Summer wore on and eventually wore out; in a perverse kind of way, Lena almost enjoyed watching the lawn turn brown and the flower gardens die. Waldgrave’s exterior was finally starting to match what she felt on the inside. Hesper and Eric had gone back to Australia at the start of August, and though Mrs. Corbett was becoming slightly warmer towards Lena, the best they could hope for was agreeing to disagree. Postcards from Griffin had been arriving all summer, which hadn’t bettered her mood any. He had decided to take his extended beach vacation in Greece. She hadn’t spoken to him since before he left, and he wasn’t answering her calls—Lena suspected that he was as fed up with his mother as she was. He was due back any day, as it was only two and a half weeks until Council was in again; the first families were expected to arrive the following week.
Her seventeenth birthday had been somewhat anticlimactic after the plane tickets the year before, but it had been nice to have Hesper, Eric, and little Maren there to share it. She had received cards from all of the usual families, one signed by the entire Colburn staff, and one specifically from Devin. He had stuck some dry-pressed flowers into the middle.
Flowers for my uptown girl.
Happy Birthday, Dev
It was very nice, and had even raised her spirits for a few days, but in the end she was still living at Waldgrave, scrubbing out Mrs. Corbett’s bathtub because she didn’t trust anyone else in the room, and that thought alone depressed her so much that she began to lose track of time. Every day was the same as the last, and it all blurred together too easily. The year had gone by far too quickly and uneventfully, and Lena knew she had to be going crazy the day she was happy to be spending time with her grandfather.
“I’ll be requiring new suits this year, Howard.” He said, clearing his throat and staring expectantly.
Howard carefully folded his hands on the table. “Are you making an announcement of some sort?”
Lena looked up from her cheese broccoli soup at her grandfather, who was making a face that was all too innocent.
“No. I merely require new suits; I trust you can make the necessary arrangements?” Master Daray asked.
Howard’s eyes went slightly squinty; he suspected something. The other Council members would too, and it spoke of trouble. Excitement, Lena reminded herself, but surely a good deal of trouble as well. Anything her grandfather did inherently landed on her at some point in the future.
Howard spoke again. “You can order them.”
“I don’t want to order them. Only custom fitted suits will do. If it’s her you’re worried about,” he nodded at Lena, “Then why don’t we make it a household outing of sorts? Surely no one will object if we all go; it will be the exact same as if we were here.”
Lena wanted to leap across the table and hug him; it was then that she realized she had been cooped up far too long. It was only a clothing run, after all. With her grandfather, of all people. But it was something to do other than sitting around, waiting on Mrs. Corbett, changing Darius’s diapers and dealing with last minute travel changes for various Council members—these were often hard to deal with, as the visas had to be planned months in advance.
A few days later, after Howard had cleared the arrangement (though doing this was not easy), Lena found herself happier than she should have been to be crammed in the backseat of the sedan between her mother and Mrs. Ralston. Howard drove, and Master Daray gave an ongoing commentary from the front passenger seat.
“It’s been a few years now since we’ve done this, hasn’t it Howard? I see they’ve finally finished the repairs to the road from so many winters ago. Lazy humans—can’t even patch up potholes in a decent time span. When I rebuilt Waldgrave after the fire, I used only Silenti labor, and the house was up in less than two months. Lucky the original foundations survived the fire; that did help. Of course, human-borns have always inherited the laziness and other weaknesses of their less-than-pure heritage, and I was constantly on them to get it done that quickly…”
He trailed on from there about the details of the house and how much he hated humans, human-borns, and the general prospect of servants ever gaining the political standing they were recently asking for. Lena began to tune him out, but he noticed, and so said something she couldn’t ignore.
“I made them sleep in tents until the house was done enough for the servants’ quarters to be livable. That was a harsh winter; I believe we lost five or ten to pneumonia and hypothermia, but in the end it was well worth it.”
“They died?” Lena asked.
“Hmm…from the cold. It wasn’t a huge expense, though. After the house was finished I turned all of them out. I wasn’t sure who I could trust, you see, so they all had to go. I took on a modest amount of servants the following spring, and even with the time it took them to adjust to the way I liked my household to be run, I still consider it worth it. Of course, I inevitably threw all of them out again when Thomas was murdered…lazy, sneaky, self-serving, back-stabbing rats.”
Lena looked over at Mrs. Ralston, who was looking stoically out the window. She grabbed her hand and tried to ignore the biological relationship she shared with the man in the front passenger seat.
“Most of the new servants were children between the ages of eight and fourteen given as tribute from faithful supporters of our family—“
Howard interjected. “You’re done. No more talking until we get there. And so help me, I’m not above turning this car around and giving my recommendation that you never leave the house again.”
Howard kept his eyes on the road, but Lena could see he was clutching the steering wheel a little too tightly. Daray sighed and turned his head to look conceitedly out the window. Five minutes later Howard’s cell phone started buzzing; he unclipped it from his belt and threw it over his shoulder in Lena’s general direction.
Lena opened the cell phone and pressed it to her ear. “You’ve reached Howard Collin’s personal number, he’s unavailable at the moment, how may I direct your call?”
“Lena, put Howard on.” Griffin’s tone was…defeated. Maybe a little angry.
Lena raised her eyebrows, surprised to be hearing Griffin’s voice. “He’s driving.”
“So tell him to pull over, dammit!” The anger in his voice was rising, but after he had ignored her for so long, Lena wasn’t in the mood to bend to his wishes over a little yelling.
“Oh, okay, calm down now! I’m not going to—“
An eruption of yells and expletives came out of the phone so loud that everyone in the car could hear.
“Griffin, just take it down a notch and tell me what you want!” Lena hissed into the phone.
There was dead silence on the line. In the rearview mirror, Howard watched Lena’s expression go from annoyed, to shocked, to devilishly amused.
“Okay. I’ll tell him, and he’ll get back to you as soon as possible. And remember, soap on a rope is your friend.” She clicked the phone shut, smiling as Howard hadn’t seen her do in several months.
“What?” Howard glanced back up into the rearview several times to try and keep eye contact.
Lena handed the cell phone back to the front, still looking far too happy, and Howard reattached it to his belt. “Griffin’s being held in a slammer in New York and needs you to post bail.”
Ava grabbed her arm. “What?!”
Master Daray spun as far around in his seat as he could without undoing his seatbelt. “Did he say anything about the relics? Are they okay?”
“What did you do? What the hell did you do this time?!” Howard pulled the car over. “Out. Get out of the car now.”
Howard and Master Daray got out of the car. Through the windshield, Lena and the other two women watched intently as Daray calmly explained something and Howard went red in the face. Then it was Howard’s turn to talk…or yell, as the case may have been.
“Is he okay?” Mrs. Ralston whispered. “Griffin?”
Lena looked over at Mrs. Ralston. Her eyes gave nothing away that she was
concerned; Lena wished she had the power to seem so calm. “He’s a little miffed that he’s in jail, but I think he’s okay. He picked a fight with some guy in customs when he tried to confiscate one of the relics…apparently there were seeds in it, or something organic. So yeah, now he’s in jail, and I guess he needs someone to bail him out.”
Lena’s eyes went back to the drama unfolding in front of the car. Howard was holding his cell phone to his ear with one hand and making animated gestures as he talked with the other. Lena wasn’t sure who he was talking to, but the conversation was very brief. The two men got back in the car, and without anyone saying anything, they continued to drive to their shopping destination.
The shopping was similarly curt as far as verbal communication went, and Howard was looking the way he usually did when a load of unnecessary paperwork landed on his desk. Mrs. Ralston took the opportunity to fit Lena for new formal wear, and Ava bought herself some new dresses. The car ride home was silent, but as soon as they were in the door Howard asked Lena up to his office.
He sat down at his desk and immediately put his cell phone down and rubbed his head like he had a really bad hangover. He sighed deeply then looked up at Lena. “Okay, so here’s where we stand. I haven’t told the Council yet, because it would have looked too suspicious that it happened while we were out and away, and I’m absolutely sure this part of Griffin’s excursion wasn’t planned. So if anyone asks, I didn’t get that phone call until we were back. Greg Mason’s been on the phone trying to get a hold of one of Griffin’s cousins to post the bail for him, if he even has cousins, but he hasn’t called back yet.”
“Why a cousin?” Lena settled into a chair in front of the desk; she knew it was a big deal, but Howard was acting unusually perturbed.
“Well, I’m sure you know that we try to fly under the radar, and we don’t want someone random posting bail because it might be cause for attention. We think he’s got a cousin through his mother’s side who’s old enough to do it, but we’re not sure where he is because he’s in hiding…the way Griffin was and the way several others are. It’s…complicated, to say the least.”
Howard’s cell phone started buzzing again, and Howard answered it. “Greg, please tell me…Huh. You’re kidding, right? An American would be better, but…okay. Sure.” Howard grabbed a notepad and a pen and started writing something down. “You’re sure the birth records and the marriage licenses are on the books, in case they check? …Okay. Thanks for your help.”
Howard closed the phone, set it down, and continued to write for a moment. He silenced Lena as she was about to speak by raising one finger as he picked his phone back up and dialed a number. “Hello. Yes, is this the Croft residence? …May I please speak to Jim Croft?” He paused for a moment, tapping his pen one the desk. “Jim, this is Howard Collins. This is an emergency situation, and I need to know the whereabouts of the Alarid boy. His father says he’s with you.” Howard’s eyes met Lena’s for a moment, then he quickly glanced away again. “I see. I understand. If you could please get back to me as soon as possible, then? Of course. Goodbye.”
He hung up the phone. Lena couldn’t contain herself. “Alarid? Like the Alarids?”
“Mrs. Alarid and Mrs. Corbett are sisters. Most of the older families here are interrelated somehow, but I’m a bit surprised that they would have sent their heir off to live with the Crofts…They’re applying for Council membership this year, and if I remember correctly, the Croft’s ancestors used to be the Alarid’s servants.” Howard thought for a moment, and then shrugged. “I guess it’s not that surprising.”
“Political favor to assure getting in, maybe?”
“More like ‘must be’.” Howard’s phone buzzed again. He answered it. “No, not here. New York. I’ll wire the money to his parents immediately, and they can send it on from there…”
Howard gave all the details, and then hung up. He sighed, looking exhausted. “Well, I guess that’s it, if you want to go.”
Lena held up her hand. “So…wait, Alexis Alarid is Griffin’s cousin? She’s never said anything…”
Howard shook his head. “Historically speaking, the Silenti have never put a great deal of importance on the mother’s heritage because all the representation, until very recently, was done through the male line. I doubt she knows she’s related to Griffin, or if she does, that she cares. I doubt she even knows that she has an older brother, to be frank. The only reason we know now is because we asked and Master Alarid was kind enough to tell—he didn’t have to, but there’s usually huge political returns for doing this kind of stuff. Especially since it’s Griffin we’re talking about.”
They stared at each other for a moment. Howard finally broke the spell. “I’ll see you at dinner, then?”
“Guess so. Good luck with all of this.”
Lena left and prepared for Mrs. Corbett’s dinner; she hoped Griffin wouldn’t be kept long in New York, as the woman was becoming more finicky than ever. She had stopped requesting fixed food and instead asked for things that she herself could make her own sandwiches with. She wouldn’t drink from cups anymore, instead preferring unopened sealed beverages. Darius was becoming more of a handful, and while he wasn’t mobile yet, Lena was sure he would figure out how to crawl any day, and Mrs. Corbett had warned her that when that happened, he would need constant supervision. Part of the problem seemed to be that he was bored with his toys and Mrs. Corbett was too paranoid to let Lena bring in any new ones. While Lena felt slightly bad that Griffin was in a jail somewhere, she harbored a small grudge that he had managed to delay his return.
The next two weeks came and went, and still no Griffin. Howard informed Lena that Griffin had to make a court appearance, which had been scheduled for the day before the first Council meeting. Master Daray was almost as furious as Lena with the whole situation.
With the arrival of more house servants with the other families, and the fact that they kept wandering unknowingly into her room to try to change the bed linens and clean the bathroom, Mrs. Corbett had gone from eccentric to near hysterical. She had stopped eating food that was “easily tampered with” and would only eat unpeeled fresh fruits and sealed store-bought goods. While it certainly cut down on the time required to prepare her meals, Lena was having a hard time justifying to Mrs. Ralston the fact that Mrs. Corbett required a fresh box of cereal to open every morning because she thought her old servants were sneaking into her room at night to poison the box from the previous day.
Lena’s time was at a premium. It seemed Mrs. Corbett was mere hours from losing the last cards in her deck, and Lena didn’t feel right leaving her alone with the baby for long periods of time. She was doing Howard’s paperwork and playing all the social games she could to keep favor in the Council. In addition, she was spending as much time as possible with the kitchen staff in the evenings to keep her sanity and her sense of humor alive.
The Masons hadn’t arrived until three days before the first Council because of a scheduling conflict with Greg’s job. Because there were only tents left, and Lena’s concern for Darius’s health was reaching a crescendo, she offered to let the entire family use her room for the duration of the Council and she moved herself up to sleep on a cot in Mrs. Corbett’s room. Mrs. Corbett was not happy with the arrangement, forcing Lena to lie and say it had been Griffin’s idea and it would only be until he got back—at that point, the rules regarding Lena needing to stay off the upper floors would kick back in, anyways. She wasn’t sure where she would be sleeping at that point, but there was a new baby in the Mason family, and they needed her room more than she did.
The first dinner and the dance went as they usually did, and that night Lena got to sit through her first Council. Because she couldn’t hear the public thought speak used by Representatives addressing the Council, Howard had to quietly translate for her. Most of the first meeting was a summary of everything that was going to be covered during that Council term, part of it was ceremonial, and it lasted until well past
midnight. The first order of business for the next morning was dealing with Griffin’s arrest; Lena wasn’t sure if he would even be back in time.
After the Council, Lena found her way down to the kitchen, where she met up with Devin, Tab, Pete, and a few other staff members. She could hear them all the way from the bottom of the stairs in the living room. They were sitting around the table laughing raucously and playing some sort of card game.
Devin caught her out of the corner of his eye. “Lena!”
“Lena!” The rest of the table looked up and echoed Devin’s yell. Tab gave up his chair next to Devin so that Lena could sit and pulled a stool up between Pete and a staff member Lena didn’t recognize around the other side of the table. He was tall, lanky, blond, and perhaps in his early twenties; he gave Lena a small nod as she took her place at the table.
Devin threw an arm around her shoulders and started pointing around the table. “Lena, I think you remember Jen and Phil from last year, and the new guy’s Rollin, but we all call him The Captain here. Thinks he’s a revolutionary. This is Lena Collins, a friend.”
Rollin’s stern expression never changed through the introductions. He carefully put down his hand of cards. “So, you’re Daray’s last stand. I must say, you don’t live up to the stories.” The table went silent, and after realizing his faux-pas, Rollin started speaking again. “It’s just that there’s these…stories, that’s all. Where I come from, you’re a living legend for the life you’ve led. You’re a politician, right? The only human-raised politician on the Council?”
Lena gave Devin a hesitant sideways glance. For someone who she didn’t know, he knew a lot about her; there were a few human-born Silenti on the Council, but to her knowledge she was the only human-raised one. There weren’t many people who willingly or consciously made that distinction. She smiled, trying to bring back the airy atmosphere that had existed before she came into the room. “I guess so.”
“Tell me then, do you have any desire to help our cause? The rest of the human-born Silenti?”
Rollin was trying to stare her down. She turned to face him and held his gaze. “Absolutely. I believe everyone has a right to be fairly represented, and I hope someday—“
“Someday. You see now, that’s the problem. Are we some sort of hobby to you? From what I’ve heard, you come and go here as you please, just like the rest of them. You have your fun and then you go back up to your rich life, and you don’t give a damn what happens to us in between. You claim you care, but this house was built by slave labor and you still live in it. You have access to enough money to change the lives of every person at this table, but you don’t do it. You eat the food we cook, wear the clothes we wash, and sleep in the beds we make. Seems to me you enjoy this system more than anyone else at this table. You’re just like the rest of them, asking our friendship on the promise of a ‘someday.’”
Lena stared at him for a moment. “That’s not true!” She stammered. “There’s work being done on your behalf…”
“No?!” Rollin shot up from his seat, almost toppling Tab from his stool in the process. “Let me ask you this, then. You just came from the Council briefing?”
Lena nodded.
“Was there any mention at all about the fifty-two people who were put out of their home last spring when the Corbett household was dissolved on a whim? Did anyone ask, or even care, what happened to us and where we went? Because I can tell you the most of us are starving with nowhere to go and no past. Some of them can’t even get government aid from this country because we don’t have birth records to prove citizenship. We’re starving in the streets, and it’ll be a cold day in hell when the Council decides to do a damn thing about it! You claim you’re like us, but I’d bet my life that that particular fate is something you’ve never had to worry about.”
Lena stared at him. He stared back. The tension was so thick Lena thought she could feel the air pulsing around her, but then she realized it was her own heartbeat. Rollin looked like he was ready to jump across the table and attack her for everything that she represented in his eyes. And then a new voice joined the fray.
“Lena, what the hell are you doing down here? What’s going on?” Lena looked over at the laundry room door. Griffin had just come in through the side entrance, and she hated to admit that she was happy to see him. A second man, about Griffin’s height and weight, with dark hair and Griffin’s nose, was standing just behind him looking bewildered. They were both wearing long coats, suggesting the weather was starting to turn again. Griffin and Rollin had locked eyes.
“I want you out of this house.” Griffin said. His tone was serious, and his eyes were filled with a pointed hatred as he stared at Rollin.
Lena didn’t know why, but she felt compelled to speak on Rollin’s behalf. “It’s okay, Griffin, you don’t need to—“
“Shut up, Lena, you don’t know anything about this. Get out. I want you gone by tomorrow morning.” He didn’t blink. Neither did Rollin. After a tense few seconds, Rollin left the room, roughly pushing past Griffin. Lena heard him go into the servants’ quarters, and then he left through the side entrance, slamming the door as he went. Griffin turned to Lena. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I’m not leaving.” Lena stayed in her chair. She wasn’t afraid of him—Rollin’s point was starting to hit home. She wasn’t like them at all; she didn’t have to leave when Griffin told her to. Had her mother been anyone else, though, she would have followed his orders like anyone else.
“We have a meeting tomorrow morning.” Griffin said coolly.
“So?” Lena met his gaze. She suddenly realized that Devin still had his arm around her shoulders. She hoped Griffin could tell how disgusted she with what had just transpired.
Griffin stared at Lena for a moment longer, and then decided to move on. He was too tired to deal with her now. He looked over at Pete. “Show my guest to the Alarid’s room; they’ll be expecting him.”
Pete got up and walked silently from the room, and the dark haired man followed him without a word. Griffin threw Lena another annoyed look before stalking out; Lena dreaded the conversation they would inevitably be having the next day. Everyone remaining in the room was completely silent.
“I’m sorry.” Lena murmured.
“I think I’ll call it a night.” Tab avoided Lena’s gaze and went back to the servants’ quarters.
There was another minute of silence. Devin finally looked over at Lena. “I don’t know what he was talking about. That was pretty damn legendary, if you ask me.”
There was an audible sigh of relief, but no one was laughing. Phil looked over at Devin. “So, are we still playing?”
“Sure.” Devin collected the cards from around the table and shuffled them. As he dealt the cards out, he looked over at Lena. “Have you ever played poker before?”
“Yeah.”
They played a few rounds before Lena found her way up to the fourth floor. She alerted Mrs. Corbett to her presence, as she had done every night to be sure she wasn’t mistaken for a servant and attacked, and collapsed into the her cot. She didn’t sleep well that night.
“You can have your mother back now.” Lena had waited outside the Council hall on the fifth floor to talk to Griffin. They were expected to be seated inside, ready to begin, in ten minutes—this way she wouldn’t get pulled into any long lectures about how she was supposed to be acting. She was bleary from the fight the night before, but found herself surprisingly alert given how little sleep she’d gotten.
“How’s she doing?” Griffin was looking about as tired as Lena felt.
“They’re okay. I mean, your mom is crazy, there’s no way of sugar-coating that fact, but the kid looks like he’ll be crawling any day now.”
“Healthy?” Griffin asked.
“How am I supposed to know?” Lena rolled her eyes. “She won’t take him to a doctor and I don’t have a clue.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” He walked away and took his place next to
Master Daray in the Council hall. Lena followed him in and her place next to Howard. All four of them were sitting toward the front of the room that day because Daray, Howard, and Griffin were going to have to speak about how and why Griffin had ended up incarcerated in New York.
A moderator called the meeting to order and asked Griffin to explain what had happened. His testimony was backed up by Howard and Daray, and his cousin, Nicolas Alarid. Nicolas was going to be giving his exposition for Council approval at the end of the present Council term. Things appeared to be going well until someone asked Griffin what he had been so desperate to get into the country, and he replied that Daray had sent him to India to collect some Silenti relics from an archaeologist there. Howard’s translation of the events suddenly stopped. People were standing up, yelling, and through the commotion the moderator finally got everyone to calm down.
Lena leaned over and whispered. “What’s happening?”
Howard glanced over at her before fixing his eyes on Griffin and the moderator at the front of the room. They’re upset because he doesn’t know what he was bringing back. Master Astley is now making the point that Daray was put under house arrest to prevent his further dabbling in dangerous Silenti artifacts—he could have found the portal, for all anyone knew, and Griffin would have brought it back to him without ever knowing. It’s a grave transgression if those relics are found to be anything but ordinary.
Griffin was excused back to his seat, and Daray was called to speak.
Howard started his commentary again. He’s saying the relics were just collector’s pieces, nothing special, and that they were so insignificant he didn’t even think the Council would care. He could have had them delivered, but as Griffin was going anyways, he thought it would be easier and safer to have them picked up. Howard gazed around behind him. Okay, Master Astley is saying that as Griffin is a member of the Daray house, and he’s proved himself not trustworthy, he should have the same restrictions placed on him that you, your mother, and your grandfather have…Master Perry is saying that it’s a stupid idea, as the only reason we have such restrictions is for your own safety and to prevent Daray from actively seeking and opening the portal. He’s making the point that any person here could try to find the portal and bring it here, Griffin is no exception…Master Astley is getting very upset, Master Alarid is asking why we even bother with such a trivial issue, he’s out of prison now and the relics look fairly innocuous.
Displayed at the front of the room, they did look innocuous. There was a small wood chest, maybe only twelve inches long, a large book, and a shard of a mirror. Lena wasn’t sure how they had managed to get them back from customs, but she was willing to bet the government didn’t know they were missing.
Master Mason is siding with Master Astley, as if the habit is allowed to continue it allows Daray a means of searching for the portal without Council knowledge. There was a loud sound from the back of the room, and several people spun around in shock. Master Alarid had slammed his fist down on the desk. Okay, Master Alarid is now making the point that the portal belongs to Daray anyways, as it had belonged to his ancestors, and he finds it ridiculous that the Council has restricted religious belief and practice so definitely. Master Astley is…using expletives, and is generally unhappy with Master Alarid’s position, because the Council has not restricted religious practice. It has restricted the use of possible unknown biological weaponry…
And the use of the word ‘weaponry’ started a whole new debate. Lena looked around her and saw people rolling their eyes and sighing heavily. Apparently this debate had happened a few times before. It went on until lunch break was announced by the moderator, and everyone filed down to the dining room, where the debate continued.
“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe we’re wasting time on this again.” Greg Mason sat down next to Lena and Howard. “Can’t we just, for once, know the issues, sit down, and take a vote on whether or not we think punishment or restrictions are in order?”
Howard gave him an almost sarcastic look of disapproval. “Now, Greg…This was all new for Lena, wasn’t it?”
Lena nodded. “Parts of it, anyway.”
“Yeah…I bet you never thought Council was so…chaotic.” Greg grumbled.
“Uncivilized? Yeah, it was getting a little hot in there. I’d never have guessed that everyone was toning it down so much when they were outside that room.” Lena looked around the dining room, surprised to see everyone so instantly calm as the food was brought out. A plate landed in front of Lena, and she looked around and saw Devin. He winked. Lena started looking for the note, and found it in the napkin that was wrapped around her silverware.
Don’t eat the soup.
Cards tonight 10:00 p.m.
Lena’s eyes shot to the people sitting across the table from her. They were all sitting at the smaller, round tables because it created a “sense of equality” more so than the large head table that was used for dinners. Other than Howard and Greg, her only other table mates were Masters Abbott, his heir, Perry, and some guy whose name she couldn’t remember, but who she remembered hanging around her grandfather a lot during the last Council. She looked back at the note, careful not to think too loudly about what it said. A lot of things could have happened to that soup.
Greg didn’t seem too interested in his soup, which was good, but Howard already had a spoonful en route to his mouth. Lena caught his arm as inconspicuously as she could and shook her head when he looked over at her. He put the spoon down and pushed his soup away. He didn’t want to know what was wrong with it, but he was certainly glad that Lena had friends in the kitchen.
*****