Adelinde spent most of her spare time either in the music district, watching Rene work, or helping Mark. Little over a month since Matteo and Tara left, and it still took her a few minutes every morning to remember why they weren’t coming down for breakfast. Rene had the same issue.
She took the chance to clean the house a bit while no one was home, albeit only on days when she couldn’t do much else. She decided to finish that project today while there was a light drizzle outside, paired with a chill that even made the musicians at the center gazebo play a little quieter.
There wasn’t that much to actually clean, granted, aside from the nigh-eternal mess in the office and a few dirt smudges on the floor, but it kept her occupied. Adelinde even went through her clothes and sat aside anything she couldn’t see herself wearing, including some older gifts she must have had in the closet for years. A majority of them would likely end up with Rene or friends; as a testament to how long she’s gone without sorting them, some of the dresses even looked like they could fit Tara. She put those on the girl’s bed, but otherwise left the children’s rooms untouched.
Finding her work finished for now, Adelinde stood in the kitchen to consider baking something. She felt productive, at least, and the rain was only getting heavier—Mark would gladly take any that Adelinde and Rene couldn’t finish by themselves.
Someone knocked on the door; she went to open it, acknowledging it was her children the same time Tara entered the house without any further hesitation. Adelinde opened the door all the way to let them in a little easier.
“I didn’t expect you for another week or so,” Adelinde admitted. Tara, freed from the rain and still a little shaken from it, promptly discarded her coat and shoes; Matteo did the same with less rush. Adelinde closed the door again once they were both inside. “You said you were almost done in Sólstaður, but I assumed it would take a bit longer.”
“We got lucky,” Matteo replied. “We were able to confirm a few things while there, so since we know we have time we figured we could stop by here for a few days and rest.”
“You were able to find the deadline?”
“Sometime in January,” Tara answered, nodding a bit. She slowly made her way a bit closer to the stairs. “Our largest issue now might be weather.”
Adelinde nodded. At least they were able to make progress, it sounded like—and neither of them looked particularly shaken, aside from Tara’s reaction to the rain.
“Rene should be home soon; go ahead and put away your things for now,” Adelinde said. Matteo and Tara murmured some agreement. “Would you like me to make something for you?”
Tara responded without any hesitation. “Hot chocolate, please.”
“Yes,” Matteo immediately agreed. Only partially jokingly, he added, “Sólstaður only had the powder kind and it just tasted like warm water—it almost made me cry. It hasn’t been that long and I already miss it.”
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Adelinde chuckled a bit. “I can start it while you unpack.”
With that decided, Matteo and Tara went upstairs; Adelinde went into the kitchen. She got the water to boil and took out the cups and powder by the time Matteo returned.
He came a bit closer to her spot near the stove and offered two score books.
“We managed to get an apology gift,” he said. “I got two things for you, but we couldn’t find anything for Rene.”
She gave him a thankful smile. “The thought is appreciated, if nothing else. Can you put it with the rest?”
Matteo murmured some agreement, briefly leaving. Tara returned before he did, bringing a sketchbook. She took her usual spot at the table, joined by Matteo when he came back.
They maintained some casual conversation as Adelinde finished making the hot chocolate and served it, leaving enough for the children to get seconds. The door opened as she poured a cup out for Rene as well, allowing her to greet her at the kitchen entrance with a light kiss and a mug.
Rene gave her a slightly questioning look for a second before noticing Matteo and Tara. She smiled almost immediately.
“Welcome back,” she said warmly. She took the mug and went over to her spot next to Tara. “How’d it go?”
“Good, all things considered,” Matteo replied. “Hannah was with us the whole time and we didn’t run into any trouble.”
“Definitely reassuring to hear. What about the first island stuff?”
Matteo opted to explain—the steps they took after getting to Sólstaður, the day they had to get this all done by, and their brief visit to the first island—while also adding smaller anecdotes to keep it relatively light—he made mentions to amusing encounters with locals, prompted Tara to participate, and even briefly left to show the knife he had bought for Mark.
“The last part is in Dakari,” Matteo said after he shared almost everything leading up to it. Everyone had finished their hot chocolate and Rene had started the process of preparing dinner. “We found a note from Itzun that had the rest of the instructions.”
He looked over at Tara—either for permission or as a silent request for her to take over explaining—but she didn’t immediately respond. Adelinde and Rene both gave her reassuring smiles. Tara just huddled back in her chair in response, leaving Matteo to carry on instead. The reaction concerned her; something about it must bother Tara.
“It’s near the center of the island,” Matteo explained. “We figured out a route on our way back here, so we just need to check for train schedules.”
“I can take you guys out tomorrow,” Rene offered. “It might take a few train switches, but you should be able to get there and back before January—with some time to spare, preferably.”
“I…kind of wanted to just hang around for a day or two,” Matteo admitted. “Make sure none of my friends went insane or anything without me, try to help Mark a bit.”
“It sounds like you’ve barely had a break since leaving; no one would hold wanting some free time against you,” Adelinde pointed out kindly. He cast her a quick thankful smile before she looked at Tara. “What about you?”
She considered it for a minute, then sighed.
“I don’t think I could justify doing nothing,” she murmured.
“That’s understandable, too,” Rene replied. “How about you and I check on schedules, and Matteo can catch up on what he’s missed?”
Both of them nodded and they resumed normal conversation; Matteo made sure to keep it light, and their absence never quite took up much attention.