At the Castle

The moment the plane touched down, I nudged Shay awake from her deep slumber. Half an hour later, we were pulling up to my parents’ house.

My mom practically sprinted out the front door, throwing her arms around Shay with a delighted squeal. “Oh, it’s so good to have you back. Let me see that baby bump!” She was all over Shay’s belly, just like the first time they’d met.

“Hey, Mom, how are things going?” I tried to catch her attention, but she was too engrossed in Shay.

She waved me off, her eyes still glued to Shay’s stomach. “Don’t you worry about a thing, sweetheart. I’ve got everything under control. You just focus on marrying this beautiful woman and getting ready to shower my grandson with all the love in the world.”

We picked up our bags and followed my mom as she linked arms with Shay, leading her towards the living room with the other women trailing behind.

“Your mom’s a real whirlwind, isn’t she?” Conner chuckled as we climbed the stairs.

I rolled my eyes at him. “You have no idea. She’s been calling me non-stop for the past few weeks. I swear, she’s called more in the last three weeks than she has in the past year.

“It’s like every five minutes she’s on the phone, asking about colors, flowers, or saying she likes this or that. There were times I had to let her calls go to voicemail, and let me tell you, she was not happy about that.

“I had to remind her that I still have a business to run and that there are times when I simply can’t answer her calls.”

“So that’s why your phone was always on silent?” Noah asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Exactly. I couldn’t have Canto Della Terra blaring every few minutes while I was on a call with a client or in a meeting, could I?” I shot him a look.

We all burst into laughter as we entered our freshly cleaned rooms. After a couple more trips, all our luggage was inside. We headed back downstairs to find my mom and the girls.

They were in the sitting room, laughing and sipping tea. They all looked like they were having a blast, so we decided to head outside to the hedge maze we used to play in as kids.

“Remember how we used to run around here, trying to find those imaginary tunnels your dad made up?” Noah asked, a small grin on his face.

“Yeah, I still think he made that up just to keep us busy,” I said, running my fingers over a leaf on one of the hedges.

“I think it was his way of keeping us out of the house. We were always running around, knocking things over, breaking stuff. Mom would scold us for hours.”

“I did it to teach you not to give up, even when what you’re looking for doesn’t exist.” My dad’s voice came from behind us.

We turned to see him standing there. He pulled us into a big hug, then turned to me.

“Of course, it was also to keep you three from tearing the house apart. But think about it. How long did you spend out here, searching through each hedge, trying to find that secret door?”

We all laughed, thinking back to our childhood. “I think we spent every warm, dry day out here looking for it,” Noah said, his eyes scanning the garden.

“I wanted you outside, exploring, using your brains, and just being kids. I’m so glad you’re back, son. How’s my future daughter-in-law and my grandson?” My dad’s eyes were sparkling.

“They’re both doing great,” I replied. “Shay’s inside having tea with Mom. Noah and Conner’s girlfriends are with them. We’ll introduce you at dinner.”

“So, are you two thinking about settling down and having a kid who can grow up with my grandson?” Dad asked, pointing at Noah and Conner.

They both choked a bit before Noah managed to say, “Dad, we’ve only been with these girls for about a month. We’re not there yet.”

“Why not? Shay and Zane were solid within the first two months.”

He shot me a glare. “Well, let me rephrase that. After they got past that little hiccup that kept them apart for a month, they’ve been solid.”

“Every relationship needs to be built on trust and love, Dad,” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Just because things worked out for me doesn’t mean they will for everyone. Give them time. They’ll have kids in a few years. It won’t matter if my son is a couple of years older.”

“I know, son,” my dad replied, patting my hand. “But as you know, my time is winding down. We need the next generation ready to step up, just like you three did.”

“We’re working on it, but we’re not going to rush into things like Zane did,” Conner said, fiddling with a hedge.

“We really like these girls. We don’t want to scare them off. We want to take our time and do things right.”

“I know what we can do for fun,” Noah suddenly said. “Let’s race through the maze like we used to when we were kids and your dad would always beat us.”

We all agreed and took off through the maze. My dad may have slowed down a bit with age, but he was still pretty fast.

Conner managed to pull ahead and was the first one out of the maze. He jumped up, pumping his fist in the air. “Yes! Still the champ after all these years!”

We all stood there, bent over and panting.

“Why was that so much easier when we were kids?” Noah asked, looking up at the rest of us.

My dad smiled. “Because we were younger, had more energy, and weren’t stuck behind desks all day.”

“Noah, is it just me or has that maze gotten longer?” Noah was still catching his breath.

“Feels like it,” I replied, pulling myself back up.

My mom’s voice echoed across the courtyard. “Boys! You should head back now. Dinner will be ready in an hour, so you need to clean up.”

Conner grumbled under his breath, “Why do they keep calling us ~boys~?”

Dad chuckled. “Because to us, you’ll always be our boys. Let’s head back before your mom starts yelling.”

We all trudged back through the maze and into the house to freshen up for dinner.