Among The Roses

Chapter 5: Meet the Penningtons

"Mum! Noah! Where are you?"

"Drew? Is that you?"

"Honestly, who else on god's green earth is going to walk into your house and call you 'mum?'" he asked as he hugged the woman who entered the kitchen as she spoke. "And why isn't this door kept locked?" he chastised. "Speaking of wandering, any crazed murderer out wandering the countryside could just blow right in and chop you and Noah into tiny little pieces."

Ellie Pennington was a rather pretty woman with dark hair and a cleft chin whose eldest son resembled her more than a little. "Oh, please, darling, no one's going to get in here without William Wallace raising the alarm," she informed him. "And since when do you 'blow' anywhere?" she laughed. "Maybe you'd 'breeze?' Or 'sashay,' hm?'" she chuckled. "How are you?" she asked, getting serious, kissing Drew.

"Fine, I'm fine," he replied. "Though how you can say that about William Wallace and keep a straight face, is beyond me," he added. "That old dog is as deaf as a post. Where is he, anyway?"

At that moment, the dog in question, a medium-sized retriever mix who had been sleeping in the front entry, finally realized that someone new had arrived in the kitchen, and came barreling in, barking like crazy. He was obviously trying to make up for not having noticed Drew's presence earlier. He hurled himself at Drew's thin frame, nearly knocking him over.

"Hey, William Wallace, you old tosser, how are you?" Drew asked the dog as he wrestled him to the ground, laughing happily.

"Drew, language," his mother said automatically.

"Mum, did I hear Andrew?" a voice called from the hall. The owner of the voice, who turned out to be a towhead in his early teens, came into the kitchen a moment later, gave a glad cry, and promptly joined his brother and the dog on the floor. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" he asked after a minute of rolling around.

"Wanted to surprise you, didn't I?"

Ellie just watched her boys playing with the dog and pulled out her phone for a couple of quick photographs. "You know, I still have friends who don't believe that siblings who are eight years apart can be so close? Can actually get along without wanting to kill each other? Especially when one is a spoiled, world famous pop star."

Drew stopped cavorting to stare at his mother. "You know, I resent that," he said, a smile on his face. "Why do people assume I'm spoilt?" He rose, dusting his clothes off as he spoke. "I mean, I've never been anything but a gentleman out in public, and I've bought you this perfectly lovely house." He gestured around the spacious and beautifully appointed kitchen. "I'm also paying for my younger brother's expensive public school education at a very posh school," he added, helping Noah up off the floor.

William Wallace turned his face between the two boys, looking hurt that the fun was over. He went and lay down next to his food bowl to wait for supper.

"Not to mention I've just driven four hours to come and visit you both for no particular reason other than the fact that I love you and miss you both?" he smiled and hugged both of them, though Noah made a face and shrugged out of his brother's arms after a moment.

"So who's been calling me spoilt, I'd like to know?" he asked.

"Oh, you know, no one in particular," his mother answered vaguely, waving an arm to encompass most of greater Derbyshire. "How long are you staying?"

"Not long, unfortunately," Drew told her as he plugged in the kettle to make tea. "I have some news."

"Oh?"

"I've bought a house." He looked at his mother to watch for her response.

"Really? Where? You mean in addition to the London place?" She pushed him aside and took over the preparations for tea herself, waving at the boys to sit down in the cheerful breakfast nook.