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“Let’s go then,” Cecil says, standing up and swaying slightly thanks to the amount of alcohol he’s drunk.
The guys and I share a look; there’s no way that it’s going to be safe enough for the grandparents to come with us for many reasons, but also because several of them have been drinking.
Thankfully Dexter is aware of this because he rolls his eyes and says, “Cecil, sit your drunk ass down. We’re staying put and leaving it to the kids.”
“Why?” Cecil asks even though he does what he’s been asked and sits down.
Francis pats him on the shoulder, “Because, Love, we’ve been out of the game for a long time, and the kids are better qualified to deal with this. We will be here if they need any backup.”
“Fine, I concede that you may have a point,” Cecil agrees. Although, he suddenly seems to sober up as he looks at Ace, “If you need a hand with any of the technical stuff, call this house, and I’ll try to help you out. I know that you are most likely better trained with all the new systems, but this one is fairly dated, so if you get stuck, let me know.”
Ace nods, “Thanks, grandad, I will.”
“Good,” Cecil replies.
“When are you thinking of going up to the house?” Mason Senior asks.
“We should probably leave when it’s dark; we don’t want to risk being seen,” Rome replies.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rip shakes his head as he interrupts, “We need to be able to see because of the coast road. No one apart from a small cleaning crew has been up there in years, which means no one has been maintaining the road. I don’t want to risk driving up there in the dark. It’s not worth it.”
Rome shakes his head, “Shit, I completely forgot about that. We’ll have to go up now then because if we can’t get the SUV up there, we’re going to have to walk, and again that’s risky in the dark.”
“Sounds good to me. I want to know what they’re up to as soon as possible so that we can get this all sorted,” Mason replies.
“That’s all very well, but we have been talking for a while now. Judging from the position of the sun, it's past lunchtime, and I will not allow you to go on a dangerous mission without some proper sustenance,” Ruth tells us firmly, and I just stare at her, unable to process the very grandmother-like thing that she’s just said.
“Erm, Grandma,” Rome starts, “I really don’t think we have time to stop for late lunch. We really should get going.”
Ruth levels her grandson with a hard look that instantly makes me glad that I’m not on the receiving end of it as she crosses her arms, and Dexter tries to hide a smile, “I’m not having any of that. You weren’t going to leave until dark anyway, and it would be best to go at dusk; that way, you have enough light to see the coastal path properly and walk to the house if it's not in good condition. It will also give you a certain amount of cover that you are not going to get going now,” she looks around us all and then adds, “So yes, you do have time for a late lunch. You have a couple of hours until dusk.”
Rome just stares, not seeming to be able to form a response, and Dexter’s smile widens. He clearly knows his wife very well and knows that there is no chance that we’re leaving here without being fed. To be honest, as much as I want to get up to the house and have a quick look around either before or after we check out the cameras at the other houses, I am not mad about being fed. I’m freaking starving.
Lillian chuckles and stands up, “I’ll come and help you. We’ve got quite a few people to cook for.”
“Me too,” Hugo adds, standing up as well and striding with purpose from the room, the women following him.
Conversations start to pick up around the room, and Rome mutters quietly to us, “Well, I guess we’re having lunch first. “
“Thank fuck I’m starving,” Ace replies, sounding genuinely relieved like it was a genuine concern of his.
The others actually agree, and we soon drift around the room with the guys introducing me to all of their grandparents one by one and sharing some things that they remember about them, which isn’t much because they were pretty young when their grandparents all disappeared. It's really interesting listening to them talk, and I’m genuinely surprised at how well they’ve held up being locked up for this long. I mean, I know they had all of the modern conveniences, but they were still locked up, unable to go outside or even see the sun. It’s remarkable, and I think if it had happened to any other group of people who weren’t trained like they were, they wouldn’t have survived quite so well, it’s like they’ve just taken everything in their stride, and that’s not taking into account the fact that they told us that Silas tried to torture information out of them.
It's admirable and something that most people could not go through with their minds intact. Having said that, I am sure that they will have triggers and PTSD from the experience. I think it would be impossible to come out of it completely unscathed. I have no idea what Ruth, Lillian, and Hugo decided to make, but they’ve been in the kitchen for over an hour when Hugo finally comes in to tell us to make our way to the dining room because lunch is served.
I can hardly believe my eyes when we walk into the dining room and are greeted with what looks like homemade garlic bread, an array of different kinds of salads, a massive portion of noodles with what smells like lamb in a red sauce of some kind and makes my mouth water.
“Wow,” I can’t help but say as I take a seat between Rome and Ace and add, “This looks amazing, thank you.”
“You are very welcome dear,” Ruth replies with a kind smile as she continues, “Now, I’m afraid that we got a little bit carried away cooking for our grandchildren, so you’re running out of time if you want to get to the house before dark.”
I don’t waste any time tucking in while trying to remember my manners, so I don’t find these people who seem just to accept my presence within the ranks of their grandsons. Dinner is a lively affair and I find myself highly entertained by the stories that they tell and thoroughly looking forward to any future conversations that we may have.
Before I know it, I’ve cleared my entire plate, and it’s time for us to get going. The mood goes from jovial and calm to back to business within seconds as the guys and I stand up, and the grandparents look at us with concern.
“I do wish that it was safe enough for us to come with you,” Roberta replies.
