I carefully placed the plate on the table as if I were handling a bomb. Though that wasn’t too far of a stretch since we were living with Mr. Matthews.

He sat in his chair with his cane leaning against the table. He was slightly hunched forward, not being able to fully straighten his back yet. Kyle sat next to him, pushing the food around his plate. I frown slightly, knowing that something must’ve happened again. His teacher mentioned he wasn’t getting picked on anymore but he still seems to have a hard time making friends.

“What’s with the long face?” Mr. Matthews’ voice broke the silence and Kyle didn’t even lift his head.

“Nothing.” He wouldn’t even look at the plates of food on the table as usual.

“What? Are you being bullied?”

More silence.

I carefully took my seat and put a comforting hand on Kyle’s back. “Is everything alright? You know you can talk to me if something is bothering you, right buddy?”

“If anyone is bothering you, all you have to do is just punch them in the stomach.” Mr. Matthews shovelled a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

“Mr. Matthews, I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk about this at the dinner table.”

“What’s wrong with me giving the boy some life lessons?” His eyes darted towards me.

“Hey, Kyle, did you remember to wash your hands yet?” I stand next to him, not in the mood to relax at the dinner table just yet.

“No…”

“Please go do that.” Kyle scurried to the kitchen with a slightly worried expression. The moment the sound of rushing water could be heard, I turned my head to Mr. Matthews with a locked jaw.

"Mr. Matthews. Can you please not parent my kid? I’ve been working with the teachers at his school and I don’t want him to get into more trouble." I did my best not to raise my voice but he continued to eat his meal.

"I was only teaching him to be a real man. Not like that, you know anything about that." He stuck his pinky into the side of his mouth to pick his teeth and I felt even more infuriated.

"Oh, if real men don’t take in their kid's grandpa when he loses their home, then I'll be glad to rectify the situation immediately." I pulled the plate away from him so it was just out of reach. I could tell he was very irritated.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You would really do that to an old man?"

"If that old man isn’t respecting the rules of my household, I would."

We glared at each other, not willing to look away from each other. If I were to break eye contact then, he would've taken it as a sign of weakness.

“Fine. Give me back that plate. You don’t have to get all worked up about it.”

I handed him back his plate and Kyle walked back into the room, wiping his wet hands onto his shirt.

“Anyways, are you excited for high school next year?” I sat myself down in the chair and began to pile food onto a plate.

“I guess.”

“Do you want any food? I made one of your favourites tonight.”

He answered with a shrug before half-heartedly putting food onto his plate.

“Are you having a snack or a meal? Get some more food.” Mr. Matthews placed a hand on Kyle’s shoulder and I couldn’t help but tense a little.

“I’m not really hungry.”

“Nonsense. I heard your stomach growling earlier. At least have a few bites. You’re not going to grow if you don’t eat.” Mr. Matthews gave Kyle a small smile and made sure that Kyle saw it.

Kyle gave a nod before taking a bite of food. I tentatively picked up my own fork and started to eat as well.

I’m not sure how long Mr. Matthews will be staying with us but I hope I don’t run into too many issues with him.