Face pressed against his father’s shoulder, Thomas straightened his head back up with a smile at Conor’s teaching. “Okay, Papa duck,” was his wry response as he busied himself with finishing off the rest of his plate. Communal peace flushed over the room like the calm back-and-forth tides of the ocean, each family member content and happy with friendly conversation and good food.<br/><br/>Seemingly following Pa’s example with the hair ruffling, Ma soon did the same and Thomas couldn’t help but snort, reaching up to hold her hand to his head for a little bit longer, so that he could observe her reaction at his words. “Ma, I hope it’s an<span style="font-weight: bold">alien</span>! That way they’ll be super advanced with a computer-brain and I wouldn’t have to do their homework!” Sandwiching Alexia’s digits between his noggin and his hands on his head, a loud bubbling sequence of a laugh erupted out of him. He released his grip on Alexia as he went to drink and chuckle into his glass of water. Downing his glass, he noticed Grandma looking his way and cracked a smile towards her. Maybe he should give the question a second thought, as to answer them properly. “Hm, I don’t really mind, though, but most gals at school can sing better, so maybe it’d be fun to have a sister. I’m really bad at singing, so it’d be nice to have a nice voice pair my violin. What’s the word? Acc… Um… Acc-om-pan-i-ment?”<br/><br/>His cheeky grin loosened to a softer, thoughtful smile as he looked down to his plate. Being the bumbling aspiring musician, Thomas, like most children, did contemplate the ‘sparkling future dream’ in which he could stand on a stage and perform amongst the company of an orchestra, or even a quartet, to hundreds of people! The warm lights, the sharp sound of the wooden tap, tap, tap of a conductor’s baton against the empty hall - even if Thomas had to commute back and forth from the farm every day just to play, there was no denying him of his passions. At current, the boy was quite versatile. From simple classical themes to homely fiddle country tunes, with enough time and determination, he wasn’t too shabby of a sight-reader for his quarter-sized violin. Perhaps he would take it to the picnic to practise in the open air.<br/><br/>Directing his attention back to Rose, Thomas nodded at her words. “Yeah, let’s bring them! Perry seems to be more friendly towards me lately. Or maybe it was the apples,” he breathed in a laugh. Grandma, being amazing with her horses, was a great teacher, also providing Thomas with the practical life lessons of assertiveness. It was because of her that Thomas tried not to get so bothered by bullies at school anymore. Just like the farm horses, you had to be patient, but also tolerant and assertive to guide them the right way. It was hard, but with his grandma’s wise advice, something to work on.<br/><br/>Stuffed and chuffed with breakfast, he relaxed into his chair and sighed happily. “Can you refill my glass, baby?” Ma’s turned face filtered through his glasses and Thomas nodded. He made his way to his feet, taking both his and her drinking glasses towards the kitchen counter.