Chapter 13
A few hours pass, but Dr. Frank and the girls refused to get up. They were entangled in an embrace and Dr. Frank was holding them tight, even when he was sleeping.
Jenny then wakes up and asks, "Either one of you awake?"
"No," Emily replies in a grumpy tone.
Emily rubs up against Dr. Frank's chest and he moans. "I could go for wine, that would put me back to sleep," he said and the two girls giggle under their breath.
"I would like some, too," Jenny replies and makes a smoothing noise with her lips.
Just then, the bell rings from the dining room. "Oh shit," Emily groans, "Dinner's ready," she adds. Dr. Frank, however, stands up to attention and straightens up, even putting up his fly.
"C'mon, let's go," he orders the two girls, but they groan. Jenny pulls on his arm and tries to take him down, but he doesn't budge. "C'mon girls," he said, "You don't want me to tell your grandpa what we did, do you?"
"NO!" Jenny and Emily said in unison and get up from the bed. They straighten their hair and clothes as they were a complete mess.
The three left the bedroom and joined Mr. Garrett in the dining room. "Thought we celebrate this occasion. Ever had Italian wine Doctor?" the kind old man asks.
"Oh my, yes," Frank answers. A maid pours red wine in four glasses.
"You girls can have some, too. Just for today, but don't tell anyone," Mr. Garrett said, whispering the last part. Both girls nod and made the 'zip the lip' motion with their hands.
Bruschetta was first brought out to the table. The bread was steamy as if it was just brought out of the oven. It was topped with sweet basil, creamy Italian cheese, and ripe tomatoes.
A big plate of tortellini was brought out. It had cut up bits of ham and peas, and sweet tomato vodka sauce was stirred into it.
"My, that looks good," Frank commented.
"Take as much as you three want," Mr. Garrett said and Emily went first in scooping the tortellini onto her plate.
They filled their plates to the brim and a bowl of grated cheese was placed down on the table. The girls drizzled cheese all over their food.
"My word, you two love cheese," Frank said, but Jenny looks at him.
"After being denied food for much of your life-" "Jenny, please, not at the table," Emily insists, but Jenny begins to chug the food into her mouth.
After a few fork fulls, Jenny's mouth began to quiver, and Frank knew what was going on in her head.
Her father denied the basic need of food and probably water and never had a distant meal. Frank stands from his seat and goes over to Jenny. He holds her in his arms and rubs her back.
"Shhhhh, let it out if you want, everything that happened is all behind," he whispers and Jenny calms down.
After receiving a few napkins and drink of water, Jenny started to eat again, slowly this time. Everyone resumed eating, not uttering a word.
Two bottles of Italian red wine were consumed, the girls taking most of it.
"Emily, Jenny," Mr. Garrett began and the two look at him. "I thought it would be best for you two to enroll in alternative school, taking classes online and such," he explained.
Jenny and Emily look at each other, their vision was just about blurry and they felt light-heated.
"I rather go to real school," Emily replies, taking another gulp of wine.
Mr. Garrett stares at them with a concerned look, but Frank says, "I think they can handle it."
"Are you sure?" Mr. Garrett asked. Both Emily and Jenny nodded, still holding their wine glasses and asking for more. "I think that's enough for tonight. We'll discuss this in the morning," he said and has a server take their dishes.
"Dr. Heidrich, I would like to speak to you, privately," Mr. Garrett said and Frank's stomach dropped and he could feel pins and needles course through his body.
"Grandpa, is something wrong?" Emily asked.
"Nothing, I want to talk to him, man to man," Mr. Garrett replied and has a maid take the girls up to their rooms.
About half-way up the stairway, Emily dismisses the maid by insisting they were good on their own. Once the maid was gone, Emily took Jenny by the hand and lead her to a room that appeared to be a den.
"Over here," Emily said, pointing to a wooden board. She lifts the wooden board and they could hear both Frank and Mr. Garrett.
"Care for a brandy?" Mr. Garrett asked.
"No thank you, I'm watching my alcohol," Frank replied. The two girls waited until one of them spoke.
"I want to ask you, did you do anything inappropriate while my granddaughter and Jenny were at your mansion?" Mr. Garrett asked.
"Absolutely not, I would never harm some total strangers," Frank answered, but both Emily and Jenny knew that was not a good answer.
"Yet you invited two young high school girls into your mansion after dark. Didn't you find that odd?" Mr. Garret asked, again.
"At first I did, but I was not going to let two girls get lost in the woods, especially since it was raining that night," Frank replied and adds, "The road they were on is especially dangerous when it rains."
"I see. Dr. Heidrich, I was surprised that my granddaughter insisted on going to see you after the trial of her family. Why do you think that?" Mr. Garrett asked.
"She came by to ask me if I wanted to come to Columbus. It's been three months since I saw the two of them. I was so afraid during that time, but I was mostly afraid because what if Jenny's father found them in Columbus? I never got a good night sleep over that," Frank said.
There was silence for a couple of seconds and then Mr. Garrett says, "You never got a good sleep?"
"Never. When Emily and Jenny told me about their families, especially that Mr. Roberts, I was sickened to my stomach," Frank said.
"Yet you didn't take them to Columbus yourself, why is that?" Mr. Garrett asked.
"Oh no," Jenny whispered to Emily, who nodded.
"You want the truth?" Frank asked. After a minute, he answers, "I'm not a people person. I am terrified of the outside. I had a bad experience one time and I rather not discuss it. However, Emily convinced me otherwise."
There was silence for a minute and then, Mr. Garrett replies, "Is that so?"
"It is so," Frank said.
"Well, I find it hard to believe, but I won't push you into revealing your horrible experience. You are welcome to stay as long as you want, but I want you to be kind to those girls. They have been through enough," Mr. Garrett replied.
"I understand," Frank said and they heard him leave the great room.
Both girls waited for him at the top of the stairs. He looks at them and takes them by their hands. They went into Emily's room, which had a large bed and purple painted walls.
"Girls, I won't let anything happen to you, I swear," he said, hugging them.
"We know," Jenny said and he kisses the tops of their heads.
"I just hoped I haven't gotten on your grandfather's bad side," he added, but Emily chuckles.
"It's his nature to be so questionable," she said.
They got undressed and into their night clothes. Frank had a full pajama set. He notices the girls snickering. "What?" he asked, but they shook their heads.
Frank got in the middle of the bed and the two girls took one side of him and he held them with one arm. "I love you two," he said in a whisper.
Both Emily and Jenny kissed him and they settled down to sleep.
From the author: Hello my dear readers! I apologize for the long delay. It's been a really hectic year for me finding work and such. I hope to find some time to get back into the game. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this new chapter. There is more on the way!