. Especially not now. This was about spending precious time with Meredith, Beatrice and Matthew. She didn’t want a single second of it spent discussing someone from her past. “Good for her.” she replied, bluntly.

“I know she wasn’t a very good friend to you in the end. But, she still cares, Faith.” urged Matthew. However if he was being honest, he was fed up of Genie using him as a go between. “Be the bigger person.”

After a few moments, Faith sighed. A large part of her felt Genie had put Matthew up to it. Use him rather than approach Faith herself. She'd never once tried to reach out to Faith herself. That annoyed her even more. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to her, Dad.”

“Just let her say her piece.” advised Matthew, fully understanding Faith’s feelings with regards to the woman being discussed. He was under the illusion Genie was a better friend to Faith than she ultimately demonstrated. Clearly, his trust and belief were both misplaced. “If you’re not happy after that, then fine.” he said, removing his glasses. He then cleaned the lenses with a napkin, before putting them back on. “I just think you should give her a chance.”

Another sigh. “Fine.” replied Faith. “But next time, ask her to ask me herself.” Her reluctance was obvious. But, perhaps Matthew was right. At least if she allowed her former friend to say her piece, things could be left in the past. Where as far as Faith was concerned, her friendship with Genie belonged. That said, Faith knew Matthew meant well, wanted the best for those he loved. Stirring the pot was absolutely not his style.

Half an hour or so later, the Hawkins family departed from the tea rooms. Their lunches were followed by a small slice of cake each, with either cream, custard or ice cream. It had been a lovely venue, Faith thought. Her father had chosen very well. Perhaps she would return the favour before Matthew’s departure, or hers. Whichever came first. “Right, shall we head to our first stop?” suggested Matthew, who now had Meredith on his back.

“Lead the way.” said Faith, warmly.

 

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