Next One Is a Babe

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Cindy hurried into the kitchen; she had only one more dish to prepare before she could announce that supper was served.

Ian hadn’t eaten much during the day, and in the evening, he hadn’t even stepped foot into the backyard.

In all honesty, he wasn’t feeling very hungry.

After a while, he stood up from the couch and headed for the shower. When he was done, Cindy had already put supper on the table.

He hadn’t had much of an appetite earlier, but now that the delicious aromas were wafting through the house, he felt his stomach grumble.

Aurora was setting the table as she quipped, “We were waiting to have supper with you, so we didn’t have much to eat before this, either.”

The three of them took their seats, and as if unable to help herself, Aurora asked, “So, has Sean mentioned anything about the arrangements following the funeral?”

Ian shook his head. “No, he didn’t go over the details today. Besides, he can make any arrangement he likes, and he knows what to do.”

Aurora pursed her lips into a grim line. “I just want to see how Leah and her spawns will end up.”

To one side, Cindy chuckled when she heard this. “I don’t think they’d do too well if I have to be honest.”

Bryce would have left them something in his will, but they would never get anything else out of the Morgan Family fortune. In all fairness, Bryce would never have ended up the way he had if it weren’t for their scheming and meddling. Sean was likely holding a grudge against the three of them as well, and he would fight tooth and nail to keep them from gaining any advantage.

Presently, Ian had only just finished his meal when Sean called. He didn’t seem to be in distress, and from the sound of it, he was only looking for someone to talk to after his quick dinner.

Bluntly speaking, Sean was a lonely man, and he hardly had anyone to talk to. He wasn’t married, either, though there was no telling if he chose to remain a bachelor after seeing how Bryce had gone about with his own marriages; as things were, Sean might think of love and marriage as fallacies.

Ian clutched his phone and made his way over to the balcony, whereupon he lit a cigarette and asked, “Is there anything else you need help with on your end?”

Sean sighed wearily. “Sally is in the parlor now, and I’ll be taking over her shift later. There isn’t much else to do around here, other than keeping the candles lit for the vigil.”

Ian hummed in response. “Don’t just stay put there for the whole night. You need to get some rest, because if you don’t, you won’t be able to deal with the visiting crowd tomorrow.”

Pausing, Sean pondered on this for a moment before saying, “I can’t sleep. My mind won’t stop turning, and all these thoughts keep coming into my head. I don’t really feel like myself right now.”

He was probably the only one among Bryce’s children who felt so deeply connected to the old man. Even if there were complexities that underlay their father-son relationship, most of which was strenuous at best, Sean’s loyalty had been unquestionable.

Ian sighed once more and urged, “Look, you’ve got to take care of yourself as well. The old man’s already at eternal rest, and it’s time for you to move past this.”

Naturally, Sean understood the logical sense of such words as much as anyone else, but moving on from grief was easier said than done.

On the other line, Ian had no idea how he was supposed to convince Sean to see his point. When it came to sentiments like this, sage advice was futile, and one could only move on through sheer determination alone.

Meanwhile, Cindy had cleaned up around the house and was now standing at the doorway, watching Ian quietly.