The Scroll of Knowledge

Chapter 17

"Junaid, it's so good to see you again," the old woman said. She had an Italian accent. She was definitely over seventy but she looked like she could wrestle a bear.

"It's good to see you too Marta," Thomas said. The smile he gave her was forced but she didn't seem to notice.

The old man slapped his back and Thomas stumbled forward, desperately trying not to drop Shay. Didn't he see Thomas was holding Shay? "You're still as skinny as you were when we last saw you," the old man said. He could wrestle an entire family of bears. This was not what I expected an Italian man to look like. "We have to get some more meat on those bones." I didn't think Thomas was as skinny as he was making it sound. True he was slim, but he did have a good bit of muscle on him. He was nowhere near Edoardo's size though.

"Don't be so rough," Brennan said. He stepped in between Thomas and Edoardo "We don't want either one of them to suffer any more injuries. Edoardo." He shook the man's hands and put one arm around the old lady's shoulders. "Marta, good to see you. That's Amber, the girl I told you about."

"It's nice to meet you," I said.

"You'll be safe here, bambina," Edoardo said. I didn't doubt it.

"I need to put Shay in bed," Thomas said.

"You finally bring her here and she's sleeping," Marta said.

"She's not feeling well. I thought it best not to wake her."

"Follow me," she said. "I'll show you two to your rooms as well."

Edoardo took Brennan's bag and we went inside. The house wasn't big and I caught glimpses of the sea through the windows. I hadn't gone to the beach in months.

Marta opened the door to a room on the second floor with a double bed. Everything in it was blue and they had put extra blankets on the bed. "You can put her in this one," she said. She opened the door next to it. "Amber can sleep here and Brennan can sleep in the other one."

"Thank you Marta. I'm sorry I asked on such short notice," Brennan said. Thomas disappeared with Shay into the first room.

"Next time bring Luca and all your other siblings."

He laughed. "I don't think you have enough space here."

"We'll make space," Edoardo said. "I heard you have a new one in... Egypt I think it was."

"Morocco," Brennan said.

"How many siblings do you have?" I asked.

"I can't remember. I stopped counting a few years ago. Ju, what's Zahir up to now?" he called.

"Sixteen last time I counted but I'm not sure," Thomas said.

"Your father is a busy man," I said softly.

Brennan laughed. "Well, that's a nice way of putting it."

"Some people just like kids," Marta said.

"He's sixty-four. He shouldn't be having any more children," Thomas said from the room.

Marta leaned closer to Brennan. "It's grief. He was different with Junaid's mother. He still hasn't recovered from her death."

"She committed suicide," Brennan said.

"She was very sick and not just mentally. It's true that their marriage may not have been smooth at the time but I think there's far more to the story than that. I'm sure Zahir still blames himself. Junaid was too young to remember so it wouldn't have affected him that much," Marta said. From the little Thomas and I talked just that morning, that didn't seem to be the case.