The Wolf Of Penshaw Lake

The interior of the house was even more beautiful than the outside. As soon as I stepped foot across the threshold, I felt myself marveling at the splendor. A beautiful hallway greeted us with pristine white flooring and light, grey wallpaper. A great silver mirror took up half of one wall and I caught myself looking into it as we passed. I took note of a large space under the wooden-oak staircase, filled with men’s shoes, coats and bags. I frowned, how many men lived here aside from Jane and her husband?

Jane led us into a large family living space; enough space to fit Jane’s family and probably three more. Three handsome grey couches spanned one end, with a large glass coffee table in the middle adorned with magazines and a spread of beautifully decorated cupcakes. The TV spanned across a feature wall, directly above an old, traditional fireplace. Jane ushered us to sit down and take a cake, which we both politely declined. The room was well lit, thanks to a homely bay window, that let the light stream inside. Sat in the alcove, on a cushioned window seat, was a girl I did not recognise.

“Ella,” called Jane, “We have guests!”

Jane’s voice was kind and polite, but there was a warning beneath it. I could tell that Ella was less than impressed about having to entertain guests, as she turned around and gave both myself and my mother, a dashing yet fake smile.

“Hi,” she said, her tone of voice evidently bored.

Jane sighed, “This is my daughter Ella. Ella this is Louise and Sophie. They’re staying here for a few nights.”

“Great,” Ella responded, her face telling me that she would rather be anywhere else right now. Still, I gave her a warm smile and she gave me a quick tug of the lips in response.

“Ella, come and help me in the kitchen. Your father and brother will be home soon. Louise, Sophie, please help yourself to a cake and make yourselves at home. Dinner will be served shortly, would you like a glass of wine?”

My mother nodded, “I would love a glass.”

“Yes,” I agreed, I was always partial to a glass of wine. “I’d love one too, thank you Jane.”

Jane brimmed with delight, and I smiled at her departing figure. She must really love to please, she was so eager to have us over, I thought she may have burst. I wondered what her husband must be like, whether he was kind and easygoing like his wife, or perhaps they were complete opposites instead? I was intrigued, I had never been a part of a regular family and had always wished and wondered to see what it must be like to have a functional, nuclear family unit.

A few moments later, Jane returned with a glass of fruity red wine for us both. I graciously thanked her as she rushed away to continue getting ready. I took a sip. Delicious as I expected.

As I sat down, I couldn’t get myself comfortable. The couch was so soft, that I felt myself falling backwards into it, but I had no idea of the etiquette and sat right at the edge to avoid messing it up. Dan hated that, he would always say that it wasn’t truly our home and how dare we fuck up his couch. His couch that, after years of not being replaced, stank like booze and cigarettes. It was ironic and disturbing. I noticed that mum was doing the same, she kept crossing her legs, fiddling with her hair and cracking her knuckles. It was making her nervous to be in such a beautiful home.

“Dinner is ready,” came a young voice from the doorway. Ella had been sent in to collect us and she looked positively thrilled at doing so.

We both stood up and instantly felt relieved, sitting so rigidly was beginning to hurt my back. I followed Ella into the dining room, catching a quick glance of the kitchen on the way back. From my glance, it was gorgeous. All white and grey with black marble worktops and a large island in the middle. Our kitchen at home was small, thin and old with peeling green wallpaper that hadn’t been replaced since Dan bought the house and chipped wooden worktops that were aged and blackened from years of cigarette burns.

We entered the dining hall and I stood still for a moment to take it all in. It was the grandest room so far with huge glass patio doors spanning a wall, revealing the stunning back garden to the house. In the corner housed a dark, brown grand piano and a tall, vibrant pair of indoor trees. The table was long enough for ten people and judging by the amount of food, Jane had also cooked for ten. Jane’s husband sat at the head of the table and stood up as we walked in.

“Louise, Sophie,” He greeted, nodding his head to each of us in turn. “Welcome to our home. My name is Andrew.” He watched as Jane placed the last bowl in the centre of the table. “You’ve met my wonderful wife Jane already and my lovely daughter Ella...” He paused to turn around and huffed, “Where is that boy?”

I remembered Jane mentioning that Ella had a brother. Jane quickly ushered us to sit. She sat at the left of Andrew and I sat down next to her. My mother sat opposite me, leaving a seat next to Andrew for Ella who took her seat wordlessly. I could see Andrew getting more irate by the tardiness of his son and shook his head, looking at his wife.

Just as Jane was about to stand up and look for him, two boys entered the room and judging by the look on Andrew’s face, he was definitely only expecting one. I, on the other hand, wasn’t expecting to see either man that was currently staring, mouths agape, at me.

“Mason,” Jane gasped, “Don’t stand there staring at our guests, you know that’s rude! Isaac, come sit dear.”

Isaac’s slack jaw turned into a grin as he happily took a seat beside me, holding out his hand for me to take.

“You remember me don’t you? Isaac?”

I smiled, the charming blond from The Black Horse, “Of course I do, I’m Sophie.”

Mason took his seat next to my mum and sent a death glare in Isaac’s direction who happily pretended that he ignored it.

“I didn’t realise you were joining us Isaac dear,” Jane said, giving the grinning man next me a warm, motherly smile.

“I could smell your cooking Jane. You know I can’t resist.”

Jane gave him the biggest smile, as though he were her son and not the other man whom I could feel staring daggers towards me. I chose not to look at him, in case he looked the way he did in the bar, and chose to look down at the delicious food in front of me.

“Please help yourselves everyone!” Jane announced and I widened my eyes at the speed that Isaac began piling food onto his plate. Heaps of meat, potatoes, vegetables and even bread rolls were grasped by his hands at record speed. Feeling my stare, Isaac gave me a wicked grin,

“I’ve got a wolfish appetite I know,” He laughed.

I thought I heard a growl from across the table, but took a deep breath and ignored it, taking a small helping from the choices across the table. Beef, mashed potatoes, mixed veg; it looked amazing and as I bet into a warm, buttery wholegrain roll I closed my eyes in satisfaction. Jane should have been a chef.

“How did you get chance to cook all of this?” My mother exclaimed as she cut up her slice of beef.

Jane blushed, “Andrew started a lot of the cooking off while I went into the shop. I finished up for him while he went for a run.”

I was impressed. I don’t think Dan cooked once for us in the ten years we were trapped with him. I don’t even think he knew how to work a microwave, let alone the oven. It was always up to Mum or myself to cook, or if he wanted takeout, we would order it.

“It’s always the finishing touches that make it amazing,” Andrew responded, leaning across the table to kiss Jane across the cheek. It was easy to spot how in love they were, something that I hadn’t ever truly seen before.

I bit into a potato and looked across the table, only to frown when I noticed Ella had only taken some vegetables and a minuscule helping of mashed potato onto her plate. I wasn’t daft, I knew that most teenage girls struggled with some kind of eating issue whether it be a diet, or something worse, but Ella seemed downright miserable as she pushed her fork around her plate.

Jane hissed under her breath, I couldn’t hear, but Ella certainly did as she shot her head up as though her mother had just broken her out of a trance.

“Come on Ella,” Andrew noticed, “You’ve not eaten all day. I thought you’d be starving and beef is your favourite!”

“Not anymore,” she mumbled. “I’m dieting and one of the girls in school says that meat is bad for you so I need to be a vegetarian to lose weight.”

I felt sorry for her, high school was cruel. I could remember like it was yesterday always trying to look perfect, and failing miserably.

“I remember feeling that way,” I offered, “But you’ve got a lovely figure Ella you should be proud of it!”

Ella offered a smile in return and I made the mistake of looking at Mason who had an unreadable expression on his face as he stared back at me as though he had taken his eyes off me the entire time.

“So,” Andrew began as he swallowed a mouthful of food, “What brings you to Penshaw Lake?”

Ah.Thequestion. I looked to my mother who had also been stumped by his question, although it would be a lie if we said we weren’t expecting it.

“Passing through,” she responded shortly.

“Where to?” Spoke a new voice and I turned back to see Mason with a smile on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Um,” Mum faltered, “Back to the midlands, we’re just on a little road trip, I love small towns.”

Where had that lie sprung up from? I grimaced as I realised my mother was lying through her teeth and she gently kicked my leg under the table, asking me to go with her.

Thankfully it worked as Jane clasped her hands together, “Oh Yes, Penshaw Lake is absolutely beautiful isn’t it?”

I had to agree with her there, “Yeah it’s stunning. I went for a walk in the forest this morning and couldn’t believe you had it right on your doorstep.”

Mason placed his fork down noisily, “You went in the forest alone?” He retorted, his hands balled in fists against the table.

I shrank back in my chair at his abrupt change in behaviour, “yes, I’m sorry I didn’t realise I couldn’t, there were no signs to say it was private?”

Jane patted my arm, “It’s not dear,” She said reassuringly, giving Mason a glare, “He was just worried about your safety.”

I gulped, “I’m sorry, I won’t go in there again.”

I suddenly felt rather full and pushed my plate away a little to signal I was done. The once peaceful atmosphere had been disturbed by Mason’s outburst and now it felt tense and awkward. I looked to my mother who gave me a tight lipped smile in response. So far, Mason was doing a shit job in helping me to convince my mum to stay here. In fact, it was almost as though he was trying to get rid of us.

“Let me clear these plates,” Jane spoke, cutting through the tension.

“No,” came Mason’s deep voice. “Isaac, help me,” he practically snarled at his friend.

Isaac nodded quickly and jumped up as though Mason had just given him an order. Isaac collected both mine and Jane’s plates as Mason got the rest. I didn’t miss the stern look he received from his father, but he only glared back in return. I thought back to what might have happened had I dare look at Dan like that...he would have probably slapped me silly.

Mum placed her hands on the table and stood up, “I think we should be getting back to the hotel, right Sophie?”

I nodded, I had already had enough of Mason’s unusual, scary behaviour for one night. I stood up myself, noticing the saddened look upon Jane’s face.

“Of course, I must apologise for Mason’s behaviour. He’s got a lot on his mind at the moment, but that was no excuse to act up in front of you. I will show you out.”

Jane walked us back through the house, once we had thanked and said goodbye to Andrew who wished us well and quickly walked into the kitchen, no doubt to berate his son. I could hear his raised voice as we neared the hallway. Jane waited for Mum to walk out of the door before she touched me gently on the elbow making me turn around in surprise.

“Don’t judge him until you get to know him dear,” she whispered. Looking up at Mum she placed a big smile on her face, “It was wonderful having you over, I will hopefully see you both soon!”

Frowning, I walked down the long driveway with my mother thinking about Jane’s parting words. I wasn’t planning on getting to know him. As far as I was concerned, I had judged Mason and I had the right to.

But I missed the expression on his face as he watched me leave through the big bay window.