Page 5 of The Messengers of Magic

Chapter Four

I t took Pen two days to track down Dave and Will. Dave had gone off the radar again with the mystery girl, and Will was buried in shifts at the factory. When he finally reached them, he requested the boys to come by the house so they could discuss matters.

Will arrived first, and Val answered the door with a wide toothy grin.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Will asked.

“Oh, man, wait until Pen tells you,” Val said, practically bouncing on his heels as he led him into the kitchen.

Pen was cooking over the old gas stove, steam billowing from a large pot as he stirred pasta in wide, sweeping circles.

“Pen, what’s this all about?” Will asked, stopping just inside the doorway.

“I’ll explain when Dave gets here. I don’t want to have to go over it twice. Grab a soda pop. Fridge is on your right.” He nodded toward the baby-blue appliance humming in the corner.

“Where’s Ward?”

The question hit Pen like a weight. Of course. Will had been working so much, he hadn’t heard. Pen didn’t answer, not with words, anyway. The grief must have been written across his face, and that was enough.

“Oh, Pen.” Will’s voice softened. “I’m sorry. I know how close you were with him.”

Before Will could say more, a knock sounded from the front door.

“Stir that, will ya,” Pen said, handing off the spoon to Will as he left the kitchen.

Outside, silhouetted by the glow of the streetlights, was Dave. He pulled Pen into a fierce hug when he opened the door.

“I’m so sorry, Pen. I just heard about Ward when I got back into town today.”

“It’s okay. Come in. I cooked us dinner.”

For the first time in a long while, all four boys were together. After their mother’s death, none of them had wanted to spend much time at the trailer. Without her, the place had fallen even further into disrepair.

In the kitchen, Pen drained the pasta and ladled rich meat sauce over the steaming spaghetti. The boys gathered around the dining table, and Val passed around the bread and butter.

“Alright, Pen, are you going to tell us what the hell we’re doing here?” Dave finally asked.

Pen put down his fork. “When Ward died, he left this house and everything in it to me. I had all your names added to the deed. It’s ours now.”

Dave and Will exchanged stunned glances.

“Ward gave you his house?” Dave asked.

Pen nodded. “Yes. And now it belongs to all of us. A real home. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”

After a long pause, Will finally spoke. “I just got an apartment with a buddy from work a few weeks ago. I can’t leave him high and dry. We’re supposed to move in next week.”

“That’s okay. I just hoped one of you could stay here for the next month or so. I’m going on a road trip and want someone to stay with Val.”

“I’ll be fine. Pretty much live on my own now anyway. Dad’s never around, always at work or the bar,” Val rebutted.

Pen met his gaze. “I know. But I’d still feel better knowing someone’s here. Just in case.”

“Where are you going?” Will questioned, twirling pasta onto his fork.

“Just making a loop around to a few spots I’ve always wanted to see.”

“Bates?” Val asked, and Pen’s heart sank.

“Yeah, that’s one of the stops.” A silence settled over the table. They all knew what Pen had given up for them. He’d been their lifeline, his dreams set aside so they might have a chance at their own.

“I can stay,” Dave said at last. “As long as you don’t mind Mary moving in too.”

All heads turned toward him. “And who’s Mary?” they asked in unison.

“Well, my wife,” Dave answered, looking down at his food and pushing it around on his plate while trying to avoid his brothers’ glares.

“Wife?” Pen asked.

“I’ve been seeing her for a while now,” Dave continued, his eyes alight with a spark Pen hadn’t seen before.

“This past weekend, we decided to get out of Oak Ridge. We ended up at a small church three towns over and had the reverend marry us on the spot. I know it sounds crazy, but I really love her.”

Pen smiled and patted his brother on the shoulder. “Congratulations.” And he was happy for him. His brother was almost twenty, and it was a normal age to marry someone, after all. “Of course she’s welcome here.” He lifted his soda pop. “To Dave and Mary.”

Val and Will echoed the toast, clinking their bottle necks together.

They spent the next hour swapping stories, teasing one another, and laughing in the way only brothers can. Pen sat back, letting it wash over him, the voices, the warmth. This place was already feeling like the home they’d never had.