"Too late. We know the forbidden names. You're screwed."
"Thanks a bunch. I hope you have a really embarrassing name, and I can use it against you."
"My name is Sarah Elizabeth. Not embarrassing."
"Rats."
"Dinner's about ready to be served. Wash up!" his mother called from the kitchen. "We'll eat in here," she said as the door dropped shut.
Obi and Sarah wandered to the small restroom off the foyer, under the stairs. She washed first, then he did. It was awkward with the sling, but he figured it out.
What had originally been a back porch, had been turned into a large breakfast nook. The circular table was huge, so there was plenty of room. It was laden with food.
"This is like Thanksgiving and Christmas combined!" Obi said, smiling.
"It's a celebration," Wynter said, taking his hand. "Your family is back together, and there are new friends here."
"We're all family," Hester said with a smile. "I'm delighted to meet you girls. I believe that you'll be good for my sons."
"Mom, we just met," Clive reminded her.
"You're going to argue with me?"
"No, ma'am."
"Good. Blessing, Prescott."
Obi and his father both opened their mouths. Laughing, Obi let his father do the honors. Afterward, they started passing the dishes. Eagle was on one side, Wynter on the other. Between them, they served Obi.
"I feel like I'm three years old again," he grumbled.
"A three year old doesn't act like such a big baby," Eagle remarked casually.
"I will hit you," Obi said. "And there's not a thing you can do about it."
"Boys," Hester said. "I swear, you get together, and revert."
"My sisters and I have been known to do the same," Frankie said. "Especially—"
"Emily," Wynter finished.
"Exactly."
"It's not easy being the youngest," Eagle said.
"The youngest gets away with murder," Clive said. "And you always blamed everything on me. You knew better than to try to palm it off on Obi. But you constantly got me in trouble."
"I did not."
"The garage door? Mrs. Jenkins' car window? Hm?" He tilted his head, eyeing his younger brother sharply.
"You did do the garage door!" Eagle protested.
Clive looked at Obi. "Well?"
"Eric totally nailed the garage door with the baseball bat. I tried to explain at the time," he told his parents. "And he broke Mrs. Jenkin's car window, and he tied the fire crackers to the cat's tail."
"You were an obnoxious little brat," Sarah teased, nudging Eagle.
"I never did! You totally did all those things."
"I'm here to tell you, he didn't. You've lied about it so long, you really believe it. You were kind of a little shit," Obi said calmly.
"If you weren't injured, I'd smack the daylights out of you."
"If I weren't injured, I'd let you try," Obi said calmly.
"Enough, boys," their father interceded at just the right moment. "Ladies, this meal is absolutely delicious. I applaud you all."
The brothers agreed. Eagle gave Sarah a kiss. Feeling a little left out, Obi and Clive gave their lady friends a kiss on the cheek. All three earned smiles.
After dinner, Prescott headed to Obi's office to work on Sunday's sermon. The others gathered in the living room with coffee and board games. The women had brought several with them.
"I wanted Cards Against Humanity, or Exploding Kittens," Clive said. "But I was out voted."
"Not appropriate," Sarah said sternly. "We discussed this."
"Yeah. We did. Doesn't mean I like it, or appreciate, the tongue lashing that followed." He glared at his younger brother.
"We've got Utter Nonsense," Sarah said with a grin. She plunked a green box on the table. "And Clue. What would you like, Hester?"
"Let's play Utter Nonsense. This sounds fun."
They had a lot of fun playing the game, which had silly sayings, combined with weird accents, for nearly an hour and a half. At one point, Prescott came out to get a cup of coffee, and heard them laughing. Smiling, he watched for a moment, from the kitchen doorway. Delighted they were having fun, he headed back to finish up his sermon. He was very pleased with how it had turned out. He'd never had one fall into place so quickly.
Around 10:00, everyone went home, leaving Obi and his parents at his house. He took a pain pill and went to bed. Prescott and Hester stayed up a little longer, talking about his sermon, and how to tweak it. Putting the final polish on it, they headed to bed about 11:00.
Obi was up a few times during the night, but felt less uncomfortable than he had earlier in the day. He slept better, and got up with less groaning and moaning. His arm wasn't as stiff, and the lividity of his bruises had diminished. Feeling much better, he trotted downstairs, whistling. Someone knocked at the door. He had no idea who might be visiting that early, but he opened the door with a smile. A man he didn't know, stood on the porch. Obi didn't much like his expression.
"Father Prescott Randolph?" He put his hand on the storm door. Fortunately, it was locked.
"Who are you?"
"Are you Prescott Randolph?"
Obi glared at him. The man's face grew stony.
"Answer the question."
©Dellani Oakes 2023
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