The basement.Nathan remembered it’d been mentioned once before over dinner, but he didn’t realize it contained treasure troves of Mariel’s stuff. He had passed a door by his bedroom and always assumed it was a closet.
His mind spun with what could be down here, the truth about what happened waiting to be found. Even if he had the basic facts—she cheated on her boyfriend and left the evidence back in London—Nathan still wanted to know why. Why was she such a wonderful parent to Franny and Walt yet couldn’t be bothered to check in once with Nathan? Why was he so unlovable?
“Honestly, we tried going through her stuff but there was so much and…” Franny got quiet, a spell of grief overtaking her like storm clouds rolling in. She pulled her knees up to her stomach.
“It was too painful,” Nathan said.
“I started bawling at the first box. It was old birthday cards Walt and I had drawn for her. She saved every single one.”
“She sounds like a great mum.”
Franny wiped away an errant tear. “What was your mum like?”
Nathan could’ve given her an easy answer, another story to spin, but the words got caught in his throat. His own grief spell snuck up on him. Could you miss someone you never knew? Franny’s face shifted slightly, sensing the difficulty he was having. They spent a moment in joint silence that brought them closer.
“Eventually we’ll go down there and sort things out,” Franny said. “But not today.”
“When you’re ready,” Nathan said, looking at a family picture hanging on the opposite wall, wishing he could tell her that he’d been waiting his entire life and he was ready now.
Franny rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here, Nathan.”
Liam
Liam had finished his farm chores early and was taking advantage of the alone time to work on one of his freelance graphic design projects. The farm was at peace, which would not last long. But disruption didn’t come from one of the sheep.
Callum did the knock-and-twist and didn’t wait for Liam to let him in. That was only charming when Nathan did it.
He barged through the door flanked by their two brothers Oliver and James. Oliver had a beer gut and a perpetually sweaty complexion, while James had unkempt black hair, a double-chin, and a mustache stolen from a 1970s porn star. Did Nathan really want this brother gangbang scenario?
“Piglet, how’s it going?” Callum clapped him on the shoulder.
“Nice place, here.” Oliver ground his fists into Liam’s shoulders, sending jabs of pain down his back, just as he had done since they were boys.
“This is a pleasant surprise,” Liam said. He drank the last drops of coffee from his mug. He would not be offering them any of his special locally roasted coffee.
A fourth man in a suit pants and a dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves followed behind them.
“I realize we haven’t seen your new abode,” James said. He was shaped like a match, one long skinny frame with wild finger-in-socket hair on top. He looked around the premises. “Nice. Small.”
“In real estate parlance, we’d call it cozy,” Callum said.
“I reckon Piglet doesn’t need much room.” Oliver rubbed his fist in Liam’s head, potentially causing cranial bleeding.
Liam couldn’t stop looking at the fourth man here with the rolled-up sleeves, like he was running for office. The man gazed out the front window at the field.
“I’m Liam.” Liam stuck his hand in the man’s face for a shake. “Nice to meet you.”
“Harold Grates.” The man shook it back. “This is a gorgeous piece of land you have. The view of the mountains in the distance is breathtaking.”
His whole demeanor, whether he meant for it or not, chilled Liam to the bone.
“Harold is the real estate developer I was telling you about,” Callum said. “He wants to turn all of this into a beautiful neighborhood. I brought him here to tell you more about his plan.”
Callum had the type of restrained excitement that teenagers had at Christmas. They were just as eager as little kids for gifts, but did everything they could not to show such blatant excitement. Callum needed specially made contact lenses so he could have literal dollar signs in his eyes.
Harold took an iPad from his briefcase. “I have some wonderful ideas for how I see this place. As you know, housing in Wellington is getting scarcer, and more families are angling to move out of the city into clean, safe neighborhoods.”
Liam’s brothers moved aside so he could sit on his couch. Growing up, he’d always had to sit on the floor since there was never enough room for all the brothers on their family’s couch. Couch space was reserved for seniority, though Mark would let Liam take his spot.
