Chapter 7

Raymond woke up and exhaled deeply before Dennis, who sat on a stool thinking all this time he was unconscious. It was eight o'clock in the morning and the rhythmic beats of the pouring rain continued to tap against the window glasses of the Wyatt mansion, the sound of the water droplets echoed within the vast halls and chambers of the deserted house, for no other sounds exist to penetrate the deep silence.
'Well, isn't that a nice way to spend morning, being injected drugs by a member of my own family,' He rubbed his eyes and stood up. 'You know Dennis, I'm usually good with names, unlike this morning. I think it's the sedatives that's doing the damage, I'm going to tell Addy to stop doing it to me arguing on this very case, because without me, her already lackluster public relations are all flushing down the toilet.' Raymond gave a wink at Dennis and set about collecting a pan, a spatula, and bread and eggs and butter from one of the refrigerators.
'Would you like bacon, or potatoes?' Raymond asked, looking up from his bent position with all the breakfast supplies gathered in his arms.
'Bacon please.' Dennis replied.
'No need for please, no sir.' Raymond chuckled and asked, 'Crisp or chewy?'
'I don't know.' Dennis said.
'I'll fry a batch of each so you can make up your mind for next time.' Raymond took out a package of bacon too from the fridge and went over the one of the ovens and dumped everything onto the stove surface.
'Now the grand chef will prepare for you, Mr. Dennis Raveley, the best french toast and bacon you shall ever taste, it shall satisfy you to no end and have you salivating for more until your stomach retches, then you shall recommence feasting these tender delicacies all over again.' Raymond said in an exaggerated and convincing Italian accent as he set the pan on a burner and set about preparing breakfast.
There came a knock on the frame of the kitchen door and Dennis and Raymond saw that Addy had returned. She spoke to Raymond in a string of sign language, and Raymond replied speaking and he laid the bacon strips on the pan.
'What? What do you mean you don't want bacon? And no french toast? What are you, on a diet?' He said incredulously. Dennis found it a strange situation that seemed Raymond was talking to himself.
Addy made more gestures including to herself, and also to Dennis, and Raymond laughed, he said, 'Did nobody ever tell you that you're the skinniest of everyone in this family? Oh right, you never let anyone see you, that's right, you're a bit socially handicapped too. Three major shortcomings and they all fell on you, between us I think you're the unluckiest person of this generation.'
Addy held up her middle finger at Raymond.
'Be warned,' Raymond said to Dennis, still joking with vigor, 'The kid sister is about to strike hell upon us!'
Addy opened her mouth and screamed. Raymond covered his ears. Dennis wasn't so quick to a reaction and he was knocked off his stool and lay dazed on the floor. When Addy saw that Dennis was on the floor, she stopped screaming. Dennis got back up and rubbed his forehead. Raymond uncovered his ears and said, 'While she can't torment us verbally, she packs a heavy punch in this other median, one that you just witnessed.' Raymond said to Dennis apologetically.
Addy rolled her chair to Dennis and said, 'I'm sorry, I lost my temper,' in sign language.
'That's fine, I emerge undamaged.' Raymond said. Addy gave him a dirty look.
'I'm okay.' Dennis said, he forgot that Addy could not hear him.
Addy nodded and smiled, she pulled him up to his feet. She made some gestures towards Raymond, who said, 'She said she can lip read, and she understands what you said.'
Addy gestured about something else, and Raymond held his palms up and said, 'Hey, I'm not acting translator here, Dennis, you better learn how to sign fast, because if you don't, I can't help anymore than I already am.' Addy slapped her forehead in frustration.
Dennis must have looked very surprised, because both Raymond and Addy grinned and Addy made some more gestures, Raymond translated, 'She said being deaf doesn't stop her from communicating,' Raymond lowered his voice to a whisper, 'But she's already such a hermit it would have made practically no difference whatsoever if it had been other-' he didn't finish his sentence because Addy picked up a rolling pin from the cutting table and hurled it at Raymond, who dodged at the last second to avoid a head shot, he fried the bacon, and then the french toast in silence, having had his fun teasing for the day. He wore a grin all this time and ducked two more utensils hurled with accuracy at his head by Addy during the remainder of his cooking time. He served the breakfast dishes in twenty minutes flat.
When Dennis tasted Raymond's cooking, true to Raymond's words, he stuffed himself silly. Dennis never had a strong appetite, and he surprised himself by finishing two full plates of food, plus a glass of mango puree. Addy ate relatively little, and Raymond continued his gibing by trying to spoon-feed her. She took out another syringe and Raymond jumped away like when a deer hears a twig snap. Raymond excused himself when he finished his meal ahead of Addy and Dennis and declared he was going down to the dungeons to scavenge for forgotten goods.
Addy again used her laptop to speak to Dennis, once they have both finished their meals and Dennis was having trouble getting up from his chair.
'Now that we're alone again, I want to clear up some loose ends, you only got to ask one question while we were outside, I imagine you still have a lot you want to know about.' She typed and the telecommunicator was turned on again.
'I can't think of anything,' Dennis said, breathing heavily, 'I'm too full.'
'Okay then,' Addy smiled, 'I will place myself in your shoes and answer all your questions that way. So, the first question you might be wondering about is why we adopted you.'
Dennis nodded, he didn't know who the 'we' stood for.
'It might seem shocking, but as you might have guessed we, that is Raymond and I, we don't live with our parents.' Addy began, 'That is the truth, we, the Wyatt siblings were brought up to look after ourselves, and there's nothing more to it. I said earlier that the people who would have lived in this house had circumstances occurred differently are currently estranged, that is also the truth.
'There are seven Wyatt siblings, I am the seventh youngest, Raymond is the fourth. One of them lives on the other side of this country, two live abroad, and I don't know where the eldest twins are. And that is the current state of my, should we say dysfunctional family. My ancestor amassed a large fortune and the later generations built upon that foundation, that is why as you can see we are quite wealthy.
'This is where you come in, Dennis. My family had drifted apart, and I want to bring them back together; to make this house feel like a large home once more. To do that, I need someone to bring the pieces together, and that's where you come in.'
Dennis took in and processed this odd information, he said, 'I'm going to be a social worker?'
Addy giggled, 'Jerry would have loved that comment.'
'Who's Jerry?' Dennis asked.
'Raymond's first younger brother; Karla can't stand him.'
'Who's Karla?'
'My cousin, she visits here often and on short notice.'
'So am I going to be a social worker?' Dennis asked, amused with a bulging stomach.
'Someone like that, you are going to draw my siblings back into this family.' Addy concluded.
Dennis thought about what he should say; he didn't feel he fits the criteria for a social worker, he was too young for that. He also didn't feel like an expert on family, he never had one. 'I don't know a lot about family.' He finally said.
'You don't have to, you just have to come with me and Raymond to visit our estranged siblings and get to know them, and then report what you find out to me, so I can come up with a bonding solution.' Addy broke down laughing after finishing off this sentence, interrupted by giggles, she said, 'It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?'
'Ah-ha! Even the brain of the house admits it! What did I tell you!' Raymond entered the kitchen in a sudden and surprised Dennis (who sat facing the doorway) to the extend that he fell off his stool again. Raymond was carrying a bazooka.