Storge II - Welcome to the Family
Martha Washington was preparing some snacks in the kitchen when she finally heard the doorbell ring. With her husband still at work and her daughter being occupied somewhere on the first floor, she was rushing to answer the door, not wanting to let her guests wait too long.
A few seconds later, she was met with the sight of a tired looking but still smiling young woman. Behind said woman she could see two the two boys approaching the entry, one rather hesitantly and the other slightly more confident and relaxed. Martha beamed at the three, happily greeting them and inviting them in.
“Good morning! Ms. Cross, right? I am glad you found your way just fine. I am Martha Washington and you must be Alexander and Gilbert. It is nice to finally meet you. We were all looking forward to your arrival.” While Martha and Ms. Cross shook hands the boys stayed a few steps behind, unsure of which kind of greeting would be appropriate. Lafayette though was just opening his mouth to reply when the social worker interrupted him.
“Ah yes, Mrs. Washington, it is a pleasure to meet you, too. The boy on my left side is Alexander and other one is Gilbert. His social worker was not able to accompany us today, but he gave me all the files and information you may need.” Martha was a bit disappointed about the fact that neither of the boys was giving the chance to introduce themselves. She still smiled at them. They would have enough time to talk without someone patronizing over them and speaking in their stead.
“Of course, that is no problem at all. Would you like to come in? I have prepared a few sandwiches if you are hungry.”
“That is very nice of you, Mrs. Washington. I cannot stay for long, but I would like to sit down with you for a few minutes to go through some of the files.” That is how the four of them were seated in the dining area a few minutes later, talking about the information Ms. Cross was not able to tell them via phone. Well, the adults were talking while Alexander and Lafayette silently nibbled on the sandwiches Martha had offered them. After approximately 20 minutes, everything seemed to be said and Alex’ social worker bid her goodbyes, seemingly relieved that the Washingtons did not change their mind and still wanted to take both boys in.
“So, Alex, I hope you will be at your best behavior. If anything happens, I am just a call away. Same goes for your, Gilbert. You know how to reach your social worker?” Bothe teens nodded, which was enough to satisfy Ms. Cross.
A few minutes later she was gone, leaving the boys alone with Martha. Everyone was silent for a at first, seemingly not knowing how to start another conversation not that the person who did most of the talking before was not there anymore. However, Martha was soon back to her open and talkative self, addressing Alexander and Lafayette.
“Well, how would you like a tour? I can show you the house and your rooms and you can settle in for a bit until lunch?”
“That would be nice, Mrs. Washington.” Laf answered wit a charming smile, Alex just nodding along. The latter had yet to say his first words since arrival.
“Oh please, call me Martha, dear. My husband will join us in the evening. George tried to take the day off, but there was just too much work to do at the office. I sometimes wonder why he even has all those employees when he still needs to do everything on his own.” She kept chatting, while leading the boys into the hallway.
“What does Mr. Washington do?” Upon hearing the new voice Mrs. Washington turned to Alexander with a bit of surprise, but happy nonetheless that the younger one was comfortable enough to ask questions already.”
“Oh, he owns the local newspaper and also works as the chief editor of the politics section there.” Seeing the curious glint in his eyes made her smile even more and she would make sure to tell her husband later about it.
“You like politics?” Alex was fidgeting for a moment, but still looked at her with a determined gaze.
“Yes, and I mean I thinks it is important to know as much about out current political situation as possible… We cannot expect to change something we know nothing about. And there are a lot of things that need to be changed. I cannot seem to understand why some people just do not care about everything that is happening right now.” Martha was stunned for a moment about Alex’ passionate answer. He said the words with such a fire in his eyes that she was sure the boy would achieve something great in future.
“He also likes to write. Really, he is writing all the time. Sometimes he even forgets to eat or sleep because of it!” Lafayette added with a bemused smile.
“Laf!” At this point, Mrs. Washington could not help but laugh about the two teenager’s small banter that resulted out of the French’s comment. Though she would still have to make sure to pay attention to the “forgetting to eat or sleep” issue.
Lafayette and Alexander sheepishly looked at each other and then at Martha after she had calmed down, unsure of the reaction and what to say. “I am sure George will be delighted about your interests, Alexander. I am also certain that he and our daughter Mary will like the both of you very much.” Still walking around the house and looking at the different rooms, they finally reached the staircase that lead to the first floor when they suddenly heard the soft sounds of a piano. They were random notes, not forming any kind of melody or song. Rather than that it just sounded like someone pressing one key after another without any purpose.
“Ah, speaking of Mary, she is currently upstairs tuning the piano. I would like to introduce you to each other if that is alright with you right now.” Puzzled, Lafayette looked in the direction where the sounds were coming from.
“Yes, of course. I would very much like to meet my… foster sister? Though isn’t tuning the piano something a professional should do? I remember someone always visiting our chateau in France once or twice a year to do so.” Gilbert was unsure about the fact if he could address the Washington’s daughter with this kind of title, but according to Martha’s soft and pleased smile it seemed fine.
“Ah yes, we also used to hire a professional for this job, but when Mary got older, she became rather possessive or protective about her piano, so she learned to do it herself. She simply does not trust anyone else with her instrument.” That, Laf could understand. He used to play too when he was younger and still living in the Auvergne. Letting some random person touch his piano never felt good, plus it always sounded a bit wrong after the tuning. It was not as if he could have done it himself though instead. He loved playing, but he was never that passionate about it, to learn how to tune the instrument on his own. His parents would not have approved of it anyway. They were the kind of people who preferred hiring professionals for anything and everything even if it was something, they could have done themselves, like cooking or cleaning.
Lafayette was curious about what kind of girl his foster sister was. Climbing up the stairs however it became silent suddenly and just as the three were approaching the music room the door suddenly sprang open. Just a second later, Alex and Gilbert were met with the sight of a red-haired girl looking at them with a surprised expression before happily grinning and taking a step in their direction.