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The car rumbled steadily along the rainy Turkish road. The windshield wipers worked rhythmically, slapping against the glass as Eddie stared out at the dreary landscape. His thoughts drifted back to home, to Mary and their daughters. The news Ahmed had delivered about his father's condition weighed heavily on him, but for now, he needed a moment of normalcy, something to remind him of the life waiting for him beyond all this.
Eddie pulled out his phone and dialed Mary. After a few rings, her familiar voice came through, though slightly distracted, as if she was in the middle of something.
"Hello?" Mary's voice sounded warm, but Eddie could hear the faint sound of their daughters chatting in the background. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Hello, darling," he said, his voice softening. "How are you?"
There was a pause, and then Mary's tone shifted into something more intimate, a bit softer. "Oh, it's you. I'm good... just missing you each day," she replied.
Mary glanced over her shoulder at the bed where Odette and Charlotte, their two daughters, sat. The girls were huddled together, giggling over some shared secret. Charlotte, the younger of the two, perked up as she overheard her mother's conversation.
"Is that Father on the phone?" Charlotte asked eagerly.
Mary smiled and nodded, and soon Odette, who was more composed and reserved like her father, spoke up too. "Could you give us the phone? We'd like to talk to him."
Mary turned her attention back to Eddie on the phone. "The girls want to talk to you," she said with a soft chuckle.
Eddie let out a small laugh of his own. "Let me speak to them, then."
There was some rustling on the line before Odette's calm voice came through. "Hi, Daddy."
"Hello, darling. Finally, we can talk!" Eddie replied, his voice brightening at the sound of his eldest daughter. "How's everything?"
Odette hesitated for a second, glancing at the clock on the bedside table. "Hmm, sorry we don't have very long-it's almost dinner," she said, apologetically.
"Yes, I know," Eddie replied with a knowing smile. "But quickly-how are things at home?"
"It's good. Mum's been keeping us busy," Odette said. She always sounded so grown-up, even at twelve.
YOU ARE READING
The Royal Business (Eddie Horniman)
FanfictionWhen aristocratic Eddie inherits the family estate, he discovers that it's home to an enormous weed empire - and its proprietors aren't going anywhere. Will he continue his father's business or will he leave. How would his family react, will he be...