Where there is love

The house was its usual cacophony of noise and Mick wouldn't have it any other way. For too long mornings in his house were silent, only his mother and Jess for company. And often they were only company for each other.

Now though it was like grand central station, despite the fact that most of his kids no longer lived in the house, they somehow always found themselves at his breakfast table. Their Gran's breakfast was the major draw, but more recently Mick highly suspected that ultimately it was family too that led them there. Particularly on the weekends, like today, a bright Saturday morning, where the sun was high in a sky that went on forever.

He allowed himself to feel contented despite the fact that there was someone missing. Megan hadn't made her way to the house yet. She had texted him last night to say she was driving up the coast a bit to do some sunrise sketches and to make sure he saved her some of Nell's pastries before the kids devoured them all. Given all the years they spent apart, he was surprised at how much he missed her when she wasn't there.

"I like this one," Mick was interrupted from his musings by Bree's exclamation about one of the brochures Abby had scattered on the counter.

"I like it too but it's only 3 bedrooms and no office. I want to be able to work from home if I can and I'd like the girls to start having their own rooms."

"You could just stay here," Mick muttered not looking up from his paper. While he was happy that Abby and Trace had decided to commit enough to their relationship to move in together, he wasn't happy that it meant she and the girls were moving out.

Abby smiled indulgently at him, "Yes Dad, I am sure you and Trace would *love* living together."

He grinned back at her, "Who said anything about letting Trace move in?!"

She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to the brochures and he looked at his watch again. Megan must have got caught up with her sketches and not realised the time.

"You got somewhere to be, Dad?" Bree asked pointing towards Mick's watch.

"No. I thought your mother would be here by now."

"She's probably been overtaken by her muse," Connor said around a mouthful of pancake.

"Probably," Mick chuckled back, "I'll try calling her."

He got his phone out and dialled, the line ringing out without an answer. He frowned at his phone and caught Nell's concerned look.

"Nothing?"

"Nope. It's not like her not to answer."

"Maybe she's driving and doesn't want to pick up."

Mick nodded, "If she let me just put her on the tracking app, I would know and I wouldn't have to worry."

He felt rather than saw his family roll their eyes at him. He thought it was a perfectly reasonable idea to have his family on the tracking app. No one else agreed with him.

"And big brother strikes again," Connor said with a laugh.

His cell began to ring and Mick took the opportunity to strike his youngest son round the head with his newspaper as he went in to the living room to answer, away from the noisy rabble.
It was Sarah.

Mick felt the blood drain from his face as he listened to his son's wife.

Later he would marvel at how calm and factual his daughter-in-law was. How she answered his questions calmly and honestly, even though he suspected he didn't sound calm and collected and he had probably asked the same questions again and again.