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"Mommy says she has to work out extra to pick me up now." He squeezes me and says, “I’ve missed you. I was scared you weren't coming."
I feel a pang of guilt at this. I haven't been to visit them since I got back from Ghana and he’s been begging me to come for a while.
But I just squeeze him back, "Of course I was coming, who else would bring you your favorite cookies?"
He jumps down and claps his hands at me, "You brought them? Oh, I've been so good!"
"He certainly has been." My sister Milly walks out of the house looking like a café au lait Aphrodite in her white chunky sweater and jeans. Her red hair is longer than I've ever seen it. She usually wears it pin straight, but she's let her curls out today and it flies behind her in thick strands of copper as she walks toward us with a huge smile on her face. She's practically glowing and I know why as soon as her boyfriend Dean steps out of the house. He’s Apollo to her Aphrodite. All blond, tall and gorgeous. I throw my arms around her for a hug. For so long Milly was my role model and my sounding board. Whenever we first see each other we fall back into the easy kinship we shared for most of our lives.
"Lillian, you're late," she jokes, and squeezes me. "You look beautiful," she whispers in my ear.
"And you look pregnant," I whisper back. She leans away and looks at me wide eyed, her eyes a mirror image of my own. She mouths "Shhh!" I give her another squeeze and laugh as I disengage.
Dean steps up and folds me into a huge hug. He’s been in Milly’s life since they were teenagers and between the way he loves her and how he’s embraced Anthony, he’s quickly become one of my favorite people.
I hug him back and say, “Good to see you. Thank you for taking good care of my girl.”
"She takes good care of me too." His smile is as big as mine.
"Oh, I know she does. You look great.”
I look at both of them. “Neither of you look like you just finished a major renovation on your new house two weeks ago.”
“We’ve gotten a lot of sleep since we’ve been here.” Milly smiles, “Glad you’re here, sis. I’ve missed you.” I hug her again and love how good it feels to be with her. “Me, too sissypoo.”
"Let's get your bags inside,” Freya says as she joins us. She’s smiling like she's just seen the end of a Hallmark Channel movie. “You guys are just like us. So close. This is going to be the best week.”
Dean walks off to the car to get my suitcase and Freya links arms with me and drags me into the house.
"So, Harry's coming up today. He's been in London on business. He'll be here any minute. We would have had him pick you up, but he's notoriously late, so I came instead."
I wish she would stop saying his name. But maybe it would be helpful if I could replace the face I associate with that name. Then maybe I could get a decent night’s sleep.
"Let's go inside and see Mom and Dad. They're taking this Lord and Lady of the Manor thing really seriously. They breakfast in the apartments," Milly informs us as she follows us inside.
Anthony runs up behind me. "We've all got our own apartments upstairs, Aunty Lilly."
I make my eyes wide and say, "That's incredible. I can't wait to see!"
I step inside and just like when we pulled into the estate, I'm stunned speechless. It's like stepping to a wonderland, a cathedral, or an opulent hotel. I've never seen anything like this in my life. The foyer is littered with sculptures and busts and composed of Baroque arches and columns. The entire space is covered by a domed ceiling that looks like it's a hundred feet high, with a mural of angels, winged god’s commanding horse drawn chariots, girls in virginal white dresses, playing harps or plucking grapes, painted across it.
I can't believe people actually live here.
"Take it all in, but don't forget about my mojito. Ask for directions to the kitchens when you're settled," Jan says loudly before she disappears down one of the corridors of the house.
We're just about to head up the magnificent staircase, Anthony’s running ahead to tell me which of the branches of the steps we need to take to reach my apartment when Freya yells up.
"Wait, don't go up yet. Harry's here and he's only staying for a minute before he heads to the store."
My heart jumps at his name, again. But, I waggle my eyebrows at Anthony as we turn and walk back down the stairs. My parents come down the stairs behind me.
"Lilly, you're here." My mother calls in her lilting West African accent. I turn to watch her and my father walk down the stairs. He looks great. His red hair is more faded, than it was last time I saw him, but he's smiling as he and my mother come down arm in arm to the landing where I'm standing.
"Sweetheart, so glad you're finally here," my father says. He bends down to press a kiss on my cheek. My mother beams at me and I smile at her. "You guys look great. I'm glad to be here, too."
"Lilly, Mary, Omar, and Sir Anthony, this is my wayward twin brother, Harry." Freya calls in a voice full of glee and I turn around, so happy to see my parents that this time, I don't register the name.
I wish I had. I would have been schooling my face, my mind, my heart. Because when I turn around, there he stands. For a split second we smile at each other in surprise, but then like thunder rolling in before a terrible storm, his entire face darkens.
