BETHANY

13

In The Wilson Home

Max walked through the the fireplace into his living room and stopped. There were voices and giggles in his house, he missed them dearly.

"Master Wilson is home!" Squealed Mary, waking him from his reverie. "I'll take Master's jacket! Shall I make Master a sandwich?"

Max took off his jacket and smiled at the woman, who was surely an eager, little person. "Thank you Mary, maybe lat-"

"Nosy, insolent woman," grunted Eddie, dragging his old legs into the living room. "Master Max is not Mary's task. Master Max is my task."

Max stared patiently at him for a fistful of minutes as he made his way to Mary and grabbed his jacket. "Mary doesn't know how to hang Master's jacket properly," he grunted.

"I know how," she scowled at him. "And I am faster than Eddie."

"Mary is a nosy, cheeky woman and Master will fire her if she doesn't behave," snapped Eddie.

Max sighed. "Now, now, Eddie," he said tolerantly. "Can't you two collaborate? Mary can help you and you could rest a bit more, now that we have a younger maid in the house... No? Ah, oh course not... Never mind... Where are Beth and Quinn?"

"In Miss Beth's room," replied Mary quickly.

"With Mistress' Mother," added Eddie gruffly.

"Thank you," said Max satisfied. "See? Not so difficult..." He left the two quarrelling in the living room as he started to make his way to the first floor. The closer he got to the stairs though, the louder the voices and giggles became. He could hear Quinn's and Carly's and Beth's silly laughs and his heart just swelled at those wonderful sounds.

He stopped at the door and peered inside. The three women were sitting on Beth's bed. In front of them, behind them, around them and on every surface of the room, there were pictures. Pictures and more pictures. All scattered in a mess that Quinn would never have normally allowed in her house, nor Carly would have usually approved of.

"What are you doing?" He grinned.

"Father!" Cried Beth, jumping up and walking on tiptoes to him amongst all the pictures. She wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him tightly. Max hugged her back and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Max, come here," said Quinn, patting the bed next to her. "Beth, darling, show Daddy, show him what you can do."

Beth unwrapped her arms from around Max and grabbed his hand, to guide him through the pictures and to her bed, while Quinn gathered some of the photos aside to make some room for them.

Max looked at her with a confused frown between his eyebrows, but Quinn just smiled and nodded as Beth climbed on the bed between him and Carly, and her Grandmother started to caress her hair almost instinctively.

"Choose a picture Max," encouraged Quinn.

Max frowned again and picked a photo with a ten-year old Kieran and a five-year-old Will sitting on a couch with their arms crossed and sporting matching pouts on their faces.

"Beth, show Daddy, dear," whispered Carly encouragingly.

Beth peeked at the picture and smiled. "That's Kieran and that's Will," she said. "They were at Grandmother's house, in Uncle Mark's old bedroom. Kieran had just eaten all the chocolate cake that Grandmother made and Will had tried to bite him, but Kieran had thrown up all over Will's trousers and now they were being punished." She looked up at Max and beamed.

Max turned to look at her with his mouth wide open and his heart beating furiously in his chest. "Beth...darling, you...you remember..."

Quinn's hand closed gently on his shoulder. "She doesn't, Max," she murmured softly, "but she learnt all of them by heart." She opened her arms to show him the whole room. "All of them."