Chapter 28

“Did you save anything for yourselves, Mom?” Brian said.

“Of course I did,” she said.

“Come in and make yourselves comfortable,” Brody’s grandfather said. “Can we offer you a glass of wine?”

“Certainly,” Brian’s father said.

“Brody,” his grandfather said, “when you finish stashing that food, why don’t you open that bottle of Balmoral Syrahthat I picked up last week?”

“I’ll give him a hand,” Brian said, and proceeded to do so.

When they were sipping the wine, Brian’s mother said, “I’m really sorry about what happened earlier.”

“No need for that, Margaret,” Mr. Murphy said. “We removed ourselves from the scene before it got ugly.”

“Yes, there is a need for apologies,” Mr. Turner said. “If my daughter-in-law can’t keep a civil tongue in her head in polite company, it’s definitely a problem.”

“At least we have a little more insight into things, now,” Mrs. Turner said.

“What does that mean, Mom?” Brian said.