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Once in the living room, Christine sat down in a blue armchair, her face heavy with exhaustion.
“Leo?!” My mother’s high-pitched voice sounded. Footsteps pounded on the hardwood floor, and I turned just as my mother ran to me with open arms.
My mother was a petite woman with light gray hair and sky blue eyes, and she always smelled like roses. She was like an angel, her soft voice sweet and delicate. She was wearing a light blue dress that complemented her fair skin, and a thin gold necklace with a pretty diamond heart dangled from her neck. She gave me a tight hug and squeezed me with all her might. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too,” I said into her hair. She pulled away, her hands on my cheeks, and brushed a tear from my eye with her thumb.
“You’re back,” she said, with a smile that seemed to light up the whole room. “I was so afraid when I heard about the attack. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said, and my mother brought her hand to her lips to cover a small sob. “I’m okay, Mom. No need to worry.”
“A mother always worries, Leo.”
“Where is Daphne?” I asked.
“Asleep. She needed the rest.”
She turned to face Augustus and Atticus, then forced a tight smile. “Augustus, Atticus. Thank you so much. I can never repay you.”
Augustus and Atticus nodded, but they looked uncomfortable—probably because they were both getting Christine off just an hour ago. We’d just come in the door, and already she was thanking them. I could see them standing awkwardly, wondering when they could get out of there.
“Hello, Mrs. Winthrop,” Augustus said. He’d met my mother a handful of times, and she always made him nervous. He didn’t know what to do with someone genuinely nice.
“Hello, Augustus. It’s nice to see you…sober.”
He cringed.
“And you,” she said while beaming at Atticus. “I can never thank you enough for getting us out of the city the way you did. I was nervous when that man—Hudson—showed up at our doorstep, but he turned out to be lovely.”
“Of course, Mrs. Winthrop. Leo is our close friend. His family is our family,” Atticus replied.
“Thank you for everything you did for us,” my mother said, walking over to him. She hugged him and he stiffened, not responding right away. “Please, call me Vivian.”
“Of course,” he said, giving a little cough.
“Why does he get to call her Vivian?” Augustus pouted under his breath.
“Has everything been okay since you arrived?” Atticus asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Oh, yes. I spent the day dusting. The house is well stocked but needed a deep clean.”
“I’m happy to hear it,” Atticus said, looking into my mother’s eyes. He seemed to do that a lot, look people in the eye when he spoke to them. As if he wanted to make sure that the person he was talking to was actually there.
My mother looked around the living room, and her eyes landed on Christine. “Oh, Christine!! I didn’t see you sitting there, sweet girl.”
My mother rushed over to her and practically lifted her out of the chair for a hug. My mother always adored her.
“Hello, Mrs. Winthrop,” she said, her cheeks flushed.
“I’ve told you a dozen times, call me Vivian.” She hugged Christine tighter before pulling away. “Oh, I’ve missed you. My poor Leo was so sad when you went overseas. It makes me happy to see you here.” She paused and backed away, her eyes wide. “Oh, I suppose it’s not proper to greet the queen with a hug.” To Christine’s apparent horror, my mother then bowed awkwardly.
“Please don’t do that,” Christine said. “It’s not…I mean, I’m not…”
“You’re a queen, dearie. You’ve got to own it.”
My mother hugged Christine once more and then gave us a tour of the rest of the house. There was a hallway on the first floor, lined with closed doors. The living room was at the end with an open kitchen and dining room next to it.
She led us upstairs and we followed her into a large, nice bedroom that was directly across from the staircase. The windows overlooked the beach and the ocean, and I could smell the salt.
