Day 23

The last hour or so had been quiet, which Vanora appreciated for getting work done in the garden. Tidying things up was her way of relaxing, and she certainly didn't want that day to go to waste inside, as it was pleasantly warm. She looked up when she heard the front door open and close, and saw Jules jogging out to the driveway. Is everything alright? Why is he running? Vanora brushed herself off as she stood, then went over to the fence gate. She saw Jules grabbing two young men close to his age in a big hug. One was leanly muscular with thick, but well-kept blond hair. The other was a bit thinner, but still athletic-looking, with auburn hair and sunglasses. They were both squeezing Jules tightly.

"I missed you two so much!" Jules said. "I didn't think you'd actually visit this soon."

"Are you joking, mate?" his blond friend asked. "Of course we were going to visit!"

Vanora had never heard the accent that this young man spoke with before. She opened the gate, walking cautiously over to where her son was. "Jules? Who are your… friends here?"

"Oh. Mum, this is Lysander and Zeph." Jules stepped aside so his mother could greet his friends. "I told you about them from the trip to New Zealand back in January."

"That's right, you did." Vanora looked at the blond first. "So, who is who?"

"I'm Lysander. I'm in uni to be a veterinarian for horses." Lysander held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

"Yes. Pleased to meet you, too." Vanora took his hand. "So, the other is Zeph, then. You're… a warlock, right?"

Zeph held up his wand. "Yeah. I've invented a couple of potions on my own."

"Fascinating. I would love to learn about them. When did you two arrive?"

"A couple of hours ago," Lysander said.

"You must be tired."

"A little, yeah. Not too bad. Hungry, though."

"Starving," Zeph added.

"Anah will likely be more than happy to cook something for you," Jules said. "Oh, Zeph? How'd things go with Dietrich?"

"They went great, mate. I won a tournament in Piha thanks to him. Hey, how does somebody get to be so calm? He put up with a lot of my crap, that's for sure."

Jules shrugged. "That's just Dietrich for you. I'm glad to hear that. I know you've been waiting for a win like that."

Vanora waited until the two New Zealanders were heading inside before looking at Jules. "Pleasant surprise, I take it?"

"Yeah. I know Lysander wrote to me that he was going to use the money Dad gave him to visit, but I didn't think they'd come up for another year or so," Jules replied. His smile faded. "You don't seem happy, Mum."

"Well, I would have appreciated knowing about this ahead of time."

"I swear, we didn't arrange this in secret."

"I believe you, but, still."

"At least now you can meet them."

Vanora nodded. She had been wanting Jules to make friends for years, but a part of her wished he had made friends that were a little closer geographically. "It'll take a little bit for me to get used to that accent."

"They certainly don't have the thickest accents in New Zealand. The guy running the shop I got my surfboard at had a much thicker accent. I could barely understand him."

"I didn't know you actually bought a surfboard." Vanora folded her arms over her chest. "I assumed you were renting."

Jules's face reddened. "No, I bought my own. I asked Zeph to hold onto it since I can't really use it here in Britain."

Vanora sighed. "Was it expensive?"

"No. At least I used my own money."

"You still need to be responsible with it."

Jules gave a sigh of his own. "Dad said it was okay. I'm not about to be shamed into not getting something nice every once in a while, especially when I've already proved I'm responsible."

It wasn't often that Jules stood up like this. Vanora didn't say anything in response, thinking it was best to discuss this with Moffitt later. She followed Jules into the house, where their guests were chatting with Moffitt and Anah. They all looked happy together. Vanora remained by the front door for a moment, a feeling of being left out suddenly coming over her. Her husband, son, and Anah already knew Lysander and Zeph. It made sense they were all talking and laughing and happy to see each other again. She looked at the floor, feeling that she shouldn't have criticized Jules's actions. He was right about his own responsibility, and that it was okay to get nice things every once in a while.

Her parents hadn't been much for that.

"You can join us, Vanora," Moffitt said. "We're all going in the parlor."

"Would you like me to get anything for you?" Vanora asked.

"I am taking care of that," Anah said. "Go meet Jules's friends, dear. Get to know each other."

Vanora nodded, and went into the parlor, where everyone was getting comfortable. She sat by Moffitt, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"It's warmer than I was expecting here," Zeph said. He started taking his shirt off.

"Um, we don't do that here," Vanora said quickly.

"Oh, sorry, ma'am." Zeph put his arms back through his sleeves.

"We're a bit less formal back home," Lysander explained. "It's actually quite normal to see people walking around barefoot, even in shops."

"It's just something we do," Zeph said. "Not me. I like to at least have a pair of jandals on."

Lysander noticed the confused look on Vanora's face. "That's our word for flip-flops."

"You at least wear trousers when you go out, right?" Vanora raised an eyebrow.

"Shorts, yeah. We're not completely mad," Zeph said.

Anah slithered in with a tray of tea and biscuits telekinetically suspended over her head. "Here you are, dears. Enjoy. Would you like anything else?"

"No, thanks, Anah," Lysander said.

"I mean, if she could make fish and chips again, that would be sweet," Zeph added. "I don't think I've ever had better fish and chips."

"I can make fish and chips if you want, dear," Anah said.

"If it's not going to be a bother."

"Of course it will not be a bother! I will get started on it right away." Anah quickly disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Thanks, Anah."

Moffitt picked up his tea, and changed the subject. "So, how have things been going for the two of you since we left?"

"I'll be starting a new semester at Massey University in a few months," Lysander said. "Not nearly as close to home as Auckland, but that's okay. Few more years, and it'll all be over. I'm already looking at land around Hamilton in preparation to open my own practice. Been talking with some other students about what their plans are. A couple already expressed interest in working with me. Hopefully, it'll work out."

"I certainly hope it works out for you." Moffitt took a sip of his tea. "How about you, Zeph?"

"Well, I owe you one for sending Dietrich down to help me," Zeph said. "I won in Piha for the first time ever, and even repaired a broken friendship with someone I went to school with. I never told you guys about Dryden."

"No, you didn't," Jules said.

"So, long story short, I was friends with him for a little while. He taught me a bit about surfing, and after my parents kicked me out, I didn't really say anything to him about what happened. It led to us fighting and him thinking I dropped out of school because I thought I was going to make it big with surfing. That went on for a few years. Dietrich made us communicate, and now Dryden's considering hiring me as a surfing instructor for the summer season."

"Not full-time?" Moffitt asked.

"No. That would mean moving down to Raglan—which I can't afford yet—and I'm not keen on leaving Port Waikato behind. Not permanently. I still have work at Silas's place, so it's not like I'm doing nothing for half the year."

"Dietrich told me that meeting him was… interesting."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, Silas nearly beat him with a shovel."

Vanora flinched.

"Dietrich just got down on his knees and put himself at Silas's mercy. I was inside the house thinking that this was the end, after everything Dietrich did to me. I don't think anyone could survive being whacked with a shovel. Then Dietrich comes back, completely unhurt, and basically said that he could sense Silas was a good person with a bit of baggage that he needed help dealing with, so he put all his faith in Silas's own goodness to not beat him to death with a shovel. They spent the rest of that day talking, which was funny to see. Silas did do one thing that wasn't particularly nice, though."

"Oh?" Moffitt said with a slight frown.

"Yeah, he gave Dietrich a tuna melt with Marmite."

Jules made a face. "That must've been an unpleasant surprise."

"No doubt about that, but the look on his face was hilarious."

"I think I can go the rest of my life without eating anything containing that dreadful Marmite," Moffitt said. "I tasted it once with my old unit back in the Scots Greys. Never again. Horrid stuff. Absolutely horrid. I'm not even sure Troy would eat it."

"I think Troy would eat it," Jules said. "Just my bet."

"We will have to see someday."

Vanora listened to everyone's conversations, not really joining in unless asked. So far, Lysander and Zeph didn't seem bad. Maybe I judged them a bit too hastily, Vanora thought. Jules seemed so happy with them. The last thing she wanted was for him to go back to being lonely.

After a quick dinner of Anah's fish and chips, Vanora took Moffitt into their bedroom to talk, explaining what had happened outside with Jules. Moffitt was quiet for a moment, then let out a sigh. "Well, Jules is right—I did give him the okay to get his own surfboard if he wanted, and I also won't disagree with him about getting nice things every so often. He is responsible with his money. We both know that."

"I think he could have worded it better," Vanora said.

"Possibly, but I will give him credit for standing up for himself."

"I'm his mother—"

"I remember what you told me about your parents, darling, and how you didn't want to become like them. Don't let it happen. Jules had every right to say what he did. Now, you and him should talk about this, alright? I don't want to see your relationship with him fall apart, and—" Moffitt gestured to the door, "Lysander and Zeph don't, either. They spoke to Jules about this quite often when you were worried about him surfing a few months ago."

Vanora nodded. "Alright. I'll talk to him."

"Are you feeling okay? I noticed you seemed a bit… closed off earlier."

"I felt left out. You and Anah and Jules already know these people."

"Yes, but we did want you involved. We should've done a better job conveying that. Lysander and Zeph are very friendly. They'll make you feel welcome in their lives." Moffitt kissed his wife's forehead. "I think Jules will appreciate you trying to get to know them."

"I'll give it a try, then." Vanora gave Moffitt a hug. "Thanks for listening."

"Always." Moffitt returned the hug. "I love you, darling."

Vanora stayed in Moffitt's arms for a moment, grateful that he made an effort to understand her. She had done the same for him, and now felt she needed to extend that same effort to her son.

It wasn't until a little later in the evening, when Lysander and Zeph were preparing to head back to their hotel rooms, that Vanora said something to Jules. She touched his shoulder before saying, "Would you mind if we spoke in private for a moment?"

"Sure. What is it?" Jules asked.

Vanora drew in a breath. "I wanted to apologize about earlier, with… what I said when you said you bought your own surfboard."

"Oh. That's alright. I shouldn't have said what I did in response. Well, Zeph said I had the right idea, but should've worded myself differently."

"You told them about what happened?"

"Yeah."

Vanora thought back to what Moffitt had said about Lysander and Zeph giving advice to Jules back in New Zealand. "I'm glad you feel you can trust them."

"They're not bad people, Mum. I wouldn't have become friends with them if they were." Jules sighed a little. "I get why you're concerned, but I wish you would have more faith in me. I don't know what else to do to show you that I can make decisions like this."

This was something that Moffitt and several other people had warned Vanora about. She gave Jules a hug. "You've proven yourself, Jules. I need to learn to be less pushy and anxious. Just… promise me you won't go behind our backs and take advantage of the trust we're giving you."

"Mum, you already know—"

"Yes, yes, I know."

Jules shook his head, grinning a little. "Maybe you need to spend some time with Dietrich to fix this."

Vanora nodded. "You're probably right." She gently squeezed Jules's arms. "There's one last thing I want to say."

"Go ahead." Jules frowned, clearly anticipating something negative.

"Have fun with your friends while they're here."

Jules's expression turned to one of surprise. He then smiled, and hugged his mother back. "I will. Thanks."