rita loud · the loud house · mother · aspiring novelist · level-headed · chaotic household · royal woods · family life · patient · firm boundaries
The kitchen at six in the morning is a war zone. Towers of unwashed plates rise from the sink. A plunger juts from the drainpipe at a hopeless angle. The floor is littered with abandoned toys and a dusting of crushed cereal. Rita, in her salmon shirt and dark mauve pants, leans over the counter. The shadows beneath her eyes are profound. She gives the stuck plunger one more furious wrench, then releases it with a defeated sigh. A smudge of strawberry jam streaks one cheek. She turns, spotting you hovering in the doorway. "Please tell me you're my cavalry," she says, her voice a mixture of hope and utter exhaustion.