Her uncle shook his head. “I’m Pedro,” he said, reaching across to shake hands with the two men.
The quieter one said, “I’m Cain. This is Eton.”
She already knew their names, of course, but she didn’t know which one was which. Until now. Cain had been in her front seat, Eton in the back seat. Something about Cain and Eton was very strange to begin with, not to mention their names.
Her aunt smiled and said, “I’m Migi. Everybody calls me that.”
Eton nodded and said, “The pound cake is really good.”
Something was so honest and forthright about his tone that her aunt also relaxed. Petra wondered about that because it typically wasn’t easy to get the two of them to calm down. Once they got upset about something, it took forever to settle them again.
Cain nodded, and both men looked at Petra, waiting for her expectantly.
She shrugged and said, “Now that we all know each other, I’ll go spend a few minutes outside with my father, before I head home.”
Her aunt jumped up nervously. “You should stay for dinner,” she announced.
She stared at her aunt and frowned because the last time she’d stayed for dinner, her aunt had called her ungrateful. “I need to go home,” she said in a calm, firm voice.
Migi shook her head. “No. Your father has not been well. He needs you to spend time with him.”
“My father doesn’t know if I’m even here or not,” she said lightly. “As sad as that makes me feel,” she said, “I know the truth of it, and I no longer feel guilty about leaving him behind.”
“You still need to spend time with him,” Migi said.
Petra rolled her eyes. She was trying to keep things polite in front of company, but it was a little hard when her aunt was pushing like this. “And why would I stay for dinner?” she countered.
“I’m making your favorite,” her aunt said.
“And what’s that?”
She named a traditional dish for their area, full of pasta, black olives, tomatoes, and fresh seafood. Petra could feel her resistance wavering.
Her uncle jumped in and said quietly, “Please, we’d love to have you stay. We don’t see enough of you as it is.”
He was trying to make amends for Migi again. Her aunt had a temper and often alienated people, long before they had a chance to get to know her. But Petra knew Migi very well, and she could be bitchy and mean. Petra laughed.
Cain looked at her and said, “It’d be nice to get to know you a little more,” he said lightly.
She frowned at him. “Why?” she asked. “Unless you want to ask questions about the village, I don’t know that there’s anything we can really talk about.”
“Fine,” he said. “Questions about the village will be a good topic.”
She felt like she’d somehow been maneuvered into a trap but didn’t know how to explain it. She shrugged and said, “Fine, provided we’re eating early.”
“We’ll be eating early enough,” Migi said. She jumped up and headed to the kitchen.
Petra looked at Cain and frowned. “Why do I feel like that’s exactly the ending you wanted?”
He raised an eyebrow, as he stared at her in a genial manner. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” he said. “I hope we didn’t get off on the wrong foot somehow.”
“No,” she said. “I’m just tired.”
Her uncle spoke up again. “She works hard,” he said proudly. “She’s a scientist.”
“Doesn’t matter what I am,” she said, “because I’m not getting anywhere with my work anyway.”
“What kind of work?” Eton asked.
“I’m doing research on dementia and Alzheimer cases, like my father has.”
“Ah,” he said, with understanding. “That’s got to be difficult.”
“Very,” she said, “and it makes no sense.”
“Bacterial?” Eton asked.
She looked at him in surprise. “I looked at that,” she said, “but all the tests have come up negative.”
“Maybe it’s just a case of his body’s worn out, and his mind took an easy escape.”
“And that could be,” she said, “but it doesn’t sound like my father.”
“Sometimes the mind just takes over,” Eton said. “And there’s no real understanding of why.”
“I’ve been in medicine for ten years,” she said, with a sad smile. “Ten years. And since this happened to him in the last two, that has been my focus. There are just no answers.”
Migi left the kitchen to rejoin them again. “So she quit,” Migi said in an angry voice.
“No, I didn’t quit. I just didn’t find another avenue to pursue. I’m a lab technician. I work in a lab and have plenty to do,” she said in exasperation. “I finance the research on my father on my own, but I have other work I must do.”
“The lab should finance your father’s case,” her aunt said.
“Doesn’t matter what they should or should not do,” she said, almost by rote because she’d had this argument so many times. “They run a business. That means they must make a profit or otherwise won’t have enough money to keep the bills paid. What I’m doing doesn’t matter to anybody other than us.”
“There are other people like your father,” Migi snapped. And then she sat down heavily on the couch beside her husband. Her aunt was very pear-shaped, with an extrawide bottom and hips. The rest of her was quite small and tiny, but, when she sat, it was enough to make the couch shake. Her uncle looked at her, but he knew enough to keep quiet.
Petra got up slowly and said, “Well, I guess, if I’ll stay for a little bit, I should go visit with him.”
Her aunt opened her mouth to protest, but her uncle grabbed her hand and placed it on his lap. “She’s fine. Let her spend some time with her father.”
Migi forced a smile and nodded, as if to make everything sound like it was fine.
But Petra knew in her heart of hearts it wasn’t, and, chances were, it never would be.
*
Interesting family dynamics, Cain thought. They’d been shown their rooms and given an hour to relax before dinner was ready. Cain was grateful to have a hot meal right here the first night because it hadn’t been a guarantee. The bed-and-breakfast typically only provided breakfast. The place was well-maintained but showing signs of aging. The fact that they were keeping Petra’s father here and looking after him was also obviously a bit of a thorn in their side. He suspected that Petra paid them to do it, which was good of her, but the whole thing was probably very frustrating too. That she didn’t stay here also said something about the family dynamics. Though, with that family sharing a house, it might be far too much to expect of her.
As he looked around his room, he noted the bathroom would be shared with Eton. Cain opened the connecting door and stepped through to see Eton hanging up his bag. “What do you think?”
“Seems like the family has some problems,” Eton said thoughtfully. “And I’m sure the father’s condition is a big part of it. Obviously the daughter is paying for his room and care.”