Blogophilia 46.4 Topic: "Any Way The Wind Blows"

Blogophilia 46.4 Topic: "Any Way The Wind Blows"

Bonus Points:

(Hard, 2pts): use a Machiavelli quote

(Easy, 1pt): incorporate 'tabula rasa'

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“He’s not here!” Maggie said, as she came storming back into the dark paneled library.  Her frizzy red hair looked even wilder than usual.  “I’ve searched this place from top to bottom.  Father is not here.”

“You’re overreacting,” Leander said, never looking up from his laptop.  He sounded bored.

“I am not overreacting!  I’m telling you, he’s not here.”

Nathaniel looked at his watch.  “It’s not the first time he’s done this to us, Mags.  If we leave now, we should be able to catch the next flight out.”

“You can’t be serious!” Maggie growled.  “Leander, tell Nathaniel-”

“Don’t do it!” Nikos warned.

“I wasn’t about to say anything.”  Leander’s scowl deepened as he read his emails.  “Spam.  I keep getting spam,” he muttered.  “There’s a flight out in one hour, but you’ll never make it with the traffic.”

“Doesn’t anyone care that Father is missing?  Am I the only one who cares about him anymore?”  Maggie put her hands on the hips of her dark, tailored pantsuit.  Nathaniel had taken out his cell phone and was essentially ignoring her.  Leander was still on his computer.  Nikos was staring at the artwork on the walls.  “He could be anywhere.  Why aren’t any of you concerned?  Something could have happened to him.  He could be lost or hurt…”

“Oy vey!” Nathaniel grumbled.  “He’s fine, Maggie.  He always is.”

“But he’s getting worse.  Admit it,” Maggie continued.  “He’s forgetting things.  He’s unpredictable.  He needs constant supervision…”  Maggie pursed her lips together tightly.  She wasn’t about to get emotional in front of the others.  She hated to appear weak.  “Look, I just think that we need a new plan.  What are we going to do about Father?”

“He’ll turn up.  He always does eventually,” Nikos said. “I’m sure Nathaniel’s right.  He’s fine.”

“I’m not talking about now.  What about later?  What about in the future?  We need a long-term plan.  We can’t have him floating about any way the wind blows.”  Maggie took a deep breath.  “I think we’ve come to a point in our lives where one of us will have to stay with him, to take care of him.”

Nathaniel groaned and put away his phone.  “Maggie,” he said sternly.  “We have a staff to look after him.  They have a job.  Let them do their job.”

“A staff?  Very nice, Nathaniel!"  Her voice was drenched in sarcasm.  “That’s the problem.  They’re not doing their job.  You can’t expect any of them to take care of Father like one of us would.”

Nikos and Nathaniel looked over at Leander and then looked away.  Even Maggie couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes.  Clearly, Leander wouldn’t be the one to watch over their Father and keep him out of trouble.  Deep down, Maggie always felt that the responsibility would fall on her shoulders.

“Maybe we just need to give him more to do,” Nikos offered.  “He needs a project, something to keep his mind active.”

“You want to give Father a hobby,” Nathaniel chuckled.  “Go right ahead, but make sure you give the rest of us a head start.  I want to be far, far away when you suggest that Father should start collecting stamps.”