On one wall were the machines themselves, one set dark blue, and the other a weird orange. Apparently, the days of ordinary white machines were gone. Milo sat on one of the washing machines, watching as Mae pulled towels out of the dryer and folded them. I’m sure he offered to help, but she refused. She thought it was her duty to do everything for us.
Milo was dressed and looked good, except he’d painted his toenails, and I blamed Bobby for that. Mae, on the other hand, still wore her pajamas, and I hadn’t seen in her in real clothes in days. Her hair was up, but it was more of a rat’s nest than a bun.
“How’s it going?” I asked, trying for casual instead of concerned. When I walked in the room, Milo gave me a wary look, and Mae barely glanced back at me.
“I’m going to have to buy new towels,” Mae said. The usual warmth of her British accent sounded stogy and commandeering, but that was better than sobbing. “You leave the towels in your room for so long they smell of mildew, and I just can’t get it out.”
“Sorry. I’m working on it,” I said. Jack and I were the messiest ones in the house, unless Bobby turned out to be inordinately dirty.
“I didn’t say it was your fault.” Mae was nearly snapping at me, and she folded towels in an angry huff.
I’m pretty sure Mae loves doing laundry. I’ve seen her folding and washing things, and it’s like meditation for her. That was not how she did laundry today.
“Bobby and I always make sure to take our towels down,” Milo told her, and I glared him.
“Why is Bobby doing his laundry here, anyway?” I asked, and I realized I had missed very crucial facts about him. “Doesn’t he have like an apartment or a job or something?”
“He’s in art school and lives in a dorm,” Milo answered, matching my glare.
“Of course he is.” When I thought about it, Bobby really had art student written all over him. “So, does he ever go to school or anything? Why is here all the time?”
“He goes when he feels like it,” Milo said. “And staying here is better than staying at a dorm, and I want him here.”
“Our house has always been open to anyone who needs it.” Mae sounded irritated by that as she folded a towel. “Anyone that’s ever needed a place, be they vampire or not, has always had a place. You wouldn’t believe how many people have stayed with us over the years. Ezra has always had an open door policy. To anyone.
“Literally, anyone,” she went on. She put the folded towel in the basket and just leaned on it for a minute, as if she was too suddenly too weary to go on. “Except for my family. Except for what matters to me.”
“Mae, you know that’s not what it’s about,” Milo said gently. He tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she snapped back into motion and pulled a towel out of the dryer. “And you have us here. Don’t forget that. We’re your family, too.”
“You know that I adore you, but…” She held a towel to her chest and trailed off.
“Have you made a decision yet?” I asked carefully. “About what you’re going to do?” As far as I knew, she still had her heart set on turning her great-granddaughter, and Ezra hadn’t changed his either.
“No.” Mae closed her eyes and shook her head. “Maybe. I don’t know.” She rubbed her forehead and smiled sadly at Milo. “I mean, if I left, you could all handle doing your laundry, couldn’t you?”
“We don’t want you to stay because of laundry,” Milo said, looking appalled. “You’re the heart of the family. I don’t know what would happen if you went away.”
“I know that, love.” She touched his leg gently. She went back to folding laundry, but more like the normal way she did. “I have time to think. There’s still time.”
“Alice!” Jack called from down the hall. “Alice? Where are you? Are you ready?”
“I should go.” I nodded back to the door. “We’re going to the zoo today.”
“Have fun,” Milo gave me a half-wave, but his focus was still on Mae. She chewed her lip and didn’t even notice me leaving.
Back in the living room, Ezra was making Peter watch that Planet Earth documentary because of how amazing it looked on the new TV. Jack came over to me and took my hand. As he said his goodbyes to the guys, Peter gave me a weird look, and I hurried Jack along. I wasn’t sure how well I could hide my emotions from Jack.
Maybe I’d have to talk to Milo about all of this. He’d be really disappointed in me, but he’d help me out, assuming there was a way to help me out.
We got to the zoo in time for Jack to see the otters and the prairie dogs, and he was overly excited about both of them. We spent a long time in the nocturnal exhibit with the bats, and Jack had way too much fun. As usual, his happiness was contagious, and I was having a great time.
The best thing about the zoo was that most of the people there were children, and children didn’t react to us the way adults do. Some people still stared at us, and a small cluster of people followed us closer than was polite, but it was nothing that I couldn’t shake off. Jack didn’t even notice it at all.
The highlight of the trip was the dolphin show. Jack made sure we sat right down in the front row, so when they jumped out or came to the edge, we got splashed. Afterwards, we went down to the lower level so we could see them in the aquarium. I stood next to the glass, watching them swim as if they were dancing with each other.