Lipsky family

Beyond the gate, the path split—one leading to the main entrance, the other veering to the side.

"My father built this house," Brad explained. "When I grew up, I wanted some independence. Since I was always on the road, I hadn't decided where to settle permanently, so my parents and I modified the house a bit. As you can see, this is almost a completely separate building, connected only by a corridor. That corridor was added after one particularly bad winter buried us in snow. Usually, winters aren't too harsh here—you know, coastal climate—but that year, we were snowed in for over a week. So, this will be your new home."

The annex—or whatever it should be called—was much smaller than the main house. It had only a ground floor and a loft-style upper level, making it just slightly larger than a small apartment, but it looked cozy and inviting from the outside.

Brad set down the suitcase, pulled out some keys, and unlocked the door. He immediately handed the keys to Colin.

"Thanks."

"A mini living room with a kitchenette if you want to heat something up quickly or make coffee. The door to the main house, the bathroom," Brad gestured as he explained without even moving. "The bedroom is upstairs. It may not be huge, but it's very comfortable, I promise. Okay, breakfast is at seven-thirty since the girls need to get to school, and dinner is between six and seven. You can use the kitchen in the main house as much as you want, and the living room too. Basically, the entire ground floor is at your disposal. Only the upper floor is off-limits—that's our bedrooms and the girls' space. Even I don't go up there unless I have to since my room is right at the edge."

Amidst all the information, Colin latched onto one particular detail.

"The girls?"

"Yeah, Angela and Olivia. You'll meet them in a moment—they prepared dinner. Well, Angela did. She takes care of the house. So, shall we?"

And without really waiting for an answer or any potential objections—objections that, in fact, had already started forming in Colin's heart—Brad Lipski strode toward the door in the kitchen annex. Stone could either follow him or stay behind, which in this situation would have been rather rude. So, practically stripped of the ability to refuse, he resigned himself to following.

The door had a key in it, but it wasn't locked. Beyond it lay an entirely different, much larger kitchen with a big communal dining table, the kind often seen in family-life movies set in the countryside.

"Girls!" Brad called out. "Doctor Stone is here!"

A commotion erupted on the stairs, and suddenly a teenager with two ponytails made of hundreds of dark braids dashed into the living room and then the kitchen. Right behind her appeared another girl, calmer, with her braids cascading loosely over her shoulders and back. They looked about fifteen, maybe seventeen, and were either twins or simply bore a striking resemblance to each other. The color of their skin and their facial features suggested mixed heritage.

"Good afternoon! Lunch will be ready in a moment," the first one—ponytailed—called out. "Do you like lasagna? Because if not, I can quickly whip up something else."

"No need. I like lasagna," he lied. He wasn't a fan of Italian cuisine and had never quite understood what people saw in pasta with ground meat and tomatoes.

"Great! I didn't know what you liked, so I made something almost everyone enjoys. But from now on, I'll cook according to your taste!"

The girl's enthusiasm was a little intimidating.

"Oh, there's no need to go to such trouble…"

"No trouble at all!" she declared cheerfully. "We're an omnivorous family, so it's not a problem for us. And I really love cooking. My dream is to run a restaurant someday!"

Ah, that explained a lot. Colin breathed a small sigh of relief. A new concern arose, however. Just because the girl had a dream and enthusiasm didn't necessarily mean she had the skills and talent.

He didn't have time to dwell on that thought, as the first girl had already dashed toward the oven. In her place, her sister stepped forward.

"Good afternoon, sir. My name is Olivia Lipski, and I'm fifteen years old. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The girl was incredibly polite and a little shy. The complete opposite of the exuberant—uh, what was her name again?

"Nice to meet you, Olivia. I'm Colin Stone."

Olivia met his gaze shyly, then looked at Brad. She noticed the bandage on his forehead and pressed her lips together. But she said nothing and went to set the table.

Not quite knowing what to do with himself, Colin glanced at his "host."

"Aren't these girls wonderful?" Brad puffed out his chest exactly like a proud father would. Huh, he must have had kids quite young, because he didn't look a day over thirty. But then again, Colin wasn't one to judge.

"Yes, your daughters are very sweet."

"Daughters?"

Brad looked as confused as Colin felt.

"Sisters?" Stone asked hesitantly. "You have the same last name, so…"

"Nieces. They're my older brother Joseph's daughters."

Ah! Yes, that made perfect sense! Nieces!

For some reason, that explanation pleased Colin.

"Will your brother be joining us?" he asked, feeling slightly more at ease.

It seemed like an innocent question, but the whole room was suddenly cloaked in an air of sadness.

"The three of us live here. You're the fourth. The house is big, and we have that annex, so the mayor and the town council decided this would be the most comfortable place for you. Of course, if you don't like it here, you can find something more suitable for yourself, you know…"

The atmosphere took a strange turn. One of the girls stood frozen, holding a steaming lasagna in a baking dish, while the other had stopped mid-motion with forks in her hands. Brad seemed unnaturally cheerful.

"I just arrived in this town," Colin spoke, trying to gauge the shift in mood. "So far, I've been met with nothing but warmth. I see no reason to look for another place, and honestly, I have no idea where you got that idea, ha ha."

Wow, this was awkward.

"Right?" Brad clapped him on the back in a friendly manner. "If you want to freshen up, the bathroom's over there."

"Okay, thanks."

The bathroom was on the other side of the living room. As he walked through, Colin Stone noticed a photo on the mantelpiece—a large, smiling family: two grandparents, two young men, a woman, and three children. He immediately recognized Brad, though he looked much younger, as well as the girls, who appeared no older than five in the picture. The third child, around two years old, was in the arms of what was likely his father—Brad's brother. The grandparents were probably the brothers' parents.

The family looked genuinely happy.

But it was the only such photo in the entire living room.

And Brad lived only with the girls in what was clearly their family home.

The thought crossed Colin's mind that perhaps some tragedy had struck this household, one that still lingered in the hearts of its inhabitants.