Brant had never considered asphyxiation to be part of parenting.

“So, what would you like to try first?” Brant asked when Maria finally let him breathe again. The hug she had welcomed him with was part happy child and part boa constrictor, but she pressed the good side of her face against his chest and held him as tight as she could for a very long time. It felt…odd. But good. Truth be told, he’d kind of missed the kid since he’d come home. He cleared his throat before he said something completely sappy, and clapped his hands together as she stepped away. “You’re in California! There’s Disneyland, the studio tours, Hollywood…you name it!” Maybe he was a little over the top, given the way the girl’s eyes widened, but suddenly the idea of doing the family kind of thing with Maria and Mel seemed completely normal. It felt right.

“Brant…” Mel said slowly, “I think Maria and I are kind of wiped out from the trip; maybe we could do some of those things later? Would that be all right?”

“Oh. Shit—I mean, yes. Yeah, of course. I should’ve thought of that. I took a few days off, so we’ve got time. Let’s spend the day here and we can look at doing some of that later in the week.”

Mel kissed his cheek and Maria grinned at him. The girl’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. In fact, if anything, she seemed slightly withdrawn. He reached out to stroke her cheek and tousled her hair. “Alice has dinner for us; are you two hungry?”

“I think Dr. Mel has worked up an appetite,” Maria said slyly.

“MARIA!”

The girl giggled. “Dr. Brant, you have a big, fancy house, but the walls are very thin.”

Mel might have only looked horrified, but Brant about swallowed his tongue. As Mel turned away, blushing furiously, Brant decided that no child was going to embarrass him. “Tell you what, Maria, I’ll put her in my room at the other end of the house. You won’t hear a thing.”

Now he had them both blushing.

Sometimes he forgot this ‘child’ was considered nearly an adult in her village.

He shook his head as he led the way to the dining room, making jokes with Maria, teasing Mel until he had her blushing again. That odd feeling came back as they settled at the table; looking across at Mel and Maria seemed right somehow. Natural. Like family.

For a moment, he imagined himself as a husband and father. Would it be like this? Loving wife, cute, clever children? It was a fantasy, but for the moment he allowed himself to imagine it, to feel what it might be like. It tasted…good. Better than the soup Alice served with the first course. And Alice served a pretty good corn chowder.

“Sir,” Alice said formally, and with a touch of acid in her voice as she set a bowl at his place. “Could I speak to you in the kitchen, please?”

“Sir?” Brant smiled at the woman who’d helped raise him when his mother’s busy schedule required her to be gone for prolonged periods as she filmed in exotic locations. The dead look in the woman’s eyes killed the nascent smile on his lips. “Ah, of course.” He turned to Mel. “Excuse me, please.”

“Please don’t hesitate to ring that bell there, if you need anything,” Alice said, pointing to a little silver bell next to the salt shaker. It was with some coolness that she preceded Brant out of the room, her shoulders held stiff and straight.

Brant followed her into the large kitchen, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. Alice wouldn’t take him from his soup unless something was wrong. Very wrong.

Alice rounded on him the second the door swung shut behind them. “Are you aware that child is fighting tears? I spent a half hour trying to calm her down while you were upstairs with that…that woman. She’s alone and thousands of miles from everything she’s ever known. You need to go slowly with a child like that. Not throw her around in some of the most crowded areas of the state! Disneyland?!”

Brant winced. He’d forgotten about Maria when he saw Mel. Could Alice blame him? He opened his mouth to argue, but held off. Mel had come here because of Maria. He’d set those wheels in motion. Maybe he’d been rushing things a little bit. That whole family vibe had gotten to him. He’d barely sorted things out with Mel. They’d had sex. Damn good sex, but hadn’t really talked. Was he supposed to sit down and talk to her? He stared at Alice, like the problem was her fault. What the hell was he supposed to talk about with Mel? How work was? How much he’d missed her? How life had gone back to normal less than a week after he’d returned?

Maybe this whole thing was going a little too fast. He put up his hands to forestall further tirade, knowing his contrite look was maybe a little bit over-practiced, but no less sincere. “I didn’t realize. No, you’re right; I was just so happy to see them both that I didn’t think.”

“No. You. Did. Not.” Each word was clipped short. “You’re still not thinking. I gave that woman the room for several reasons; one was to be close to the girl who is now separated from the only person she has left as a tie to her old home.”

Brant waited. There was something else and he could feel the weight of it.

“And you know why I didn’t set her up in your room.”

There it was. They’d never talked about it. He couldn’t talk about it. He sure as hell wasn’t going to try now. Brant felt his spine stiffen. “Alice,” Brant warned, “this is my decision.”

“Then make it.” Alice hissed. “One way or the other! Or are you always going to let other people dictate your life?”

“Just because my mother—”

“Don’t you dare!” Alice raised a warning finger. “Right now, you’re a stinking liar.” She jabbed the finger into his chest. “And until you’re ready to stand on your own two feet and tell the world exactly what you want, you can make your own meals. I’ll be back when you’re all grown up, not before.” She started untying her apron.

What the hell? She was leaving? “Alice. Wait…”

“For what? Brant, I’ve known you since you were a little boy, grabbing at your mother’s skirt with one hand and blanket with the other. You’ve been a grandson to me. Even when you were away at college you wrote me almost as much as your mother. I won’t watch this, Brant, I won’t.” Alice walked to the kitchen door and paused with her hand on the knob. “Understand this: whatever happens, I’ll come help you pull yourself off the floor. I’ll help you become whatever you’re planning on being. But I will not watch you get hurt. And you’re going to get hurt, Brant. And this time, you’re not the only one who’s going to pay.”

Then she was gone through the servant’s entrance.

Brant stood where he was, as though rooted to the floor.

In the dining room, his soup was growing cold.

He had no idea where to even find the rest of their dinner.

“Brant?” Mel called. “Everything okay?”

“I’m in here.” Brant called back as his cell phone rang. “Brant Layton.”

Mel wandered into the kitchen, holding two empty soup bowls.

“No,” Brant nodded to her, but addressed the phone. “I’m not coming in for…now? Seriously? Are you kidding? No, I know it’s not you, Lisa, it’s the old man. I just…I take one day off and still… Yeah, tell him I’ll be there as soon as I can get there; depending on traffic, it may be a while...okay. Thanks, Lisa.” He tried to stab the phone with his index finger. He only managed to smudge the screen and still hadn’t disconnected the call. He hit it again, until he was sure Lisa had been consigned back to the ether, and closed his eyes.

“Everything okay?” Mel’s sweet face burned with concern.

“I’m very sorry,” he said as he stuffed his phone into his back pocket, “but I have to make a run into the office. It shouldn’t be too long. Two of the senior partners want us all to have a conference meeting, of all things, and they’re making a big deal…”

Mel reached a finger to his lips to quell his anger. “Shh. It’s okay. Really. I’m worn out between the flight, the rollercoaster ride here, and the…” she leaned up to kiss him, “…the wonderful way I was greeted when we arrived. Honestly, I’m happy to just hang with Maria. Maybe doze off a little.”

Brant smiled and wrapped her in his arms. “I missed you, Doctor,” he whispered into her hair.

“I missed you, too, Doctor.” Mel laughed into his chest. The she slapped his butt, sharply, and pulled back. “Go to your meeting; we’ll be here. And hey, we have Alice, right?”

“Yeah, about that…Alice is taking some time off. A family matter. So, you two will have the run of the house.”

“What happened?”

“A bad grandson,” Brant said and kissed her again. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Mel smiled and caressed his chest once more. “Take your time. We’ll be fine.”

Brant went out the front door, keys in hand, thankful Mel hadn’t asked why in the hell he was being called in to the office for a meeting at 8:00 at night.

He wouldn’t have known what to say. Except that he had a bad feeling about it.