Chapter 891: Chapter 76- Trinity – Home At Last Part 2 (VOLUME 5)
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Trinity
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“Mommy, you need to see the project that I am working on in school.” Zaley called out when we were sitting on the couch. She was still holding onto me and hugging me tightly, only now she was hugging me around the shoulders as she knelt on the couch.
“A project already? Isn’t that a little early in the school year?” I didn’t feel like we were gone that long. It was just a little over a couple of weeks, just a day or so more. Today was literally the start of the third week of school.
“It’s an art project. They want something that is going to represent the upcoming harvest moon. I have a beautiful painting that I am making for it, but I don’t think that it will make it into the showcase.” She hung her head as she said that.
“Why not, sweetheart?”
.....
“I’m not good enough, Mommy. And no one likes me. No one wants to have my painting on display.”
“That isn’t true, Zaley. People love you, and you’re a wonderful artist. You just need to persevere and show people what you can do. You know, there was a time when almost everyone in the pack acted like they didn’t like me, but I never gave up.”
“Really?” Zaley lifted her head and looked at me with wonder filled eyes.
“Yes, really. I barely had anyone to talk to outside of my family. But look at mommy now. I am strong and proud of who I became. And I am just as proud of you, Zaley. You are stronger than you know, and you are beautiful, capable, and talented. You do whatever you want to do. And I am sure that you will come through it in the end.” Just as I finished my encouraging words, Zachary, Zander and Zayden all came running back into the room.
“We told her.” Zachary was first in the room and exclaimed a little breathlessly.
“Yeah, she was happy too.” Zander added next.
“She says she will make an extra special dinner and dessert. She is happy that Mommy and Daddy and Tally are home.” Zayden added when he came to a stop next to his brothers.
“Well then, I can’t wait for the meal.” I smiled at the boys. “Thank you for being my little messengers.”
“Of course, Mommy.” Zayden grinned. “We will always help Mommy. Before we were born and now, we will always be there for you.” The boys had heard a shortened story of what happened in the underworld. They didn’t remember it, thankfully, but they knew that they were Mommy’s protectors, and they were extremely proud of this fact.
A little while later, while Reece, Talia, and I were catching up with everyone in the living room, Abigail came to fetch us for dinner.
“Trinity, Reece, I am so happy that you are home. You as well, Talia.” She smiled at us. “I have made a special meal for you all to enjoy.”
“Thank you, Abigail.” I smiled at her. She was so sweet, and a lot younger looking than when I met her twenty years ago. And the fact that she was still here with us was amazing. She had been the family chef when Reece was born, and she was still with him to this day. He loved her just like she was a part of his family, and so did I. Then again, it was probably thanks to Abigail that Reece never learned how to cook. He never needed to learn how to cook because he always had someone that was there to do it for him. Oh well. I didn’t blame her or him. The food that I got to eat was amazing, and I got to spend time with Reece in other ways. Just not while cooking.
The nine of us walked into the dining room and heard shouts of surprise. Apparently, Mom, Dad, Lila and Grandfather went straight to the dining room and expected to see the kids but not the rest of us.
“TRINITY!?” Mom leapt to her feet and ran over to me. “I can’t believe that you’re home at last.”
“When did you get here?” Dad was running over as well. He added his arms to the hug that Mom was already giving me.
“Reece!” Lila was running toward Reece at the same moment. “My boy. I missed you.”
“Reece!” Ivy ran to hug her big brother. “When did you get home?”
“Trinity!” Olivia, my little sister joined in next. It was all happening almost simultaneously so it was just a little confusing.
“My word!” Finally, Grandfather added his exclamation to the group and came over to me as well. I felt bad for Reece, I was getting more hugs than he was, but he didn’t look upset at all.
“We just got back about an hour ago, Mom.” Reece told Lila as he held Ivy in his arms and hugged his mom. “We have a lot to talk about though, so we need to call in the others after dinner.”
“Trinity? Why are you home?” Grandfather, who was a little more pragmatic than the others at the moment, figured that something had to either be really good or really bad for us to be here right now.
“We will talk about it after dinner, Grandfather.” I nodded at him. “However, I need to call Noah and Carter to get them here as well. I need the entire inner circle here.” I saw the look in his eyes. It was also mirrored in Mom and Dad’s eyes.
“I will call them now. Can you make a door for Carter to get here later?” He asked me this knowing that there was no other way for him to get here in time.
“Of course. I will make it about a quarter to eight. I told the others to be back from their breaks at eight tonight.”
“Understood. Excuse me for a moment.” With that, he stepped out of the room with his phone in hand. He was going to call his grandsons and tell them when to be here. I knew that with them, Emmalee and Nikki were likely to come for a visit as well. I wouldn’t mind seeing them, but the meeting was going to take priority.
“While you’re doing that, Grandfather, I will let the others know.”
I let the others sit at the table while I sent out a group message to Juniper, Paul, Cedar, Trevor, Aunt Glory, Athair mòr, Riley, and Landon. I could have done this mentally, but that always felt like an invasion of privacy. I mean, I wasn’t reading their minds or anything, but what if they were doing something intimate? I would feel bad entering their minds while that was happening. So, unless it was a last resort or my only option, I tended to send messages by phone. It was the polite option in my mind.
The message that I sent went like this:
Reece and I are back in the castle. Our investigation has led us back here. There is going to be a debriefing at eight tonight. I need you all there. Please, make sure that you are not late. I need to explain what has happened, what we found, and what we think is going on. We will see you then.
The moment that I sat down at the table with the others, Grandfather excluded, my phone started to chime and ding with lots of messages.
:Juniper:
What?! When did you get back!? OK, I know you won’t answer that now, I will see you at eight. I better get some answers though!
:Paul:
HOLY SHIT! It’s the return of Astro! You know I will be there. I won’t leave you hanging. And I am ready to end this investigation with you. You know, you should rely on me more. I am actually quite capable.
:Cedar:
Welcome home Trinity. We’re all glad that you’re back. I will be there at the meeting on time, do not worry. And I hope that things went well while you were gone.
:Landon:
Well, look what the cat dragged in. Glad you’re all back safe and sound. Well, I hope that you’re safe anyway. You didn’t really specify. Anyway, I will be there. I’ll head over after I wrap up this paperwork. It’s still the bane of my existence.
:Riley:
This doesn’t sound good. I will be there, but I need a door. I am not about to make that drive tonight. Sorry to be demanding, but that’s a lot to ask on short notice.
:Trevor:
Glory and I will be there. We need a door as well. It’s a lot farther for us than it is for him. Glad you’re all safe, but I agree that this doesn’t sound positive.
:Athair mòr:
Welcome home, Gariníon. [1] I hope that you were all safe on your trip. I will be there with Trevor and Glory. I can travel through the same door as them. See you soon.
:Me:
I will make the doors for those that need them at a quarter to eight. Thank you all for coming on such short notice.
A round of replies that consisted of words like ‘sure thing’, ‘of course’, and ‘well duh’ followed my message. After that, I was able to enjoy my meal with my family. It was thick cut garlic butter steaks that were tender and juicy. Along with that was a pile of roasted potatoes, asparagus, corn on the cob, and garlic toast. And let’s not forget the fact that the steak was smothered with caramelized onions and grilled mushrooms. It was perfect and I loved it. Abigail knew that we wanted something that reminded us of home right now.
And to top the meal off, Abigail had ended it with a fresh apple pie. She had probably started to prep it as soon as the boys told her we were home, but it didn’t come out of the oven until she was serving it to us. That was how hot it was. And the heap of ice cream that she put on top of it started to melt instantly. I didn’t mind it at all though, it was so delicious.
While we ate, we all talked about things that the kids had been doing in school lately. Zachary, Zander, Zayden, Zaley were in fifth grade now and they were joining clubs and doing things that they wanted to do. Reagan and Rika were doing well in their classes, and they were making a lot of new friends on campus.
The talk almost made Reece bring up the date that Rika had been on, but I didn’t want to let him ruin the moment that we were having. So, when he started to mention that topic, I subtly kicked him in his shin and glared at him. He didn’t even say ‘ow’, he just looked at his plate dejectedly. I knew he was going to talk to her about it soon though, just not yet. Not when we first got home. I wanted this happy moment with everyone here.
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