The residents have a pillow fight, started by Emma and Carlos.
"Is this how you behave when I'm gone?" A cheerful Irish brogue queried.
"Molly!" they yelled in chorus.
They all wanted to hug her at once, but as she was holding the baby, they refrained. They all got to see little Chip and noticed that he did, indeed, resemble his father. Amazingly, he was still asleep after their loud greeting. He stirred a slightly, left arm escaping the swaddling blanket. He socked the air firmly, small fist shooting out with amazing strength.
"Look at the left hook on that kid," Sam said. "He'll be a martial artist in no time. Train him up right, you've got yourself an ultimate warrior, Molly."
"Little South Paw," Raleigh commented from behind his wife. "Like his old man."
"He'll be ambidextrous and a surgeon, thank you very much," Molly decreed. "Though with the ability to defend himself," she conceded when Sam and Raleigh's faces fell.
"Every kid should be able to defend himself," Carlos said quietly. "Chip isn't gonna be a victim. Are you, sport?" He brushed one finger on the baby's scalp.
Chip yawned, waving his fist around. His eyes opened and twin blue orbs surveyed the assorted group with great wisdom, though slightly cross eyed. He licked his lips, opened his mouth and let forth one tiny cry of dismay. The group stepped back as Molly cuddled her newborn son.
"Hist, you. Stop that. They're a rowdy bunch, but you'd best get used to them. They're here for a while. And Lord knows, I shan't be rid of them, even after they're supposed to be gone." Grinning, she whisked her baby off to their private quarters.
The rest of the day proceeded relatively normally. No one even mentioned the murder, but it was on their minds. They could read it in one another's expressions and they way they kept an eye on the door and jumped when someone made a loud noise.
Emma was particularly on edge. She was worried that the man she and Sam had seen would come looking for them. Sam tried to reassure her, but he didn't have full confidence that they were safe, himself.
After supper, the group usually hung around the common areas watching TV or playing games. Tonight, no one felt particularly much like being together, nor did they feel like being alone. Molly, seeing their distress, clapped her hands sharply.
"I know I'm off duty," she was technically on maternity leave. "But I have a request. We've a perfectly lovely piano, and some guitars in the studio. I want live music. As I've just given birth, you'll indulge me."
Laughing, Sam and Vera went out to the studio. They took Glenn along—not so much because they needed his muscles for lifting, but they felt better having a third person with them and he was the largest of the bunch. They came back in carrying a variety of acoustic guitars. Benji found a wooden crate, pot lids, buckets and a couple of wooden spoons in the kitchen. He set up an improvised drum set.
Freddie sat at the piano, already playing a few slow chords. Those who played guitars, Glenn, Sam, Vera and Carlos, took them and spent the next few minutes tuning them. Those who didn't play sat across from the knot of musicians, acting as audience. Emma sat next to Molly with Cory on the other side. Donna sat on the floor, while Cory braided her long hair. Tim and Shelby sat together, their arms around each other.
"I've got one," Glenn said as his fingers fluttered over the strings. "Join in when you know it." He played a distinctive series of chords on the guitar.
Smiling, Sam came in with an improvised rhythm and the others joined in as soon as Sam started to sing Into the Mystic by Van Morrison. Benji patted on the box adding a soft drumbeat. Freddie surprised them all with how well he could play the piano. They continued with a variety of songs from the sixties, seventies and eighties. They even threw in a few nineties songs by Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots and Sound Garden. Benji took up the vocal on Black Hole Sun, wailing like Chris Cornell.
"I want another Irish tune," Molly said after an hour or so of music. "I'll be having I'm Still in Love With You, if you please."
©2020 Dellani Oakes
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