Chapter 8
As Rob got up and looked out the window of his bedroom, the morning sky was lit up with streaks of fiery orange and red. Not a bad view to wake up to, and Rob noticed the quiet too. Maybe that's how he had managed to get some sleep, mostly in the last few hours while dawn was breaking.
He was getting ready, and listening to snatches of conversation as Julian helped Danny with his morning routine. But when Rob was done in his own bathroom and stepping out of his room, he didn't hear or see either Julian or Danny.
They weren't upstairs, so Rob went to see if they had gone down to breakfast. They weren't in the kitchen though or anywhere downstairs. Giving up for now, Rob went back into the kitchen to make some coffee. He was just about to pour the water, when he looked out the window over the sink and spotted Julian and Danny outside.
Once he had the coffee going, Rob went out to see what the two of them were up to. The kitchen door led out to the side of the house. That's where the two of them were hanging out. Julian was holding on to Danny while he leaned over a garden wall and looked down the slope toward the road that meandered up the hillside before turning to go to the front of the house.
"Good morning. You guys having fun already?" Rob asked them.
"Rob is here!" Danny said like he thought Rob might have disappeared overnight.
"Yes, and I was looking for you guys. I started coffee. It should be ready soon," Rob told Julian.
"Danny was wondering what was out here, so I decided to show him," Julian said.
Leading out of the kitchen door was a path made of stone steps. It curved slightly at first then turned into a switchback path further down the slope. Stone retaining walls marked off three different levels of the garden. Planted mostly with evergreen bushes, the garden was orderly and well maintained.
"It's nice out here," Rob said while enjoying the view. "It could use a table and some chairs so you can drink your coffee in the fresh, morning air."
"I'll order some," Julian decided.
"Really?" Rob was surprised at how fast Julian wanted to make his words a reality.
"It's a good idea," Julian told him.
Rob pointed down to a spot on the lower level. "What about a bench down there so you and Danny could sit and enjoy the view?" he said and gave Julian a challenging grin.
Julian asked Danny's opinion on that. "Should we have a bench?"
"OK," Danny agreed.
"I'll order that too," Julian made note of it on his phone.
"I better stop," Rob said and Julian chuckled.
Despite being pretty cheerful this morning, Julian looked like he hadn't slept a wink. During his sleepless night, he had been with Danny the whole time. He was one dedicated big brother.
Figuring that coffee was done, Rob went in and brought out two cups with coffee and a coffee cup with orange juice for Danny.
"It was easier to carry three cups," he explained as he let Julian take a cup with coffee from him. Rob handed Danny the cup with juice. "Did you think I brought you coffee?"
"I didn't know," Danny said and started sipping his juice from the coffee cup.
"What's the plan for today?" Rob asked, though he wasn't sure if any plans would include him. It was Sunday, so he should be on his own today. But really, he didn't know what he would do if left to his own devices.
"I thought we could go out for breakfast. But first, Mitch will be here soon, and we'll get to meet his fiancé. They work together," Julian said. "I got a text from him a little while ago. Danny and I were watching for them to drive up."
Rob was surprised. "They're working on Sunday?"
"Apparently. Mitch will be going to Ashbury today. That's the next town over. It's quite a bit bigger than Peach Tree. That's where he's getting some supplies. I added a few more things to Mitch's list since he was here yesterday. He wanted to do some more measuring."
"He doesn't slack off," Rob said.
"He wants to get started Monday, and I'd like this house in order as soon as possible."
"I guess you're two likeminded guys," Rob said.
