More guests.

I was in the kitchen with Mr. Aliev as he showed me some techniques to trim the fat out of the meat with some very prolific knife slices that didn’t give credit to his grumbling that our knives weren’t sharp enough.

“I’ll bring you a good set of knives next time,” he told me. “That and a good whetstone.”

“Please, it’s not necessary,” I told him.

Mr. Aliev scowled at the knife he was holding. “I disagree.”

Then I heard someone running, coming into the house through the backdoor and saw the blonde blur heading towards the front door.

“Sarah? What happened?” I asked.

“My folks are here!” she shouted back, excited.

Mr. Aliev chuckled beside me. “I don’t think that girl ever went through a rebellious phase with her family like Mila did with us.”

I grinned. “Was Mila too big of a troublemaker?”

“No, but nothing we did ever made her happy. If we talked to her, she’d get mad. If we didn’t, we were negligent. If we got her gifts for her birthday, we didn’t get the right ones, and if we asked her what she wanted, she’d say she didn’t care.”

“Ugh…”

“Exactly.” Mr. Aliev laughed. “Longest couple of years of my life. That attitude went away by the time she turned 17, mostly.”

“Holly says Oliver never gave her any trouble and I’m so jealous of that,” Mrs. Aliev said, walking into the kitchen with my mom beside her.

“What trouble was there for him to give me when he stayed cooped in his bedroom for the better part of six years?” mom said. “Your girl and her friends did me a favor by getting him out of there.”

“Please, he’s been a better influence on our Mila,” Mrs. Aliev said. “I went to check her bedroom and her bed was made! I couldn’t believe my eyes!”

I chuckled. “I can’t take credit for that. That was Grace.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the loud voices coming from the entrance. We all stopped to listen.

“Wooooaaaah! It’s so big!”

“It’s bigger than our house!”

“Why is it so empty, though?”

Robert, Violet and Cole spoke, in that order. The younger kids seemed impressed, while the older one asked a perfectly valid question.

“Um… We’re planning to do something here,” Sarah told them.

That was one way to say we both ran out of money and had no idea what to do with such a large space. Our best idea so far was to make one of the two empty spaces a large dining room for gatherings like these when we couldn’t be outside.

“Can we go exploring?” Robert asked.

“Not before you say hi to everyone,” Sarah told them.

Cole groaned. “Everyone?”

“Everyone,” Sarah confirmed. “Oliver’s in the kitchen. Over there.”

Quick steps got louder and louder as the kids got closer. Robert and Violet ran into the kitchen, eyes wide when they saw me and ran directly at me.

“Oliver!”

“Robert! Violet! Welcome!” I knelt to their level and the two kids threw themselves at me for a big hug at the same time. “We were waiting for you. Sarah’s misses you a lot.”

“R-Really?” Violet asked, grinning.

I nodded. “She won’t admit it, though, so don’t tease her too much.”

The two kids laughed, seeming happy to hear that.

Cole came in next, walking slowly with hands in his pockets and that air of disinterest that a kid barely starting puberty tries to put on. I stood up.

“Hey, Cole,” I said, greeting him with a handshake and a fist bump, trying to let him feel more grown up than his younger siblings. I hoped he didn’t notice, but whether he did or not, he appreciated it and smiled back.

“Um… Congratulations on the house,” he said.

“Thanks.”

The kids greeted Mila’s parents, who they already knew, and I introduced them to my mom. They were a little stiff, yet very polite with her.

“Why don’t you all go check the house out with Sarah?” I asked them. “There’s still some time until we have lunch ready.”

“Yeaaah!” Robert and Violet went running back to their big sister. Cole gave me a nod and followed them.

Right after they left, Mr. And Mrs. West came into the kitchen, each holding a white box.

“Hello everyone,” Mrs. West greeted, smiling brightly. “I made a couple of cakes. Where should we leave them?”

“Oh, thank you. The counter should be fine,” I told them.

Mr. West and Mr. Aliev shook hands while Mrs. West and Mrs. Aliev hugged and kissed each other’s cheeks. Of course, they knew each other well, with their daughters being long time friends. I also introduced the Wests to my mom, whose mood seemed to be getting even better by the minute.

“Congratulations on the house, Oliver,” Mrs. West said, giving me a kiss on the cheek as a greeting.

“Everything well so far?” Mr. West asked me as we shook hands.

“Nothing we haven’t been able to handle. We’re still getting used to the morning routine,” I told them.

“How’s the commuting so far, by the way?” Mr. Aliev asked, picking up the knife again and continuing trimming the meat.

“I think we’re fairly lucky. We haven’t had to deal with a lot of traffic.”

“Hey, that reminds me, Diana mentioned something about a fight breaking out at the bar last night. What happened?” mom asked me.

“What? A fight?” Mrs. Aliev’s eyes went wide.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Mrs. West asked.

“N-No, I’m fine, really,” I said, smiling to reassure them. “It wasn’t really a fight. Two customers began to yell at each other, but we were able to calm them down before it came to blows.”

“Did you get them kicked out?” Mr. Aliev asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing happened beyond a few shouts, so no. We convinced them to move to the restaurant or return to their rooms so we wouldn’t have to call the police.”

“‘We’ he says,” Diana said, coming into the crowded kitchen. Actually, no, it wasn’t crowded at all. Everyone was just too close. We still had PLENTY of space… “He did it all alone. Mr. Allen already heard, by the way,” she said, looking at me. “Seems he wants to talk to us, so he’s coming over tonight.”

“Oh.”

Diana took a deep breath I don’t think she meant to be so noticeable, but she braced herself to address everyone. “Good afternoon. I’m Diana, Diana Black. I’m… Oliver’s girlfriend as well. We work together at the bar.”

Much like always, her steady voice managed to hide her inner anxiety. However, the cold glare that showed itself when her nerves got hold of her wasn’t there.

“We don’t have much, but… Would anyone like a drink?” Diana offered.

There was an awkward silence that lasted for about five seconds. After all, this was the weird older woman hanging out with us and the Alievs and Wests were meeting her for the first time. And yet…

“I’d like one,” Mr. West said, smiling. “Sarah has told us a lot about you, especially how you’re responsible for her not being able to drink cheap beer anymore.”

“Me too, I’d also like something,” Mrs. Aliev said, walking over to Diana with a big smile.

I could feel relief washing over Diana, though she kept herself alert, believing she wasn’t out of the woods yet. Mila and the others were also important to Diana, and she didn’t want their families to think she was getting in their way or being a bad influence, but I wasn’t particularly worried. Like Mr. West said, the girls all looked up to Diana, and they had good reasons to.

She’d be fine.

Patreon.