Finally Found

Neville was in the kitchen, sitting on one of the bar stools in front of the island sipping coffee and reading the paper. He nodded at Adam as he entered the room and assessed his mood. While Adam was normally so pleasant, given that he was also incredibly sensitive about his appearance and everything related to it, he could only imagine that Adam might be taking his big day a little hard. This was one of the big birthdays, after all. The handsome young man was no longer in his twenties. And goodness knows that the thirties came with a whole new set of expectations that the man hadn’t seemed ready to embrace before the accident.

The young man sat heavily on the stool and appeared winded. Still, he gave Neville an encouraging smile. The servant stood and began to take care of Adam. “Would you like coffee this morning, sir? Maybe I can make you some breakfast?”

“I’d love a coffee, Neville. And what are my breakfast options?” He glanced about. “I was hoping Sam and Haley would be back today. You know?”

Nodding, Neville responded, “You had hoped to spend your birthday with them?”

“Yeah, but I guess that’s not going to happen now.” He looked down to hide his disappointment and instead buried his head in the newspaper. That should occupy him for a few hours. Then he just had to figure out how to occupy all of his time after lunch. “Maybe I’ll go out tonight,” he mused aloud.

“Will you need me to drive you later?” Neville asked calmly.

“I’ll let you know once I decide what to do,” he replied, already lost in thought. And before Neville had left the room, Adam was already focused elsewhere.

While in the garage, Neville called Mr. Davenport. After two short rings he answered. “Sir, your brother has suggested that he might go out tonight.”

“Ah, is he pouting over his birthday already?” Samuel laughed. “Thirty is no big deal. Of course, it does mean losing that Peter Pan complex he perfected.” He was leaning back on Adam’s sofa, looking out the enormous windows and admiring the view while Haley let the caterers in.

“Not exactly, but I do think he expected that you would be home for his birthday,” Neville remarked.

“Don’t worry. As soon as we get everything organized here, we’ll be home to take him off your hands. Just don’t let him leave before then.” Sam ended the conversation and ended the call while Neville pondered how on earth he was going to do that.