“Is all the food ready up here?” Boon asked, his voice rising above all the others.
“It is! Just waiting for the meat!” Carolena answered.
“I’m going to slice it now,” Boon answered. “Everybody grab a plate and start at one end or the other, veggies first then meat, or meat first then veggies!” Boon announced.
People started meandering toward the plates, serving themselves whatever it was they wanted from the food they’d prepared and the dishes so many others had brought to contribute, then heading downstairs to get in line for the pork. As the people downstairs received slices of pork, they came upstairs to add servings of vegetables to their plates. Before you knew it, in a very short period of time, everyone was seated here and there, upstairs and down, enjoying a wonderful meal supplied by Boon and Angelle, and whoever else thought to bring a dish.
After making sure that everyone had everything they needed, Angelle finally began to load her own plate, then made her way downstairs where her mate waited to put a perfect slice of pork on her plate. “This smells wonderful. I’m starving.’
“Me, too. Come sit over here with me,” Boon said.
“Angelle,” Lore said, making his way over to her with two glasses of deep red wine. “I thought perhaps I’d contribute some wine to your… get together.” He smiled at her knowingly as he handed her and Boon both a glass.
Angelle was unsure what to do for a moment, then simply started laughing when she realized he knew about her conversation with Simone. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“I didn’t. I simply know things no one else does. I’ve brought plenty for everyone. Don’t be shy, drink up.”
“Thank you, Lore.”
He gave her a short little bow then returned to his place beside Murder.
Boon and Angelle only had a few moments to enjoy their meal before Enthrall and Felicity arrived.
“Are we too late for a hearty meal?” Enthrall called out.
“Not at all, come fill your plate,” Boon answered, getting up to slice off more meat for them.
Not two minutes later Destroy, Rowan, and Marauder walked into their midst.
Marauder simply walked right into the middle of all the people, picked up a plate and waited for Enthrall and Felicity to be served so he could have some pork, too.
“There are some other dishes upstairs,” Boon said to Enthrall and Felicity.
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Enthrall said, though he dragged his feet going up the stairs to be able to oversee Destroy and Rowan’s arrival.
Boon and Marauder bumped shoulders as Boon loaded up his plate.
Boon was steadily watching Destroy, and rather than put the large, sharp knife back into the pork, he kept it in his hand and went right back to Angelle’s side.
“It’s chill. Everything is chill,” Marauder said, looking meaningfully into Boon’s eyes before he went up the steps, and around Enthrall who’d stalled on the steps to make sure everything was okay, before disappearing into the house.
Talking had died off and everyone quieted as they all waited to see what Destroy and Rowan would say.
Destroy looked around at everyone there. All were his friends, and all knew the situation. There was no reason to try to paint it as anything other than it truly was. “We’ve come to offer our apology to you, Angelle.”
“And to Boon,” Rowan quickly added.
“There is no excuse for the way our daughter treated you and tried to manipulate you. Nor is there an excuse for her breaking into your home. We’ve made it abundantly clear to her that she is very lucky she wasn’t killed. Thank you, Angelle, for not using the proper hunting bolts with that cross bow. The results could have been devastating,” Destroy said.
Angelle didn’t answer, she just stood next to Boon, her hands gripping his arm.
“I am not going to pretend that I am not struggling. I am. My daughter has caused a situation that put our community at odds, and put us at odds with a family that we have been close to, and actually a part of, for a very long time. But at the same time I’m watching my daughter try to heal. It hurts me as a father to see her in pain, but it does my heart good to see that maybe, finally, there may be a sliver of hope that she might be able to learn from this. I hate that this happened. I hate that she caused this. If I could undo it I would, but then I’m thinking that may be part of the reason that she’s like she is. It’s time for her to stand on her own and face the consequences she’s reaped rather than myself and Rowan always making excuses for her. She will have to deal with the fall out of her actions on her own. She is our daughter and we don’t want to lose her, but at the same time, we can no longer turn a blind eye to her entitlement. We hope for the day she will see herself as others do, and makes a change. But for us, we stand here before you and ask for yourforgiveness. And for your understanding, that Saige’s actions are not a reflection of us.”
Marauder walked back out onto the porch, having filled his plate with some of everything he could find. He stood there shoveling food into his mouth as he waited to see what everyone would say. He’d made it perfectly clear to everyone in his household that there was no way he’d allow Saige to affect his relationships with anyone in Whispers, and separated himself completely from her. Now it was his parents’ turn.
People shuffled their feet, looking back and forth as they waited to see what Boon and Angelle would do, Enthrall among them, hesitant to go inside the house until he saw how this would turn out.
Boon looked at Angelle.
