Human of the Wild

Chapter 21 - Not a normal fishing trip part 2

As we walked inside, I took my first steps into the Cattle's household along with Chilli, Brandy, and Mort. I'm gonna get this out of the way, but there was nothing I was expecting heading inside, not that I needed to as this was my first time seeing the place and learning about the very house that would be the starting point for Chilli and Brandy.

I noticed it didn't look too different from my house, mainly the floors and walls being colored white and greenish respectively plus them being wood unlike my house which were bricks. "Wow dad, you really kept this place clean haven you?" Chilli complimented her dad as we stepped into the living room being amazed at how well kept everything looks, there was no sight of any dust whatsoever or even smells of odor, the living room was spotless.

"Yep. I've always made sure to keep this place as nice and clean as possible." He said and then took his hat off and placed it to his chest where his heart was. "It's what your mum would have wanted." He added. Speaking of which, where is their mother? She didn't appear to have come outside with Mort to greet her daughter's arrival or anything of the matter.

Maybe she was sleeping? It's technically still the morning after all or does she have something important to do? I would only assume to avoid not fearing the worst of course but I should ask Mort about it before I jump to any conclusions. "Hey. what is that smell?" My thoughts would be put on hold as I heard Brandy mention a smell that was in the air as she along with Chilli smelled.

I took a sniff. She actually wasn't lying, whatever it was, it smelled amazing like the scent of meat, beans, and tomato sauce filling my nostrils as it was being cooked into a pot. Is Mort making food in the kitchen? "Ah. That's just the chili, I made it for lunch since you all came over, want some?" Mort offered us happily. I was so down to eat right now, especially after skipping breakfast prior.

"Of course Dad. We would love too-" Chilli was going to finish her sentence only for me to jump in with an answer of my own. "I call first dibs!" I immediately ran for the kitchen, wanting to be the first to get some chili. I could hear the three giggling behind me, being surprised, and adored by my sudden excitement.

***

We were now in the kitchen and I, along with the others, were eating chili. If you thought I wouldn't take an offer for free food, you are completely wrong, I will admit that Mort is actually really good at cooking. It was delicious, like the taste of heaven popping into my mouth like fireworks and the aftertaste being just the icing on the cake.

"This is delicious chili, Dad." Brandy claims. "I followed your mother's famous chili recipe, sounds like I was pretty accurate, when it came to familiarity." Mort said, which I chimed in with my own praises. "Yeah, this is really good, can I have some more?" I asked him to which he giggled. "Certainly, I've made plenty to go around." He proclaimed, pointing at the pot on the stove letting me have some more.

However as I got up I felt my stomach ache in horrible pain, I might've eaten more than I originally thought and possibly need to take care of it. Looks like I'm gonna have to put my extra servings on hold. "Actually Mort, I think I'm gonna hold off on that right now." I said to Mort while clenching my aching stomach.

A few minutes later...

I finished washing my hands and exited the bathroom, it turns out I needed to go and Mort was kind enough to point to where it was, who knew that after consuming too much chili really takes a toll on your stomach. I proceeded to walk through a small hallway, planning to head back into the kitchen to see what was next before we headed out on the fishing trip around nightfall.

I passed by some windows, looking out of one I saw the sun was somewhat beginning to go down, which meant it was getting closer to night but while noticing that, something began to bounce back into my mind... Brandy's secret. OOh.. shoot! I completely overlooked that. I was supposed to be helping her get the courage to talk to Chilli and her father about that, but instead I've done nothing other than sat, relax, and ate food for most of the day. This sudden remembrance gave me more of a reason to head back into the kitchen, however I immediately stopped when I heard a loud creek behind me.

It sounded like a door being slowly opened but I wasn't too certain about my answer as I hesitantly turned around and saw a wooden door that was slightly opened. Nobody appeared to have been responsible for opening it or even passed by me as a matter of fact... or I thought so.

I didn't want to investigate further considering this wasn't my house and I shouldn't enter random rooms without permission but unfortunately... curiosity got the better of me. I decided to go and take a look still a bit iffy though, I pushed on it slowly until the door was completely opened revealing a slightly darkened room that was fairly larger than I expected. Being confused, I saw the light switch to my left and switched it on which instantly lit up the room and showed its contents. I widened my eyes, the entire room looked to be some kind of museum consisting of what looks like military memorabilia.

There was a ton of stuff. Photos of Mort in his younger years decked out in military gear and standing next to what seems to be his colleagues, many different displays of medals from his time in service, what seems to be trinkets and knick knacks picked up from the places and countries he's been, his whole suit! Including many patches and his full name on it, and lastly a huge photo was placed around some more stuff. The photo was of a single female heeler who I didn't recognize but looked strikingly similar to Chilli and Brandy. Could this be their Mom? And Mort's wife?

"Shane?" I would pause my investigation, hearing a voice behind me, I instantly recognized the voice as I turned and saw Mort standing there, having discovered me in here. "Oh. I see you found the room full of old military stuff." Mort said to me, Chilli and Brandy then came into the room noticing us both in here as they glared at me, seeing I was snooping in one of his rooms.

"Shane. What are you doing in here? I thought you were going to the bathroom." Chilli asked me, wondering how I found myself in this room. "I did, but while heading back, I saw one of the doors slowly open and it led me in here." I explained truthfully, telling them what exactly happened only for Mort to put his hand on my shoulder and look at Chilli.

"He's alright dear. There's nothing wrong with him taking a look at my military stuff. I mean you used to roam around the house when you were little after all." Mort told his daughter before looking at me, giving a nod. He then removed his hand from my shoulder, turning around to see that I was originally looking at the photo of the female red heeler.

"Ah. Noticed the picture of my wife. I've always kept this in here along with everything else." Mort proclaimed as he went over to the picture. "Is this your wife?" I asked. Mort shook his head "Yes" to my question. "It sure is. My daughter's mum." Mort responded. I was correct, this is their mom and Mort's wife. "She seems like a nice lady." I said to the red heeler who placed his hand on the picture.

"Yeah. She was." He said softly while giving the picture a smile. I was a tad confused all of a sudden, why was he referring to her in past tense? "Was?" I hesitated on asking, but by doing so their faces fell flat as Mort, Brandy and Chilli shared looks of unsureness until Mort sighed before explaining. "You see Unfortunately... She passed away a while back." Mort laid it on me. It hit me like a large rock, I couldn't believe what I heard after thinking that she was alive and well the whole time and judging by Chilli's face as I looked at her, it was true.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." I give him and his daughter my condolences. "Don't be. She knew at some point, it was her time to go... but I believe she is watching us up there... with a smile on her face. She used to remind us all to remain strong and to never let things fall apart between us or give up on things we want to achieve in life. Me along with Brandy and Chilli will always have her in our hearts as we honor her name and continue to live on. I'll never forget about her and how she changed my life for the better. I love her so freaking much." Mort said, taking his hat off again and putting it next to his heart. I noticed he smiled at the photo while tears were shedding down his face. I couldn't help but put my hand on his back and tell him.

"I bet she's really proud of you all." I said my peace. He knew I sounded genuine when he shook my hair as we all stood there looking at the picture.

To be continued...