The next morning, Brandon and Kalle are back in the elegant dining room. This time, they are munching on a breakfast consisting of Crepes Benedict, cranberry almond caramel pancakes, and Irish breakfast smoothie as their beverage.

Brandon pops a piece of pancakes into his mouth. “This beats having cereal every day!” he exclaims with his mouth full.

Kalle peers at him with concern. “You have cereal for breakfast every day?” He takes a delicate bite of his crepe.

He swallows. “Yeah…” He faces him. “We had to land on that or blow up the kitchen in an attempt to make something as good as this. But when Maxi was still around, we would have Swedish dishes around the clock since he was the only guy who could cook…” He lets out a sigh, his face dropping in sorrow. “If only he was still here.”

“I don't know much about this Maxi guy,” Kalle pipes in gently, “but he sounds like a great guy.”

He lifts his eyes back up at him. “He IS a great guy. But he's now traded to St. John's…” He lowers his eyes at the grim reality. “...and the house is falling apart without him.”

Kalle places his fork down. “I think you guys will get along with him. You've gone this far without him.” He puts an encouraging hand on his shoulder. “You can keep going!”

“Yeah…” He turns to him, cracking a small smile. “Thanks for the encouragement and the food.”

“Well, that's what friends are for!” Kalle returns to him a toothy grin.

“Well,” Brandon starts off, “I should get going.” He rises to his feet. “I gotta check up on them to make sure they didn't blow up the house.”

Kalle peers up at him. “Okay! I hope all goes well.”

“Thank you.” Brandon begins making his way out of the dining area. “I'll see you later, Kalle!”

He waves to him. “Bye, Monty!”

Brandon waves back to him. “Bye, Kalle!” He then spots Scott ambling out from the double swinging doors of the kitchen. “And thank you, Scott!”

Scott gazes at him from across the room. “Anytime, Mr. Montour.”

With one last nod, Brandon turns around and strolls out of the room.

---

Brandon is on the road once again, guiding his Jeep through the residential roads of Del Mar.
His nervous eyes are on the road as his hands grip the steering wheel tightly with trepidation.

“Please let the house be standing up,” he mutters under his breath in a plea, “please let the house be standing up, please let the house be standing up…”

The familiar one-story house appears into view on his right. The house is untouched, like as if there is no turmoil occurring within it.

Brandon gazes at the house in awe as he slows down the car. “Wow...it's in better condition than what I thought!”

Notes

E.19 "Calculating The Aftermath"
Part 5/10
Episode 19/20