'And you're back again!' Melinda said when Ben and Lily came into the dining room, with Ben putting Ruby's leash back on the hook where it usually went and Ruby went over to the large pantry, waiting for Ben to feed her,
'You took a bit longer than I thought, but never mind, you made it back just in time for dinner!' as she put a steaming platter of butter chicken on the table.
'Sorry about coming back late, Melinda, we kinda lost track of time,' Ben said, going over to the pantry, grabbed a large bag of Ruby's food along with her food and water bowls and poured some food and water in them which Ruby ate and drank hungrily from once they had been placed in front of her.
'Oh, that's alright, love, I was just teasing,' Melinda said, patting Ben's shoulder as she took three glasses out of the cupboard along with three plates, cutlery and a jug of water from the fridge while Lily watched them.
Ben grabbed two cans of Coke out of the fridge, opened them and passed one to Lily, who took a huge sip as she was thirsty and smiled as she felt the sweet, fizzy liquid, much like the frozen Coke she had earlier only in liquid form and watched as Ben helped Melinda set the table which was laid out the same way as breakfast.
There were large plates of butter chicken, rice and green beans to Ben's delight as they weren't having the vile weed he hated, as he continued talking about Ruby's walk,
'But it was nice on the beach, especially at this time of day when it's not crowded and Lily proved herself to be quite a pro at dog walking! Well, she had a bit of difficulty at first since it was obviously her first time and Ruby is so energetic, as you know already but she likes Lily and she soon got the hang of it.'
'Oh, that's nice that you let her have a go walking Ruby and I can imagine that such a lively and energetic dog would be difficult for Lily to look after but as you said, Ruby clearly likes her and it seems that Lily found it surprisingly easy to interact with her.' Melinda said.
'She did, far easier than I did when I first got Ruby. For a few weeks, she was walking me and she was very energetic, chasing everything that she saw and I found it hard to keep up with her, whereas with Lily, she knew that she was in charge and enjoyed her walk with her.'
Didn't you, Ruby? You liked it when Lily walked you, didn't you, girl? Do you want her to walk you again tomorrow morning? Do you, girl?' Ben then said to Ruby, who was still eating her dinner and looked up at her owner.
Ruby then barked happily and wagged her tail before she finished eating and wandered over to her bed, where she flopped down to sleep.
'I'll take that as a yes,' Ben said, chuckling, 'and seeing Ruby demolish her dinner makes me want to tuck into our own one that you made, Melinda, which looks beaut as always and I'm glad there's no vile weed in sight!'
Melinda chuckled at the last statement and Lily smiled at him, trying to supress a silent snicker before looking down at her jeans to check on Senna to make sure that Melinda wouldn't see her and serve her up for dinner again, only to see that they were wet and covered with sand when she was with Aurora.
She pointed to her clothes and to the foyer to indicate that she wanted to go to her room and change while relishing the fact that this would be a perfect opportunity to wear some of her new clothes and Melinda quickly picked up on her gestures, as she too noticed the girl's wet clothes.
'That's a good idea, love, go upstairs and change into some dry clothes. Your dinner will still be warm when you get back but if you do decide to wear some of your new clothes, be careful when you're eating butter chicken, you don't want it to stain them.
You go ahead and change, love, we'll wait,' Melinda said and Lily nodded her thanks before wandering off into the foyer.
'Ben, how did Lily get her clothes wet in the first place?' Melinda then asked Ben, 'did you go near the ocean for a paddle when you went for your walk?'
'Yes, we went there to let Ruby have a paddle, like I usually do and when we were about to leave, I saw her kneeling down in the water hugging what I thought was a little pink fish but it disappeared before I got a good look at it.
In fact, during the day, I thought that I could hear a little voice in the car that spoke in a posh Pommie accent when we were driving but then again, it's probably my mind playing tricks on me again,' Ben said.
'Like it has been lately, with the mysterious girl that I will probably never see again and could very well be a figment of my imagination and the Pommie voice in the car, which I don't know where it came from and the little pink fish that I thought I saw..
I really do have an active imagination, don't I?' Ben said, chuckling while Melinda smiled at him as they sat down at the table and served up their dinner.
'Just like your mother,' she said, as a thought came into her head and she looked at a musty, yellowing cardboard box that she found in the attic during the day and was tucked away in a corner in the sitting room.
Lily was walking across the foyer towards the spiralling staircase that led to the second floor and to her room, when something suddenly caught her eye, something that she hadn't seen since she had been at the house and having learnt about Ben and his family's history, she wondered why she had noticed them or why Ben hadn't shown them to her and was keen to have a look and she walked over to where several large portraits and pictures were hanging in various places on the walls.
Lily looked in fascination at the framed rugby league jerseys which were obviously Phil's and represented the teams he played for, his team photos and photos of him holding trophies with his teammates and a portrait of a little boy and his mother who Lily instantly recognised as Ben.
He was depicted as a merboy in the rock pools near the beach with a maroon tail and gold fins and he was giggling with delight as he was being lifted in the air by his mother who was a mermaid with spring green seashells and tail and a seashell crown in her hair, like Lily used to have and all the mermaids in Aquaria wore.
She smiled at the portrayal of Ben and the woman that Lily now knew was his mother, Lara as the merpeople that they loved so much and felt the familiar pang of sadness as she remembered her father doing the same thing with her, especially on the day they were on the surface when he..
No, she was not going to think of that now, not while she was here in Ben's house and experiencing his wonderful world and especially not when her sisters, except Daffodil, Bluebell, Marigold and Rose, blamed her for his death although it hadn't been her fault and that Holley was only freeing her from the rocks so that the pirates wouldn't get her, although he fell victim to them, having been unable to get away from the ship in time.
Blinking back tears, Lily's attention then turned to a large portrait, similar in size to the one of Ben that she had back in the grotto, that was in the centre of the wall and was the very first thing that anyone who was entering the house saw (but Lily didn't until now) and her curiosity coming through again, she walked over to it and looked at it.
The portrait pictured a much younger and thinner Phil standing on the left and dressed in a white shirt and jeans and that made Lily's eyebrow rise in surprise as it was far different to the old, balding and tubby man she had met and knew.
Phil had the biggest smile on his face and had his arm around Lara who sat next to him, poised and perfect as the model she had been and as beautiful as the photo that Ben had shown her on his phone.
Lara also had a huge and lovely smile and wore a beautiful spring green dress with flowers on it and Ben, who was wearing an identical outfit to Phil's and holding a plush mermaid doll in his hands with a big smile to match his parents' ones, was sitting on her lap.
Lily smiled to see the family looking relaxed and happy in contrast to her own family portraits, which always looked stiff and formal with only the slightest smile allowed and Daffodil would always ruin them by flashing goofy grins or generally acting like an idiot to, in her own words, 'liven up the annual Frowning Mindlessly Convention.'
Lily then looked sadly at the portrait as she remembered what Ben had told her this afternoon and seeing that one of those happy faces was not there and it had affected Ben and his father greatly, like Holley's death had affected her and her family and what Ben and Phil were like now was in stark contrast to the happy portrait on the wall.
Ben really loved his mother so much, Lily thought to herself, just like I loved Daddy. Both his dad and Mum were never really the same after they had lost someone so close to them. Tragedy is supposed to bring families closer together, not drift them apart.
Like it did for her after her father died but she took comfort in Rose, Marigold, Daffodil and Bluebell who didn't blame her at all and comforted her as they understood that their father did what he had to do to save her life, even if he lost his and that Lily was not to blame, in spite of what Fern and Violet led her to believe but the two eventually forgave her.
Whereas Ben's father threw himself into his work as a way to cope with his grief and hadn't been there for Ben when he really needed him the most which made them drift apart but had since patched things up, although the situation had stayed the same but Ben was happier than he had been before since meeting Lily.
Lost in her thoughts and absorbed in looking at the portrait, Lily then realised that she had been dithering and that she needed to get changed quickly before her dinner got cold and Ben and Melinda got impatient waiting for her and rushed up the spiralling staircase to her room, where she found her new clothes lying on the bed with the tags snipped off.
She first took Senna out of her pocket and laid her on the pillow, just as the crab started to open her mouth to lecture her about her missed opportunities to kiss Ben but one look from Lily, who was in no mood for any lectures tonight and her finger on her lips convinced Senna not to say anything more.
She didn't need to for the crab was clearly worn out from the day she had and she went to sleep on the pillow, much like Lily did last night, no doubt dreaming about Maximus and composing symphonies for him.
Lily smiled at the crab and hurriedly threw off her damp clothes, threw them into the laundry hamper that Melinda had placed in her room, put on a pair of soft denim shorts and a T-shirt with a snowman and the words 'Some people are worth melting for,' on it and walked back down the stairs towards the kitchen.
If Ben and Melinda had any impatience or annoyance for being kept waiting while Lily had been looking at the portraits in the foyer and changing her clothes (and she was getting much better at it) they certainly didn't show it as they smiled at her when she entered the dining room and sat down to a plate of butter chicken, rice and green beans and her still-full can of Coke on the side.
'Those are cute clothes, Lily,' Melinda said, 'especially the shirt with that little snowman from that movie..what is he called, Ben? The snowman on Lily's shirt?'
'Olaf, Melinda,' Ben said, 'from Frozen. You just can't get away from it, even though it's been nearly two years since it came out, yet you can't go anywhere without little girls singing Let It Go and wearing T-shirts and dresses with Anna, Elsa and Olaf on them or seeing its merchandise everywhere!' as Lily nodded.
'But Lily thought it looked cute when she saw it, even though she had no idea about Olaf or Frozen, but she caught the bug and I bought it for her and her own charm bracelet, like the girls have,' Ben said and Lily stretched her arm out to show Melinda said bracelet and she fingered the charms.
'That's a pretty bracelet, Lily,' Melinda said, 'and what a lucky girl you are, being spoiled by Ben today. He truly has treated you like a princess!'
Lily nodded and smiled at Melinda, knowing that she was speaking literally and she was truly feeling lucky, having spent a wonderful day with Ben and experiencing new things such as riding in a car, walking around town, going shopping and walking a dog.
She then started eating, careful not to spill any butter chicken on her brand-new T-shirt and listened to Ben talk while shovelling huge amounts of food in his mouth with Melinda barely batting an eyelid at his appalling table manners, which would have been severely frowned upon in the palace if Lily or any of her sisters were to do it.
But here, Melinda didn't seem to mind as she ate her dinner with her and Ben, which the servants never did back home and Lily thought it was ever better when it was just her, Ben and Melinda as it was much quieter (apart from Ben's garbled speech since he had his mouth full) but still relaxed and casual as Melinda said,
'So, Ben, what are you and Lily going to do tomorrow? There's still plenty more things to see and do around town and I'm sure that Lily would love to see them all.'
Ben swallowed the last of his butter chicken and washed it down with a huge gulp of Coke and then said,
'Well, I was thinking of taking Lily to one of the theme parks, either Dreamworld or Wet n' Wild, which are my faves but it's entirely her decision and I'm happy to go with the flow.' Ben said.
'That sounds like a good idea, I've still got some brochures lying around for Lily to have a look at so she can choose which one she wants to go to, that is, if she's interested but from what I have seen and heard, I think that she would be.' Melinda said.
'Lily, would you like to go to one of the theme parks tomorrow?' Ben said, 'I'll go on their websites on my laptop later so you can see which ones that you may like and whatever you choose, we'll go. My personal favourites are Dreamworld and Wet n' Wild but it's entirely up to you.'
Lily nodded in response, even though she had no idea what a theme park was.
But from what she heard from Cody yesterday, it seemed like a fun place for humans to go to, like the annual Neptune Carnival, which was the second biggest event in Aquaria next to their national day and where she, her mother, sisters and the entire kingdom went to and spent many fun hours riding on the carousels, eating sea fairy floss and trying her luck to win prizes at the games.
If the theme parks that Ben was planning to take her to were anything like the carnival, then she would be crazy not to go and she nodded eagerly again.
'That's great, you'll really enjoy them and I haven't been to one since schoolies last year, when we all went to Dreamworld,' Ben said, when he saw her nod with the enthusiasm she had shown for the entire day and had not waned one little bit.
'Why don't you come to my room later and I can show you all the theme parks and the rides and attractions they have, so you can have a look and see which ones you like,' he said and Lily nodded.
'Sounds like a lovely day out, although some of the rides there are quite daunting, like that Tower of Terror and The Giant Drop at Dreamworld and I don't understand why anyone would be brave enough to ride them.' Melinda said, shuddering which made Ben and Lily smirk to each other.
'Don't worry, Lily, not all the rides are scary, but that's what makes them fun and between you and me, oldies like Dad and Melinda just don't have the guts to ride them, the old man especially after that time we were at Dreamworld and I egged him to go on The Giant Drop and he was screaming and swearing the whole way down!
It was hilarious, especially to everyone who saw Steely get really scared and scream bloody murder! And I can tell you, he wasn't very happy with me afterwards!' Ben said, laughing while Melinda simply chuckled and Lily unsuccessfully tried to hide a silent snicker.
'Yes, your father wasn't very pleased when you came back home, but it was funny, I have to say!' Melinda said and they then ate their meals in comfortable silence.
Once they had finished eating, Melinda started clearing the table and loading the dishes into the dishwasher and Lily offered to help again but was politely refused and she pointed towards the hallway and took Ben's hand, indicating that she wanted to show him the portraits she had seen in the foyer.
Just before Ben followed Lily out of the room, Melinda suddenly remembered that the box she had gotten from the attic, that took her nearly all afternoon to find, was still in the corner and that she was meant to give it Ben, like Phil had told her to do when he had called her during the day.
'Oh, Ben, before you go I've got something for you,' Melinda said, as she picked up the box, which was filled with memories that had been stowed away in the attic to gather dust and deteriorate with age, as Phil had found it too painful to deal with and thought that Ben would as well.
Ben turned around and saw Melinda hold the dusty old cardboard box that had the words, in fading black marker, Lara's Treasures and he stared at it wordlessly as Melinda gently put in it his arms.
'Melinda,' Ben said, 'how were you able to find this? I thought that it had been well hidden, like Dad never wanted me to find it, since it would bring back memories of Mum and he wouldn't be able to deal with it.'
'Well your father did call me this afternoon and he asked me, as he remembered that your mother had left you some letters, one of which was meant for your birthday, to go into the attic and find the box that he had stored up there and had forgotten about, as painful as it was for him but he felt that you should have them, as your mother had written them for a good purpose.' Melinda said.
'Thanks Melinda,' Ben said, as he looked at the musty old box which contained his mother's precious treasures and tried not to breathe in the somewhat unpleasant smell.
'I can't believe that Dad actually told you to find Mum's box since he had put it in his 'Too painful to deal with' pile and left it the attic to gather dust for thirteen years but it was pretty bold of him to do so, especially since I opened up to Lily and told her all about Mum today, which I haven't done in years.'
'I know, love and I hope that this won't spoil your good mood that you have been in lately but you deserve to look back at the past and find the messages that your mother had left for you. It took me nearly all afternoon to find it and it certainly wasn't easy.' Melinda said.
'Thanks again, Melinda, I really appreciate it,' Ben said, giving Melinda a hug, which he hadn't done since he was little and that was when she comforted him when he was sick, had a bad dream or was missing his mother.
'I'm going to look at Mum's things in my room, but I think that Lily wants to look at the portraits in the foyer first, so I better go to her and we can also look up the theme parks on my laptop so she can decide which ones she wants to go to tomorrow,' Ben said.
'Alright, if you're going upstairs, love, goodnight and I'll see you in the morning,' Melinda said, as Ben left, carrying the box in his arms and the housekeeper watched him with sympathetic eyes, wondering about the Pandora's box of Lara's treasures and the letters she had left for her son, who was about to open it for the first time in thirteen years.