* * *
When Eleanor woke up, she could hear low voices in the living room. She took her time getting up, figuring from the faint smell of coffee that Meredith and her family had made themselves at home. She smiled faintly at the thought of having a full house. It had been years since she’d woken up to the sound of other voices.
Eleanor padded into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She was gray now, but not frail. She was sure she still had the strength to handle whatever came her way, but how long would it last?
“As long as it has to,” she said out loud, answering her own question. Her voice was scratchy from sleep, and she cleared her throat noisily.
After she was clean and dressed, Eleanor came out to the living room, taking in the scene with one sweeping glance. Amelia and Rob were sharing the morning paper while Josh fiddled with his cell phone. Meredith and Vi were nowhere to be seen.
“Good morning,” she said briskly. “Meredith and Vi?”
“They went to see Miguel’s parents,” Rob grumbled without lifting his eyes from the paper, answering her question.
More polite, Amelia folded the section of the paper that she had been reading and set it aside. “I didn’t really see the harm in it, and Mere thought it was the right thing to do. They should be back soon.”
A wave of worry swept over Eleanor, but she shoved it aside in her mind. “Huh,” she grunted noncommittally. “Did you find something to eat?”
“Yes, thank you. I’m afraid we’ve cleaned you out though. If you’d like, when the girls get back, I’d be happy to go to the grocery store.”
“All right.” Eleanor went to the kitchen and put the kettle on for her morning cup of tea. While she waited for the water to boil, she thought about what their long-term accommodations might be. Vi was right--they did need a bigger house. However, the Carpenters were still processing a lot of information from the night before, and she figured they needed time to do that. She’d wait a day or two before bringing up the housing situation again.
Her tea prepared, Eleanor returned to the living room and sat down in her favorite spot on the loveseat. From here she could see the flowers on the orchid tree in the backyard.
“What would you like to do this morning?” Amelia asked cheerfully.
“I’m doing it,” Rob said.
“I have to head out,” Josh said. “I had hoped that Vi and Meredith would be back by now so I could say goodbye.” He smiled wryly. “I called and told my parents what happened, and they’re coming home early now. I’m pretty much screwed.”
“Well that tends to happen when you use your parents’ house without permission,” Rob said unsympathetically.
“Rob! It was for our daughter’s benefit. Have a little compassion,” Amelia chastised him.
“No worries,” Josh reassured her. “Can you tell Vi that I’ll call her later?”
After Josh left, Amelia and Eleanor spent some time straightening up the living room and making a trip to the store in Eleanor’s car. They loaded up on several days’ worth of groceries, returning to the house and putting everything away. Amelia put together an enchilada casserole for that evening’s dinner, leaving it in the fridge until they were ready to bake it. Eleanor was impressed with how industrious Meredith’s mother was, and she wondered if Amelia had that much energy when she wasn’t trying to keep her mind off her daughter.
By two o’clock, they were all wringing their hands with worry. Over the course of the morning, Rob had tried calling Meredith and Vi several times with no luck.
“I’m going to call them again,” Rob announced. They were all sitting at the dining table playing a game of gin rummy with a deck of faded playing cards that Eleanor had produced. He stuck the phone to his ear and listened intently. A few moments later, he ended the call with a small shake of his head.
Amelia’s eyes widened and she looked at Eleanor earnestly. “Do you think they’re okay?”
“I don’t know,” Eleanor answered candidly.
“Perhaps we should go to the hotel,” Amelia suggested. “I’ve got the name--” she was cut off by the sound of a car door slamming outside.
Rob jumped to his feet, ready to run outside and give the girls a thorough tongue-lashing.
“Wait,” Eleanor commanded, closing her eyes. She reached out with her other sense, and could tell that it wasn’t Meredith and Vi. “Hide,” she said urgently. “Go to my room and don’t come out.”
Without question, Rob and Amelia did as they were told while Eleanor hastily cleaned up the card game and looked around the room for any other evidence of houseguests.
The doorbell rang, and satisfied that she appeared alone, Eleanor answered it.