Seven Years Since The Motel Ch. 02

"Don't apologize, Maisie. I know I was a bit of a bastard this morning, and I'm sorry. I appreciate your help. I haven't forgotten how much you hate mornings."

"You threatened to throw me in the water! That's beyond being a bit of a bastard, don't you think?"

"Yeah, well, that's what you get for being the runt of the family." He pulled her into a hug. Knowing what was coming next she tried to wriggle free, but the noogie she felt on her head let her know she had been too slow.

"Stop it." She laughed as she batted him away. "You're lucky I didn't come out there and tickle you." She reached for him, but he jumped back in time to avoid her hands; while he was the largest of her brothers, he had always lost wrestling matches because of his susceptibility to tickles.

"Well, it got you out of bed, didn't it? Besides, did you really think I would have thrown you in? I haven't done that since you were eleven, when the two of you took my unicycle after I specifically told you not to. I threw him in, too, in case you've forgotten."

Ben turned to Alessandro at that point, and shook his hand. "Unlike my sister, have you forgiven me for tossing you into the ocean?"

Alessandro grinned and opened his mouth to answer, but another voice cut across the fields before he had a chance.

"Maisie, if you're done you can come in and have some quiche—I know you didn't get much of a breakfast this morning because you slept in," her mother said, wiping her hands on her old floral apron as she walked towards them. "It's almost cooled, and there's a fresh pot of coffee waiting for you, too. Oh, is that you, Alessandro dear? How many berries did you eat this time? Never mind, never mind. A small price to pay for your help, I'm sure. Come on in and have some breakfast with us. I haven't seen you in years, dear, and I want to hear all about the adventures you've been having."

Maisie stared as Alessandro smiled at her mother, pulled on his shirt, and began to follow her back to the house. He turned as he reached the end of the fields.

"Coming, Maisie?" A smirk danced across his features.

Maisie rose and walked towards him, leaving Ben and the berries behind. It was going to be an interesting breakfast.

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Thanks to PennLady and sillypanda for their suggestions and editing. If there are mistakes, it's because I made some changes after they looked at the text!