Ghosts of Philadelphia

Six

By the Time they made it to Mechanicsburg, Rob and Richie were more than a lil exhausted and not really feeling up to doing a bunch of unloading. Given what a Day the poor younger brunette'd had, his older companion decided it was a better idea to just park their cars in the garage and do that part tomorrow. At least then, they could start fresh, which'd no doubt serve them in better stead since they'd two car loadsta get upstairsta the guest room.

        The second they walked through the door that connected the garage to the hall that essentially connected the dining room to the kitchen, Richie was all but ambushed. Lynda wrapped her arms around him in that typical motherly embrace that one'd offer a young child, and Zak latched himself to his leg. It seemed the boy was taking care not to practically nuzzle his crotch, but at the moment, he couldn't have cared less if that'd happened. With his mind all over the place, he was more than a lil grateful for something that essentially pulled him back to Reality. No doubt just these simple embraces'd help Ground and Center him again, which was why he wrapped one arm around the middle-aged woman, his other hand resting on the toddler's head.

        "Ya don't have to talk to any of us till you're ready, but don't bottle it up forever, child," she said, pulling back enough to see him clearly as she cupped his cheek.

        "I–" the younger brunette started, only to be gently cut off.

        "Mama knows more than she'll ever let on to, just like I tend to," Rob said from behind him. "No doubt she's already figured out you're going through a rough patch, even if she doesn't know why."

        "I felt it as soon as I felt your cars at the End of the street," the middle-aged woman chuckled. "Something involving his parents, but other than that, he's too scattered to get a good read on it."

        "Holy shit," Richie breathed, his eyes widening as they finally parted, the boy still clinging to his leg.

        "Your choice whether either of us tell her more since she's already figured out that much, kid," her son told him.

        "After Zak's in bed," he sighed. "He doesn't need the details."

        "Demon," Zak said, taking even his mama by surprise. "Killed chu mommy and daddy."

        Even the older brunette wasn't too sure what to say to that as he shared a look with his companion, then with his mother, before looking back down at him.

        "It borked chu mommy's car." The toddler's voice held a decisive note as he nodded once.

        "Borked?" the younger burnette asked, cocking a brow.

        "Cut him some slack, man," Rob chuckled. "He's only three, so he halfway speaks his own language sometimes."

        He simply shrugged, knowing he'd a point.

        "But when he says borked, or any other variant, he means that something's broken," he explained.

        "Ahhhh." Richie nodded, then gently pried the boy off his leg so he could kneel down. "Yeah, whatever Mom saw definitely broke her car, kiddo–there's no fixing it, for sure."

        "Chu mommy and daddy otays," Zak told him, his voice still holding a decisive, Sagely note too old for his Years. "Dey's in Summaland naow."

        The younger brunette couldn't help looking confused, even as he hefted the boy up so they could at least head to the living room. As they headed down the hall, Rob told him to think of Summerland kinda like he'd think of Heaven as having been described. It was one of many Pagan Afterlives that ranked on the positive side, so it was more of a catch-all term than it wasn't. One of the most apt ones that came to mind was the Elysian Fields outta Greek Mythology, where folks were said to live in Peace and enjoy doing whatever they wanted–even holding down the same job as they did in Life–for Eternity.