Lucy gasped in mock offense."You don't want to be my brother?"
Theodore huffed and stretchedone long arm back to point the fingers holding his cigarette at Luis. "Iam not going to be brothers with that."
Elysium shot him a glare."Don't pick on him. He's not taking the death well."
Theodore groaned but loweredhis arm. "Does he take anything well?"
At the door, Benedict lookedback at the yard. Luis still stood at the edge of their mother's grave, but he wasn'tlooking at it anymore. His head had turned, and Benedict could swear that hisgaze had settled on that spot near the tree-line where Emmeline had been.
"Can you believe he put alock of his hair on her grave? Can you imagine how your mother would havereacted to that show?" Theodore laughed with a shake of his head."She'd be rolling."
Lucy wrapped her arms aroundone of Theodore's, leaning against his side. "Even I have to admit it wasa bit much… And all that talk about how loving she was? I mean, I didn't hatemom, but come one, let's be real—that woman was stone-cold."
Benedict pressed down a smile."Word choice, Lucy…"
Chapter Eight
After dinner, they lingered atthe table, basking in the sense of familiarity without the oppression of theirmatriarch. No one wanted to say it—how freeing it felt to be in that housewithout Gloria Lyon. Uncle Vernon had retired early. And Luis had gone upstairsnot long after, sullen and mumbling something about heartache and loss.
Theodore pillaged the freezerand returned with cartons of ice cream and a fistful of spoons—the same waythey had snuck the dessert as teens at night when the adults were out on aghost hunt. No bowls meant no evidence.
Elysium told the staff to takethe rest of the night to themselves—the Lyons wouldmanage on their own for the evening.
"Okay, so let's hearit," Lucy started, picking up a spoon and dragging the carton ofstrawberry ice cream toward herself. "Who has kids?"
A stretch of silence spreadthrough the dining room, everyone exchanging glances until at last a few guiltysmiles grew on their lips. Hazel, Theodore, and finally, Elysium raised theirhands in confession.
Lucy howled laughter."Theo! You do not!"
Theodore shrugged, opening thechocolate ice cream with brownie chunks. "One. Didn't know about her until she was already six years old.She doesn't live with me, but her mother lets me see her sometimes."
He said it all so casually.Benedict supposed there was no real normal in his family.
Hazel confirmed that herhusband's three kids were, as they all suspected, her own. She had just wantedto keep them safe from the Lyon ways.
Elysium was the real surprise,though. Benedict had been sure that if and when Elysium continued the familyline, it would be just as Gloria had done—coming home with a baby and nomention of a spouse like it was the most normal thing in the world. They allwaited for him to explain, and he let the silence stretch until Theodore wasabout to burst.
"Twoboys. Benjamin and Everest."
Benedict felt Lucy and Hazelglancing his way just when he had been stealing the strawberry ice cream fromhis sister.
"Benny?"Hazel said. "You named your kid after Benny?" she asked Elysium beforeasking Benedict, "Did you know?"
Benedict shook his head with ashrug and dug into the ice cream. It was the creamy kind, with strawberrychunks, at that perfect point of melting where it had become like soft serve. "Didn't know about anyone's kids."
"We should have a familyget together here!" Lucy said. Either sugar hit her hard, or she washonestly excited about this whole nieces-and-nephews business. "We coulddo Christmas or something."
Hazel nodded. "We should.I was thinking of moving home to look after dad. Jackson's a writer, so he canmove anywhere, and the kids would probably love the house."
Theodore laughed, tapping hisspoon against the rim of the chocolate ice cream. "Love it? Because we loved it so much?"
She waved off her brother'sskepticism, turning toward Lucy. "We'll make it happen. You're seeingsomeone, aren't you? You could bring them!"
Lucy smiled brightly."Her name's Alex, and we got married lastyear."
The table of siblings andcousins let out a cheer of surprise and congratulations. Benedict laughed alongwith them, eating another spoonful of strawberry and marveling at how littlethey knew about one another.
"What about you, Benny?Seeing anyone?" Lucy asked, stealing his spoon from him. Though it hadbeen her spoon first, so really, she was just taking it back.
Benedict couldn't stop himselffrom glancing to the side, at the wall of family portraits and the ghoststanding in front of it. Emmeline scrutinized the paintings, leaning close andstudying them one at a time. "Yeah," he answered without thinking.
Emmeline turned around, browraised just as his family cheered in excitement.
"We met in college,"he fibbed. "We've been living together for years."
Elysium appeared the mostsurprised. "I've never seen her."
Benedict shrugged. "It'snot like you stay long." He had said it lightly, but his brother stilllooked the tiniest bit hurt. Why? He had a whole secret family. Was it sounreasonable that the youngest could do the same?
"What's her name?"Lucy urged.
Emmeline came closer to him,head shaking. "Don't."
He knew her panic, felt itrising in his own chest. Names had power. Ghost hunters used them to invokespirits and put them out of the world. "Emily,"Benedict lied, easier than even he had expected.
Lucy was ready to dive intomore questions when the doors opened and Luis returned to the dining room. Theyall looked up.
He carried a box in both arms,shoulders still sagging and eyes still teary—the way they had been all day. Hewas like a human raincloud—reminding the rest of them that they were a bunch ofheartless assholes trying to picnic at a funeral.
"I was going through someold things, looking for pictures…" he started.
Theodore shoved a spoonful ofbrownie chunks and melty chocolate ice cream into his mouth, probably trying tosmother any comments bubbling up inside.
Luis didn't notice, puttingthe old box on the table.
"Did you find any?"Lucy asked kindly. They all knew that photos were rare in the Lyon house. Noone had been snapping pictures of their first toddling moments or children'sbirthday parties or Christmas; Gloria
