Summerguard

CHAPTER 13: Field Day

~END FLASHBACK~

"Hey, Chrysos. What's this?" Paxton said, snapping me out of my tormented thoughts.

Nicole and Paxton pick up the black pudding with their forks and look baffled at the hot treat. I chuckle and open my mouth to answer, but am disrupted by... him.

"Americans, that is black pudding. It's a traditional breakfast staple originating from Ireland and the UK. It is made from pork blood and bits of oatmeal. It is quite riichhh," he said, popping a piece in his mouth and swallowing it. When he finishes, he looks directly into my eyes and drags his tongue across his teeth. Someone, please give me a knife. Or a mallet so I can bludgeon his face into a sausage and throw his bits into a processor.

"I think it's... strange. An acquired taste," Paxton said, forcefully swallowing hers.

I stifle my laugh in my throat and it came out as a brief cough. I use my fork and eat it for her.

"Mryyy, my. You're right, it is good. Reminds me of that time on the farm when my foster parents would make us sausages..." Nicole goes on a whole spiel about her sausage-making history.

While she tells her tale, I zone out as I am really rattled by Stephen's audaciousness and sudden burst of ego. When we were younger, we had become very close and he was the first to welcome me into the Morris family when I was just five. We grew up together, playing games, learning, messing with the servants, and just being siblings. But I should have recognized that he must have wanted more from me when I went to grade school and he began university. He didn't like the friends I had brought home and scared many of them away by playing as what he calls 'protective brother'. When I left for America to pursue my interests, I hadn't heard from him and didn't question anything out of the ordinary, till now. My suspicions have been confirmed and now I must tread with caution around him. I have no interest in believing anything he says and certainly will NEVER court him. Once this vacation is over, I will make a note not to have him near me ever again.

"So, baby sis. What's your schedule like for this lovely vacation? And how long do you plan to stay?" Stephen obviously has to ask.

I force a smile and try so hard not to roll my eyes, "Well, Stephen, STEP-BROTHER... The LADIES and I are hoping to enjoy our time together for a LADIES vacation," I hint to get it into his mind. "Today we shall enjoy the fresh air. The thirteenth is raining, so indoor leisures on that day. The fourteenth would be a good time for sightseeing and the rest of the days are pure relaxation."

"Great. And I am sure I can tag along for some, right? I am your step-brother whom you haven't seen in a long time," he fake pouts and I hold my fists underneath the table, but smile fraudulently, "Of course, Stephen. It'd be nice to have a spangled mutt following us around."

Nicole and Paxton begin laughing at my witty joke and I smirk when Stephen grumbles and mutters curses under his breath.

"Cum îndrăznești, prostule," he snaps in Romanian.

"Sau ce? Nu sunt a ta. Dacă vrei să vii cu noi, te vei comporta," I warn.

He glares and is about to retort when Nicole comes to the rescue.

"Y'all be leaving us stuck in a fence. Does the garble of neighs have translations?" Nicole scratches her head.

"Hahaha, perdon madam. We...".

"It was Romanian, not horsish. I was just telling him he can not pull childish pranks or else he is banished. And we will all have a great time. Right, Stephen?" we all eye him earnestly and he submits, "I promise."

"Magnifique! I want to show you guys the gardens and fields," I said excitedly.

An hour passes by as we ladies stroll through the Elysian Gardens stopping at each fruit tree, grazing every single petal with affection, and dipping our hands into the pond with our fingers to pet the koi. I really need a breath of fresh air and I can tell my friends do too. And there is no better place in the world that it can be spent than in a garden designed by infamous architect Frederick Olmsted. Most families would settle for a few houseplants or a little experimental vegetable garden, but the Morris family prides in having a green thumb. I am a green thumb and was proud of my work in helping the gardeners to grow each seedling like it was my child. Nanny Jo would scold Stephen and me every time we came back inside the house covered in mud and dirt. He was usually hunting with his horse while I was in the garden running barefoot in the fresh grass. When I left England, I was distraught about leaving my precious garden behind. Without friends, the gardens were my shelter of solitude from elegance and duty.