Going inside, they found that their friends were all away from the table, waiting for them in the front room. The kids and the dogs were all clustered together right in front. When they saw them walk in, they set off a racket and then all ran over together.
Danny was front and center, holding Lenny and looking up at them with worried eyes. Rob scooped up the little boy and the little dog and then Julian wrapped his arms around them too. He reassured Danny, "Everything is all right."
"There was some stuff going on, but everything is OK now," Rob told Danny and the other kids too. He then looked sternly at all the kids then finally at Danny. "And what happened to dinner?"
"Danny got scared because you were gone," Sammy told him and then all the other kids chimed in to confirm it.
"Does that mean you didn't finish your dinner?" Rob asked Danny like their Thanksgiving meal was the most important thing in the world, and whatever happened out there was nothing. It seemed to work to make Danny forget why he was so worried. His only worry now was that Rob might scold him for not eating his dinner.
Danny shook his head. "We didn't finish," he admitted.
"Then we better get back to eating, huh," Rob told him, and they got the group of kids back to their table.
Rico went to keep the kids busy. To distract them, the first thing he did was try to serve them more green beans. That had the kids in an uproar. Sammy set off a chorus of "too many" and "no fair".
"Rico, kids have little stomachs. We need room for pie," Gloria argued reasonably.
With Rico stirring up trouble at the kids' table, Rob and Julian were free to talk to Christie, Sam, Mrs. Del Rio and the others who all wanted to see for themselves that they were really all right.
"I told you the festivals are cursed," Sam said once he heard about the attack.
"Nothing is cursed. Everyone is fine," Wyatt assured him and kissed his face.
"What's this about a curse?" Christie asked.
"There's always some crazy crisis whenever we have a festival," Noreen told her. "But I thought we got that out of the way earlier."
"The important thing is that things turned out OK," Wyatt said, like he didn't want to dwell on it for Sam's sake.
"All's well that ends well. Now let's feed you boys," Mrs. Del Rio said and they were all seated again.
Most of them went back to enjoying their food, but Julian didn't have an appetite. He only ate to show everyone he was all right, especially Rob, and also to set a good example for Danny who kept peering in their direction.
When he was sure Thayer would use that knife on him, Julian thought of Danny and Rob. For them, he had to come through it in one piece. But now he saw that everyone was relieved they were all right. They all cared. That was something he never experienced before – friends to take his side, to worry, to pile his plate with more food than he could possibly eat.
Julian felt Rob take his hand and he smiled. This had the makings of being a horrible, terrifying night, but all Julian could feel was warmth and love and a strong, firm hold on his hand as Rob brought it to his lips for a kiss.
