24. Chapter 24

Lily had left the door to her room wide open. Just approaching it, Lyra could hear what sounded like hip-hop drifting out into the hallway. She leaned into the doorway and tapped on the door a few times. Lily was laying on her bed, with her arms behind her head. She'd changed into a pair of shorts in the short time since Lyra last saw her. She lifted her head and sat up when she saw Lyra.

"Hey." She said, getting up and moving over to her computer. She clicked something and the music stopped. "Come in." Lyra came inside, taking a moment, as she often did, to look closely at the environment and deduce something about the person who lived there. Aside from what she'd noticed earlier, Lyra now noticed that her aunt had drawings and art posted up around her room, art of anthropomorphic animals. She wasn't sure why, but some of it looked familiar. "You talk to your brother already?" Lily asked.

"I did." Lyra answered. "He understands enough." Lemy had just boiled it down so basically, but he understood the big picture. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah." Lily nodded and sat down on her bed. She patted the spot next to her and Lyra sat down. "Do you like the house?"

"Yes." Lyra tried to be polite. "It's very homely." She did not mention the faint feeling that some of these rooms were figuratively cursed. "You have a nice room." Lyra was still looking around.

"My own little Shangri-La." Lily boasted. "But…uhh…" She awkwardly led into what she wanted to talk about. "You know, my brother might come here, right?" Lily asked. "Will you guys be okay if that happens?" Her aunt was expressing concern for them.

"We'll be fine." Lyra told her. "My mom keeps trying to call me. I'm pretty sure she knows what's happened. I'm certain she'll come here to get us." Lyra was looking at her aunt while she talked, so she noticed the other girl's expression darken.

Lyra was willing to hear her mom and dad out. She wasn't pledging to forgive them, but she'd listen. But Lily seemed to have made up her mind about her older sister, at least, and Lyra honestly couldn't blame her.

"I still want to talk to them." Lyra clarified. "Back there, everything seemed so overwhelming I just…I wanted to get away from it." Lily nodded, understanding. "But I realize there's probably a lot more to what happened that they want to tell us. And now I realize they both wanted to tell us-tell me," Lyra corrected herself "-about it. I just think I should hear them out if they're were willing to be upfront with me."

"Yeah." Lily was nodding. "I kind of dared my brother to come here to talk to Mom and Dad." She admitted. "I think…that there's still some good in him, you know? He's still like that older brother I had when I was little. He seemed to really miss me, and it sounded like he really cared about you guys. I still think it wasn't his fault!" She kind of blurted that last part out.

"It's not black and white." Lyra agreed, uncomfortably. She just didn't know; she'd left before getting those answers. "I think they're still good people too. Um…" Lyra mulled her words for a second. "What did you tell your mom and how did she react?" Lyra figured she needed to know; she couldn't have a proper reconnection with either of her parents if they weren't even going to be allowed here. Their grandma held no ill will against them, Lyra was sure, but she didn't know about their own children.

"She was pretty calm, actually." Lily sounded surprised. "I told her I knew about why Lincoln and most of my sisters left. She looked surprised that I knew, but she didn't seem to care. I got kind of worked up because she wouldn't tell me why they never told us. She didn't seem angry about it AT ALL." The blond emphasized. "I'm kind of wondering if Lincoln was telling the truth."

"Maybe she forgave them a long time ago." Lyra suggested. She couldn't do it herself, but for all she knew, her grandmother could.

"Well, I don't. Except for, maybe, Lincoln." Lily was not hesitant at all to banish nearly half her family. "And you know," she drifted back to what she'd been talking about before, "Lucy was always weird." She was blunt. "So, even if she was younger than him, I still think my parents were too quick to blame him."

Lyra's gothic aunt was younger than her uncle. Lyra's heart did a little flip. She hadn't considered that too deeply when there was so much else clogging her mind. And when she did the math in her head, she realized: Lincoln had done to Lucy essentially the same thing Lyra's mother had done to him. Something that should make him a monster.

But Lily seemed convinced of what she'd just said, and Lyra realized a pretty large gap had suddenly formed between her and her aunt. Lyra thought the black-haired woman was unusual, but what her aunt just suggested just seemed…mean. She was uncomfortable and wasn't sure how to respond to that.

But despite realizing his own actions flew in the face of what could be his only defense, Lyra wasn't overwhelmed with revulsion for her uncle. She wanted to hear his version of it, or maybe even Aunt Lucy's. She'd practically fled that the apartment with her brother, but she was starting to get the slightest regret for not staying and talking more.

"Are you going to forgive them?" Lily asked her, bringing Lyra out of her conflicted feelings and back to the conversation.

"I'm not sure." Lyra confessed. "I guess I just have to wait and hear what they have to say." Her mom would not be here for a day at least. With how scared Lincoln had been of this house last time she saw him here, she had no idea if , or even when, he'd be brave enough to come here. And even though Lyra knew she could, she absolutely would not go back to his residence, because she didn't know what had happened there, and she decided that she'd been wronged here and thus it was their responsibility to seek her out and fix it.

"Lily?" Rita's voice sounded in the hallway. The old woman had come up the stairs.

"Yeah, Mom?" Lily craned her neck to be able to see out her door. Her mother instead appeared directly in in the doorway, looking at Lyra.

"I just wanted to check in and make sure they're okay."

"Oh…we're fine!" Lyra said. "Lily got us settled in." The woman smiled and nodded before disappearing out of the frame. The two teens were silent and listened as Rita headed back down the stairs.

"She doesn't come upstairs a lot." Lily told Lyra. "It hurts her hips."

"Oh." Lyra realized that the woman was probably waiting for a chance to talk with her. "Maybe I should go speak to her. She's probably eager to talk to me." She'd told Lyra to come down when she was ready, and making sure Lemy understood was all Lyra knew she could realistically accomplish right now.

"I'm sure she is! Go ahead!" Lily encouraged her, even giving her a little push off the bed. "I'll be up here all day. I don't leave for college for another couple of weeks, so I'll be here to talk." Lyra had no idea how long she would be talking with her grandma, or how long this ordeal would last, but she was comforted to know there was someone closer to her age to talk to seriously.

"I will." Lyra stood up. "I need to thank her." She walked out of the room, but didn't not go straight for the stairs. She went back to her and Lemy's new room, to check on her little brother. He was laying back on his bed with headphones on, listening to music almost exactly like Lily had been when Lyra went to see her. He was relaxed. Satisfied, Lyra headed downstairs.

Compared to the upstairs, which had the ambient noise of Loan's video games drifting into the hallway, the downstairs was eerily silent once the stairs stopped creaking. "Hello?" Lyra called.

"To your left." Her grandmother's voice called out. Directly to Lyra's left was a doorway leading into a dining room that had an extremely long table in it. When Lyra leaned through the doorway, she realized her grandma was sitting at the end of the table out of sight, reading a book. She looked up and smiled as Lyra approached her.

"Hello." Lyra said in a small voice as she pulled out a chair and sat down. Her grandmother only looked at her kindly while she picked her words. "I'm really glad to be here again. I-I think I remember this room."

"You and Liena would play hide and seek under the table a lot." Her grandmother told her. "Liby too, but she bumped her head and wouldn't come in here anymore." She talked so freely and fondly about Lyra and her cousins (she still couldn't fathom thinking of them as sisters), that the 15-year-old was absolutely certain now there was absolutely no animosity from the women for any of her grandchildren born of this scandal.

"I believe you." Lyra's earliest memories were still mostly of her mom, but she didn't doubt what she was being told. There was just something about this 1st floor that her brain readily agreed with.

She wanted to try and catch up with this woman and cover a decade of missed time, but she couldn't do that without mentioning at least her mother and probably souring the conversation. Lyra really wanted this to be a nice moment, but she wanted to be responsible too.

"I'm sorry, but…my mom will be coming to pick me and Lemy up before too long. Lincoln might come too." Lyra warned her. She was going to promise to try and not raise a commotion inside the house, but her grandma cut her off.

"I know they will." She sounded sure. "They love you more than they're scared of us. I won't stop them."

"You don't sound angry." Lyra noted.

"It's been ten years, Lyra. No one can stay angry that long and I can't stay angry at my own kids either."

"Sorry, Lily and me just found out everything only an hour ago." Her timing might've been a little off, but she knew that it hadn't been long at all. "We're still trying to deal with it, but I guess you already have. You know about it more than either of us." Her grandmother closed her eyes and sighed, and Lyra saw the first sign of weariness from the old woman.

"Yes, I do." She confessed.

"So, you've forgiven them?" Lyra asked. Her grandmother nodded. "Why?" Lyra asked, hoping for some insight that could soothe the turmoil in her own heart. Her grandma closed the book she'd been reading and looked at her granddaughter.

"They're my kids. That's reason enough." Rita stated, and Lyra felt a slight chill up her spine. "Did you find out why Lincoln and your mother ran away from home and the rest stopped talking to us?" Rita asked. Lyra had to think for a moment to recall if she knew.

"It had to do with Lucy." She remembered overhearing that when she was eavesdropping. "You caught them…together."

"Yes. We did." She sounded tired. "That was a terrible night." She shook her head. "But I'm glad Lincoln ran away that night." She admitted, surprising Lyra. Her granddaughter listened curiously. "We were so close to calling the police. If we had, half of my children would be in prison and I wouldn't be able to live with myself." She revealed. "I don't agree with what they did, but I don't think they deserve that."

Lyra stayed silent while her heart started beating a little more rapidly. She was glad too, because she knew if that had really happened, her life would be a lot different. She wasn't sure exactly how, but just the knowledge that it would've involved her being separated from her mother before Lemy was even born made it instantly terrifying and not something she wanted to dwell on.

"They're still wrong." Lyra spoke up. She didn't think they deserved a fate like that, even though what they had done was undeniably a crime and a sin.

"They were." Her grandmother agreed. "But they're my kids and they've suffered enough."

"I'm don't think it'll be that easy for me to forgive them." Lyra admitted. "They lied to me for my whole life. This secret has affected my whole life without me even realizing it." Her grandmother nodded as she spoke. "I only actually met Lincoln this summer." She got the woman's attention. "I remembered him from when I was little, but not a lot. My mom kept my brother and me away from him for years…" And was she mad at her mom for that? Or did she agree with her? Lyra didn't know what she really thought. "My life hasn't been horrible…but it feels like it was…fake?" That word wasn't what she thought exactly thought, but she felt it was close. "I need answers from them. And then I'll decide." She ended.

"That's your decision to make." Rita agreed with her. "It sounds to me like your mother decided she didn't want to continue with those bad decisions."

"Yes, well…" Could Lyra really commend her mother for that? "The harm was already done. I mean, she'd already ruined her own life." Lyra quickly diverted, then realized that wasn't necessarily right either. She struggled with her words for a moment. "She had me. She was already pregnant with Lemy. She couldn't walk away from us. Us being here only proves she can't make up for that." Was Lyra getting her point across? She wasn't sure.

"She did the best she could. I see her on TV. She's done very good for herself."

"You sound like you're defending her." Lyra said neutrally. Her grandmother was quiet for a prolonged period of time that started to make Lyra feel uncomfortable.

"I admit," Rita sounded guilty, "that after I found out, I wanted to think everything I saw was wrong. All my daughters were so happy to have daughters of their own and how Lincoln was so eager to help them. I wanted to think it wasn't right." She shook her head. "But I couldn't. The more I thought about it, the prouder I was of them for taking responsibility and doing what was right."

And like her aunt, Lyra found herself in disagreement with her grandmother now. She saw the merits the woman was talking about, certainly, but Lyra just couldn't see it as enough to justify forgiveness. Maybe it was a matter of perspective, or maybe time really did heal all wounds, but it wasn't convincing her. She would remember the valid points of it, but that was it.

Lyra had thought the secret was the reason the family had split. Something they just couldn't see eye to eye with each other on. But her grandmother here seemed at peace with it. So, what was the cause, really? Lyra was waiting for her mother's explanation, but that was only one side of the feud. The other was in front of her, and she wanted to know.

"If you've forgiven them, how come you never reached out to them?" Lyra asked. "Or did you already try?" She asked. Lyra wasn't sure how she'd react if she learned it was her own mother that had prevented putting this feud to rest. "Or do you not know where they are?" Lyra realized that could be true too.

"I've seen some of them around town." The woman admitted. "I always read about Lacy's games online. I know they live nearby." Lyra waited for her to continue. "After Luna had you, she loved to argue with me and her father." She seemingly changed the subject. "She wanted to raise you on her own, and we wanted her to finish school."

"You argued with all of my aunts that had kids?" Lyra guessed and her grandmother nodded. "You don't think they've forgiven you?" She shook her head. Forgiveness was a two-way street. But in this case, Lyra found herself far on her grandmother's side instead. The amount of things this woman had forgiven was awe-inspiring; it humbled Lyra to be related to a woman of such strength. Her parents and her aunts? They were undoubtedly in the wrong here and should've been grateful.

"I want to see my children again." Rita said. "But I know that unless they want to see us, it won't work." The woman sounded so heartbroken. Lyra felt a pang in her chest.

"Lincoln missed it a lot." She blurted out without thinking too far ahead. "About when the family was together. He has a lot of pictures he showed me. He sounded really sad when he talked about it." Rita was nodding and smiling. "I think all of them do. Um…" They missed it, but Lyra realized that didn't necessarily mean they would want it back.

From where Lyra was, she didn't think it would be hard for either side to come admit they were wrong. But wasn't that vain? She knew full and well she couldn't understand what any of them were feeling and thus it wasn't her right to tell them how to patch things up. She had a right to know, but not a right to interfere.

"Maybe after we talk, they can talk to you." It was wishful thinking, but not impossible. Lyra really wanted to give her grandmother something to hope for. Something about the atmosphere had become chilled, and Lyra thought that maybe this conversation should end for now. "I'm sorry." She swallowed nervously. "I think I still want some time to think about things. But, thank you for talking about this with me. It's been helpful." Lyra stood up and walked over, and her and her grandmother shared another hug, this one harder than the first, like it was meant to make up for all the ones that never happened because of the split. "Thank you, for everything." Her voice cracked slightly.

"I'll always be here. The house is open to you or them." Rita affirmed. "To help all of you." Lyra solemnly nodded, murmured a quiet thanks again, and stood up.

Lyra ascended the stairs again. She didn't check in on Loan. She didn't even go back to Lily's room to pick up where their conversation had left off. She headed back to her new room. Lemy was still on the smaller bed, bobbing his head to music playing through the headphones. Lyra hadn't made either of the beds before she left, so she did that now, grabbing sheets and starting to put them over the four corners.

When that was done, she eased her way onto the bed. With her head resting on a pillow, hands clasped on her chest, and eyes staring up at the grayish ceiling, Lyra Loud started to think. She thought about what, admittedly, probably little, she already knew. She thought about what she wanted to know. She imagined what she was going to say, and how she'd respond to what her mom or dad said.

At one point, Lemy got up from the other bed and flopped down next to her. Her thoughts broke and she turned her head to look at him. He was just lying there, with an arm behind his head still listening to his music. He'd just wanted to be closer to her. She smiled, and continued with her thoughts.

She was feeling safer now. More secure, in that she had a place to be and had, she felt, enough information to take her own stand in the inevitable conversation. In fact, she was so ready, she realized that she was actually impatient for it to happen. But she could wait. A day or two was nothing compared to a decade. They probably needed time to gather their own thoughts as well, and Lyra wanted them to come to this conversation as prepared as she was.

She didn't know how long her brother and her were laying there, each in their own little world, but grounded by each other's presence. But the light outside the window was starting to darken. The more she ran the same questions in her head, the more worn out she started to feel, until something broke the monotony of their thoughts.

Lyra raised her head when she heard something outside the house-a car. Her pulse quickened. Was it Lincoln? Had her mom made it here that fast? Lyra stood up and slowly started moving towards the window. Lemy raised his head and plucked a headphone out of one of his ears. She peered out between the curtain and the wall, and saw a van had parked in the driveway.

Running feet caused her to turn around, and Lily suddenly sprinted into the room, looking excited. "Guys!"

"What?" Her aunt's demeanor made her reconsider what she'd thought. But before Lily could say what she wanted to, the door downstairs opened.

"Honey, I'm home!" A male voice called, sounding echoing throughout the house.

"That's my dad!" Lily exclaimed. "Wait here!" She ran out of the room and down the stairs. Her dad. That would be Lyra's grandfather. Another introduction was in order. But how would we react? What did he think of all this? Lily and her mom had had a civil argument, but would they? Was Lyra and her brother's presence here about to cause a disturbance?

"Lemy, come on." She motioned to her brother. She didn't expect him to interact with the man-he still hadn't interacted with their grandmother-but at the very least he should see and be seen. They didn't go directly downstairs; they waited at the top of the stairs, holding hands. And conversation from below drifted up towards them. This, Lyra tried to reason, wasn't snooping.

"Hi Dad!" That was Lily's voice.

"Hey, Lilster." Lyra couldn't see, but she expected they were sharing a hug or something.

"Welcome home dear." Their grandmother spoke next. "How was work?"

"Fantastic!" Their grandfather sounded like a very bombastic person. "The new fusion bar is a hit with all my customers!" What was their grandfather? Lyra searched her brain. She felt sure this had been told to her. He owned a restaurant, that was it! Or at least, that's what Lincoln had told her. He'd lied about them moving to do it, but she figured he hadn't lied about that.

Right?

"Dad? I invited some people over tonight." Lily was speaking again.

"Friends of yours, sweetie?" He guessed without any loss of positivity. Downstairs suddenly got quiet; Lyra could only imagine her aunt and grandma looking reluctant to inform him.

"You should sit down." Rita told her husband next. They were going to tell him, and Lyra suddenly realized she didn't want to listen in on this conversation in case it turned nasty. She pulled Lemy back into their new room and closed the door.

"Let's just wait here." She told him. "We'll go downstairs to talk to them soon." She hoped that was what they'd do. She walked back over to their bed and sat down.

"Do I have to meet them?" Her little brother was annoyed, not grasping the potential earth-shaking potential of what was happening downstairs like she did. "Can't I just wait up here until mom gets us?"

"Yes, Lemy." She told him. "They want to see you. They're letting us stay here until Mom picks us up. It's the least you can do."

"I don't know them. Mom never mentioned them." Lemy reminded her. He was still standing by the door.

"I told you-they're our grandparents." Their only grandparents, Lyra realized. On both sides of their family, if she could even call it that. Lyra took a deep breath. "Mom never mentioned them because they were mad at her. She did a bad thing, remember?"

"I don't want to meet them if they hate Mom." In spite of what Lyra had told him, he was staying fiercely loyal to their mother.

"They don't hate her." The words made Lyra inwardly flinch, because she knew it was only a half-lie at the best. "I asked Grandma about it and she still loves Mom."

"Would Mom be happy if she knew she was here?" Lemy asked another deep question. Lyra closed her eyes for a second.

"Yes." She nodded slowly. "She's cares about us Lemy. She wants us to be safe. We're safe here. She'll be happy we stared stayed here waiting for her."

"So, I don't have to meet them to make mom happy." Lemy delivered his flawless little boy logic.

"No." Lyra conceded. She wasn't going to try and sell her little brother on that. Lyra had no idea what was going to happen when her mom and her grandparents saw each other again. Hopefully nothing violent. "But it would be nice of you." She got up and walked over to pull him against her. "And it'd make me happy."

"Man..." With the side of his face against her abdomen and his arms hanging by his side, Lemy groaned. "Fine."

"Thank you." Lyra let him go. "Don't worry, it'll only be if they want to."

Footsteps pounded up the stairs, and, a moment later, Lily threw their door open and leaned in. "Come downstairs!" She motioned before turning and hurrying back downstairs.

"Let's go, Lemy." She took his hand and led him out of the room. As they walked down the stairs, Lyra leaned and bent her head down to try and peer into the living room. Lily and her mother were standing around the chair, now occupied by a man.

Lyra had expected a man with such a chipper and energetic tone to look spry. She was surprised to discover her grandfather, in fact, looked very old; older than his wife even, and very skinny. His head was wrinkly and bald, with only a few tufts near his ears. His eyes looked sunken. Even just sitting in the chair, his expression was a deep frown, alleviated only slightly by a gray mustache. He was looking straight ahead while the two came down. Actually, his head seemed to turn just enough that they wouldn't even appear in his periphery vision. Already, he was giving off a much colder welcome than their grandmother had.

Lyra stopped at the bottom of the stairs, but Lily kept motioning them over. She approached with uneven steps, not helped by Lemy deliberately taking smaller steps and holding her back. When they came to a stop besides the chair, he still wasn't looking at them.

"Lynn!" Their grandma sounded scandalized at his behavior.

"Dad, just look!" Lily pleaded.

"Hello." Lyra tried to introduce herself, but it came out like more of a croak. Whether it was the other's insistence or her own meek voice, Lyra wasn't sure, but her grandfather did turn his head towards them after she spoke. His expression was moody.

But it turned more to surprise when he saw her, dampening back down when he caught side of Lemy behind her. But he was looking mostly at Lyra.

"It's nice to see you again." She steadied her voice. The man's expression went back to moody and he turned his head back to stare off into space in front of him.

"They're spitting images of her." That comment, which irked Lyra, seemed directed at his wife and daughter with little regard to its subjects hearing it.

"She always was." Rita reminded him, and Lyra could tell she meant her.

"Yeah, I guess." Was all her grandfather responded with. The brunette teen could realize her presence here wasn't wanted. It was just like she'd worried about on the way here.

"They're going to be staying with us for a little while." His wife went on, to which the man said nothing.

"Dad, they just found out the truth." Lily interjected.

"Lily." Her mother said warningly. This conversation couldn't have been ongoing for very long, and Lyra picked up that the man probably didn't know all the details.

"She's right." The adults were talking, but Lyra couldn't help but try and explain herself. "We just found out. And we just wanted to get away from them-"

"And I brought them here." Her and Lily started telling the story together.

"We can find somewhere else to go." Lyra didn't actually know if that was true. She just knew she wouldn't be able to intrude on another person's living space if they really didn't want her there.

"Don't be ridiculous." Now it was her grandmother interjecting. "You're both staying here." Her words rang with a parental authority. Lyra wanted to insist about on not intruding, but now her aunt was cutting her off.

"It's no problem. Right Dad?" She directed at the grumpy old man in his chair. He'd been looking at the three females while they talked, and looked away when all eyes were on him again.

"They can stay." He said flatly. Lyra let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Her grandmother didn't react, likely because she hadn't had any doubt. Lily looked giddy for a moment then leaned down to hug her father, which he returned with one arm.

"Thanks, Dad!"

"Hmph." His gray mustache ruffled, but his features softened. "Well, since there are more people here..." He said, propelling himself up from the chair. Suddenly, his age and appearance was were deceptive again. "I'll make something special for dinner!" His voice wasn't the same degree of peppy Lyra had first heard, but it sounded like he was trying. The display made all the females in the room smile, even while Lemy stayed passive. Lily's smile faded first.

"Umm, Mom, Dad?" Lily said tepidly, appearing more like a child than a young adult for a moment.

"Hmm?" It was her mother that answered.

"There's something I kind of forgot to mention." She admitted. She glanced at Lyra and Lemy, and Lyra knew it had something to do with them. Lily fidgeted nervously, and even averted looking her dad in the eye. "Before I left, I told Lincoln I was bringing them here." She motioned her head towards her cousin. Lyra could physically see the happiness dying off her grandfather's face. "And I kind of told him he should come apologize to you guys."

"Oh, Lily." Rita shook her head. "He was going to come here anyway."

"Hmph." Lynn Sr. continued towards the kitchen, but with a lot less spring in his step.

"Don't worry about it, any of you." Rita told all three of them. "Let's just try and have a normal dinner for the rest of the night, okay?" Lyra and Lily nodded in sync. "Go on, we'll call you all down when it's done." Lemy couldn't wait to get out of there, so he turned to leave immediately, more or less dragging his sister along.

"And Lily?" Rita stopped her youngest. Though she talked in a low voice, Lyra couldn't help but hear their conversation. "Did you ask Loan to shower?"

"Twice, Mom." The teen confirmed.

"And did she?" Rita continued.

"No."

"Ask her again, politely." Rita instructed. Lyra wasn't sure if Lily ever did that, but she knew for a fact Loan didn't shower during the whole half hour they all spent upstairs before being called down for dinner. Before they came down, Lyra washed up and insisting Lemy did the same. She knew she wasn't going to get him to change into anything polite, but they could at least be clean. Her hair was unexpectedly messy, and she spent some time brushing it. This was not just a sit-down dinner; she was still very much making a first impression on her grandparents. She especially wanted to impress her grandfather.

The meal on the table when they entered the dining room seemed excessive. It reminded her of the meals Loan's parents would make. Varied too, and some of the food Lyra didn't even recognize. "Oh, what are these?" She asked politely. Rita was sitting in one of two chairs at the head of the table.

"These are the same foods Lynn serves at his restaurant." The woman smiled, and then started listing them off one by one. Lyra quickly picked up that they were all puns on the man's name. Her grandfather was apparently an eccentric food artist.

"Dad really loves cooking." Lily was coming into the dining room behind them. Lyra sat down on one side of the table, closest to her grandmother with Lemy beside her. Lily sat across from her, also right next to her mom. Lynn Sr. entered the dining room with one last dish at the same time Loan dragged her feet in with her head bent down at over her phone.

"One of the only things I can be proud of these days." He said as he set it down on the table.

"Lynn...!"

"Dad!"

Lyra stayed deathly silent, envious of how Loan sat down next to Lily without being involved at all. She didn't even look up. Her grandfather sat down next to his wife at the head of the table. The man stayed stoic even while his wife and youngest daughter glared at him, filling a plate and pulling it in front of him. Lyra awkwardly made her plate and guided Lemy's hands into making one for himself. When it was obvious the man wasn't going to wilt under the glares, they stopped.

"Lyra, do you go to Church?" Lily asked, trying to make conversation.

"No. I didn't have any opportunities while traveling. My faith is mostly self-study." Lyra turned to her grandmother, who was smiling slightly. "I was told-" Lyra faltered for a second. "I heard, I mean, that the family used to go to church?" She asked.

"Oh, not exactly." Her grandmother explained. "We took the kids when they were little a few times to see if it was something they would be interested in. We always encouraged them to try new things and find something that interested them." Beside her, Lynn Sr. ate without taking part in any part in of the conversation, much like Loan was doing. Lyra nodded, showing she was listening. "Do you do anything else?"

"I...take care of my brother." The answer sounded stupid to Lyra even before it had was finished leaving her mouth. "There's not a lot of time for hobbies when we're traveling a lot. We do a lot of sight seeing though."

"California, Oregon, New York, Florida. We've been everywhere." To Lyra's surprise, Lemy started bragging.

"Yes." Lyra seized his words to try and build on them. "We get to see a lot of places and meet people. We get to try a lot of food, too." She tacked that last part on in a hopes that it might draw her grandfather into the conversation. It didn't.

"I wish I could go to New York." Lily remarked wistfully.

"New York sucks." Loan gave her own input. "The hotdogs in Chicago are better."

"They're classic American cuisine." Lynn Sr., remarkably, actually entered the conversation. "It's one of the only places they don't offer ketchup for hotdogs." The fact that he responded to Loan, and not her, struck a nerve in Lyra, but she tried to maintain her smile. But, knowing the things that man knew made her feel like she shouldn't blame him.

Lyra realized that he was going to let them stay here, but he had absolutely no interest in interacting with them. He probably wouldn't have any interest in interacting with his own children either. She accepted that, but it still made her feel terrible. Her fears had been realized.

She decided to focus on her food, still paying attention as Loan and Lily went back and forth now about city life, dominating the dinner table with their voices. Lyra quickly got the sense that Lily would like to live in a big city, aspirations Loan led on with short, simple, and sometimes snarky answers and responses. She expected-and hoped-something would get directed at them again, but nothing did. The girls' conversation did run for the full six minutes it took for most of the table to clean their plates.

Their grandfather finished first, having only taken a small portion. Lyra had no idea where he went afterwards. Loan, despite only using one utensil with her one free hand, ate enough and left some food on her plate so she could to hurry back to her room. Lily, realizing she'd spent more time talking than eating, tried to quickly catch up before her food got cold. She did cast Lyra a sympathetic look before she headed back upstairs. Lemy had finished at some point, either before or after Lily, but he continued sitting there to wait on Lyra. When she realized what he was doing, she encouraged him to go back upstairs with assurances she'd be up soon. That just left Rita and her granddaughter at the table. Lyra wanted to say something and was collecting her thoughts, but it was Rita who talked first.

"I'm so sorry about Lynn."

"It's fine." Lyra tried to tell the woman. "I understand why he acts that way." But she shook her head in refusal.

"It's still not right." She insisted. She, then sighed. "He needs time to adjust to things." Her grandmother explained. "He took...what happened, very hard. He's a very sweet man. There wasn't a mean bone in his body. I'll talk to him." The woman promised.

"Thank you." Lyra hoped things would be better tomorrow, but her insecurities continued to rule her. "Do you want any help with the dishes?" She offered, intent on at least keeping up the effort with her grandmother since the she was obviously trying. But she turned down the help.

"I'm not too old to do dishes." Her words were a mix of defiant and joking. "You look tired. You should rest." Lyra did feel tired. All that uncertainty weighing on her compounded by that less than successful dinner had collapsed itself into plain fatigue. Even when she made the offer, she knew she didn't really feel up to it, but she did so out of a personal sense of responsibility. She did what the woman insisted, and headed upstairs to rest after she finished eating.

Lemy was sitting on the bed listening to music when she came in. He watched her curiously as she retrieved her toothbrush and a pair of pajamas from her bag. She didn't intend to make him go to bed early with her; she felt confident he wouldn't leave the room and would turn in by himself if she did lay down. But she was glad he did, even if he didn't explicitly say why.

Lily intercepted Lyra in the hallway and practically pulled her into her room to say something while Lemy went ahead and changed. "I am so sorry." She seemed frantic. "I didn't know my dad was going to be like that."

"It's okay." Lyra realized her aunt had only been trying to help by bringing her into conversations.

"I've never seen him act like that." The young adult insisted. "He's always so nice. Or emotional..." She added after a second. "But never mean!"

"It's okay." Lyra said again. She honestly held no ill will towards the man. Just because things had gone surprisingly well didn't mean she still didn't expect animosity from her estranged family members. His mercy was enough for her.

"Are you guys going to bed early?" Lily guessed, noticing the toothbrush and pajamas. "It's still kind of early. What if Lincoln comes over?" She asked when Lyra nodded. The thought had crossed Lyra's mind, but, she she both didn't expect for it happen or longer desired for it to happen like she had before dinner. The point was, the teenage girl was tired.

"It's been a really difficult day." She explained.

"Yeah, it has been..." Lily realized, her face twisting. "Feels longer than a day." Despite the age difference, the two girls were sharing very similar thoughts. But Lily seemed prepared to stay up and see if anything developed. Lyra just needed a break, and her aunt bid her farewell.

Lemy had finished in the bathroom by then, so Lyra went right on ahead in to get ready for bed. Even though he had no reason to, Lemy waited outside the bathroom for her to come out, so they could walk back together. It wasn't very far past seven, and there was even still some natural sunlight outside. The revelations and events of the day had been so massive and were so mind consuming, Lyra did wondered for a short time if she actually would actually be able to sleep.

But, once she was under the blankets and Lemy was beside her, that relieving sense of 'nothing else to do today' signaled to her brain to not fight it. She got warm, drowsy, and then finally fell asleep in short order.

No unexpected visitors arrived in the evening to tear her from that well-deserved sleep.