Chapter 2 - Part 14: Science is Golden

The next morning Vincent got up early and snuck out of the house before his siblings had awakened.  He had a little retribution to pay back to the neighbor who had busted up last night's party.

As he lobbed the eggs at the offending neighbor's house, a sense of fulfillment overcame him, like he was standing up for his family in a way that no one else would.  How dare these people try to get him into trouble?

Hearing some commotion coming from inside, Vincent dropped the rest of the eggs on the ground and fled the scene.

Running towards the direction of his house, Vincent laughed.  That's the last time someone tries to mess with the Cagley family, he thought.  Until he heard a woman shout from behind him, "I'm calling your mother Vincent Cagley!"

Later in the afternoon, once the house had been cleaned up and things were looking somewhat back to normal, the teenagers had the rest of the day to themselves.

Vincent, having just warmed up his throwing arm earlier in the morning suggested to Julius that they should toss the ball around.

Much to Julius' dismay.

"Why do you always have to be such a jerk?" Julius yelled at his brother, half meaning it.

"Because I'm not the good son..." he replied with a shrug and a smirk.

... as he continued pummeling his brother.

While Vincent was busy torturing his twin Julius, Flora was giving the death stare to the plant that had dared to die while under her watch.  Her mom wouldn't be too pleased to find out that she'd inadvertently killed one of her plants while she was away.  Flora did her best to clean up the evidence before they got home.

Which was in less time than anyone expected.

"What happened here?" Pete said curiously as he walked into the newly decorated main room, taking in the new decor.

His wife looked around in barely concealed fury, "I think I have a pretty good idea."

"It was just a party, Mom," Vincent said, once they had sat him down for interrogation.  "No one got hurt, the house wasn't destroyed, it was no big deal," he finished, nonchalantly.

Faith just stared at her son, speechless.  How did she end up with a son who carried such a chip on his shoulder, she wondered.  "Mrs. Broke, from across the street, doesn't seem to agree with you that no one got hurt.  In fact, she's pretty upset at the mess you've made of the front of her house."

Vincent played with his food and grumbled under his breath, "Shouldn't've broken up the party, then."

"The party that shouldn't have happened without permission, you mean," Faith scolded as Vincent sat embarrassed at being overheard.  "You're going back over there to clean up the mess you made and apologize to her.  Now get moving," she finished.

"I'll say I'm sorry, but you can't make me mean it!" Vincent shouted.

Pete knew better than to say anything, so he kept quiet.  Though he couldn't help but smirk at his son's hard-headed attitude and had to admit that his tactics were slightly amusing.

Faith, on the other hand, just rolled her eyes.  Boys will be boys, she knew, but there was something different about this one.  She realized she was going to have to keep a closer eye on this son.

That would have to wait, however, as she had other business she needed to attend to, as she went upstairs to change.

When she arrived at the Perpetual Rest cemetery, she noticed the new building straight away.  It looked just as she imagined it would, as she made her way towards it.  

Faith had made a promise to her mother that she would provide a better resting place than the cold crematorium, so she purchased the deed to the Perpetual Rest cemetery and had the Cagley Family Mausoleum built on the grounds.

She walked inside and looked around the small room, she couldn't help but be overwhelmed by emotion. Having the proof in front of her made it all the more real, she was truly an orphan now as she looked down at her parents' final resting place.

They were together now, forever.  She could almost feel their happiness through her sorrow.

Morand was happy now, that's what she had to remember.  It would be hard to go on without him, but there was no choice in the matter.  Her father was gone and she had a family to see to.

Life would go on.

Title / The Grates