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Daniel claims back his cell. “Next you’ll be telling me Tank and Fury are my nannies.”
“When did you get such a smart mouth?” I ask as he drops to his back and resumes whatever he was doing before I arrived. I don’t care what, so long as he avoids stories about mafia crime lords. How do I assure that?How?Oh Rose. You get your husband to kill the journalist who dared pen the article.Perfectly reasonable.
“Where is Tank, anyway?” I ask, with a lack of anything else to say. I need to regroup. And talk to Danny.
“Having Pizza with Fury. Then we’re catching up on COD.”
“What’s COD?”
He drops his head to the side, looking at me tiredly.
“Never mind,” I say. “Have you eaten?”
“Pizza.”
“Is Esther in the kitchen?”
“Yes.”
Back in her element, I expect. “Where’s your luggage?”
His hand drops and points to the corner. So we’re back to one-word answers or no answers at all? Right now, I’m thankful. I take his luggage and open the case, pulling out his dirty laundry and dropping everything else on the chair in the corner. “And tidy your room,” I say, carrying it out.
“Yes, Mom,” he drones.
I start to pull the door closed but stop when I hear him call me. I push my way back in, bracing myself for more deflecting. “What?”
“I think Otto’s in love with Grandma.”
I press my lips together, restraining my amusement. I know I should have given my son a bit more credit. I can’t say I’ve underestimated his intelligence, but perhaps hoped he was too caught up in video games, jet skis, and soccer to notice the stark reality of the world around him. A world that’s too close. “Donottell Mister.”
He smirks and returns to his phone, and I make my way downstairs on constant groans to drop his dirty clothes off in the laundry room. When I make it to the kitchen, everyone is crowded around the island, and Esther is in full swing. It’s a sight to behold, as is watching Otto watching her.
“Here she is,” Esther sings, looking up from wiping crumbs from the countertop. “My favorite daughter-in-law.”
“I’m youronlydaughter-in-law, so I have to be your favorite.” I go to her, falling into her warm, welcoming embrace. “Daniel knows.”
“He’s not stupid, Rose.”
Agreed. I’m the stupid one. “I’m so happy you’re here,” I say, exposing my vulnerability. It would be stupid to try and hide it from Esther.
“What on earth has been going on? We had young ears in the car from the airport, so we had to talk about the weather and soccer.”
“I would love to talk about the weather and soccer,” I say, releasing her.
“Then I get home to a house full of strange women.”
“Most are gone now,” I say. “We only have two extra mouths to feed.”
“What are we going to do with them?” she asks gently.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “All I know is that Anya looked plain terrified when we asked if she had anyone we could contact in her homeland, and Pearl, the British girl, has no one.” I take a seat next to Tank and lean into his side. “Missed you,” I say sincerely, getting a grunt and an awkward arm around my shoulder, hugging me close very briefly before he lets go and takes another slice of pizza. “Thanks for watching Daniel.” Another grunt. “Where’s Danny?”
“Office,” Otto says, getting up and leaving, giving Esther a peculiar look as he does.
I look between them, seeing Esther shying away from it. She catches me watching and smiles brightly. “I’ll check on the two girls, make sure they have everything they need, then I think I’ll get myself an early night.” She raises her arms in the air, imitating a poor yawn. “Anyone need anything?”
“Maybe you should ask Otto?” I say, casually playing with the salt pot on the island. Hastily, Goldie, Tank, Ringo, and Fury all get up and leave, and I watch them all go. Good. I turn to Esther. “What was that look?”
