I am home again; I can rest now…
Frank gladly gathered her in his arms and pulled her closer. He was enveloped in the sweet warmth of affection. "You are finally here!" Sara exclaimed
"I am glad I came Sara. I never thought it would feel so warm, so…" he was at loss for words.
"…like coming back home?" she helped him
He shook his head and his eyes were moist. "I am home, Sara."
"Welcome home!"
"How long has it been since I last saw you?" he wondered
"Many - many centuries, I suppose!" – she replied smilingly.
"How have you been? More importantly, how have you kept my brother?"
"See for yourself" she quibbled. Then, pulling him by his hand she led him inside. The plush interior was dazzling and luxurious.
"Very humble, I must say." Frank said teasingly. as they made their way through the gallery to the round hall. "You know your brother!" – she giggled while Frank stopped to survey the ceiling which had pretty murals over it.
"So, I see. Did he paint those cupids?" he pointed to the little cherubs on the ceiling.
Sara shook her head beaming with pride.
"Sure, he did." – Frank retorted. "He could never draw the features right. Look at that bloating face and the disproportionately large eyes."
"Now, don't be mean Frank. Oliver did a fabulous job at it...those cupids are adorable... no one has ever found faults with them except you."
"Really? Am I the only one with sharp sight?" he teased.
"Far from it, Mr. Narcissist. Come, let's go to the drawing room." she led him to another room which was decorated in more sober tones. It was well carpeted and tastefully decorated. The lights were soft and soothing and on the north of the room stood the huge glass case displaying rare artefacts collected over the years.
Frank surveyed them with marvel - "He still has them after all these years? I thought they were gone long ago."
"I couldn't bring myself to part with them." said a heavy masculine voice behind him.
Frank's heart jumped upon hearing it again. He turned around to face his brother who had added more flesh to his body than those artifacts at display. His thick hair, a characteristic of Tulliver genetics, was neatly gelled and pulled back. His eyes gleamed and the lips pulled themselves closed.
The two brothers looked at each other through moist eyes and leapt into each other's arms.
"You have finally come home!" said the elder brother with great satisfaction...patting the younger one over and over again.
"You and Sara are my home."
Oliver hugged his brother tightly and patted him again. The brothers let the emotions be spoken through the numerous pats on the back. They couldn't shed tears; the Tulliver pride would not allow them to show their emotions even to family. "Tulliver men are not sissy…we never cry." Their grandfather had taught them.
Sara was aware of this philosophy and left the room so that they could settle their emotions. She had her own little plan to execute.
She slipped into the kitchen and ordered the dinner. Then, picking up her phone she dialed a number and waited.
"Hello!" came the friendly voice of Hannah,
"Hannah! Where's Lydia?
"Oh! that girl never sits still. She has rollers instead of feet." the housekeeper complained.
Sara chuckled, "Why? What happened?"
"She was out all day when she came back in the evening, she was taken away by Lucy. She finally returns at dinner time and was called again."
"Oh! Where?"
Hannah sighed, "Who knows! She doesn't tell me a thing these days!"
"Oh! Tell her I called…Frank is here. Tell her to come and have breakfast with us tomorrow."
"Oh! Mr. Frank is here? How is he doing?"
"Well, he is just as always…tall and handsome."
"Happy to hear that. I will send her to you tomorrow."
Sara thanked Hannah and hung up the phone. When she returned to the drawing room again, the brothers were reminiscing about the good old days.
"How did you manage to save these artefacts, I thought they were all gone." Frank asked, "Did we not leave them behind when we left our country?"
"I asked John to hide them in his trunk. I knew they will not search the servant's belongings." - Oliver explained.
Frank nodded his head approvingly. "That was clever. But, all those days, when we were starving and you had to work hard to keep us afloat, did you not ever think of selling them?"
"Never. How could I? They are a part of our family's and our country's rich heritage. They have been in our family since generations, I could not have given them away for anything in the world."
For those who have left their homes, their families and their countries in search of a better life these heirlooms (even if it is little trinkets) mean a lot. They are their umbilical cord that leads them back home.
"I had promised father that I would make good; these kept me going. They inspired me to battle on."
Frank was puzzled. Try as he might but he could not remember much. "Why did I not see it Oliver? How did it all escape me?"
"Because you were too scared to be able to think of anything other than keeping the kitchen fire burning and keeping the bills to the minimum."
"Yes, that I remember." Frank nodded, "That's my only memory of those days."
"You were a surprise, you brat!" Oscar mumbled, "Who could have thought you would turn yourself around and stand up to the challenge. I used to wonder how efficient and sensible you became and where did you get all that knowledge about investments that eventually brought us our small fortune."
"Ah! That…" Frank chuckled, "I think I have a natural talent in investing."
Oscar looked at his brother with curiosity. His eyes met Frank's and the latter smiled. "Well, you remember how I used to get punished?"
"Ya. Father would make you sit in the library with him and do all your home-works there."
"Well… but what you don't know, is that, he used to discuss a lot of the business deals and strategies with his men there. I used to listen to them and remembered some of it."
"You mean…" Oscar was amazed,
Frank nodded, "That was my initial training…"
"But, you were only ten!"
"Ten is old enough to remember. I always had good memory. I might not have understood much back then, but I remembered. That's what helped later."
"You sneaky little rascal!" Oscar was stunned but Frank was amused.