"Okay, now Emil, de Advil is in de medicine cabinet in de bathroom, make sure you don' give her more'n two at a time an'--"
"No more'n eight a day. I know Tante."
Tante Mattie cast a frustrated look at the red-haired young man in front of her. Really, Emil could be annoying at times. Still, she continued with the instructions, knowing that once she and the other thieves were gone, the twenty-five-year-old would be on his own with the sole responsibility of taking care of a bed-ridden Zoe, who had the flu.
"Dere are popsicles in de freezer; if she gets a fever, let her eat as many of dem as she wants to. Make sure she drinks a lot of water an' orange juice. An' I know she won' feel like it, but she has to eat. De money in de jar on de shelf in de pantry is for emergencies only, not for take out food. Dere isn' a number where you can reach us, so if you have a problem or an emergency--"
Emil rolled his blue eyes. He was starting to get annoyed himself. "Call Gambit. Oui, I know. Tante we've been over dis eighteen times! I get it!"
Emil's cousin Theoren raised his eyebrows, his dark brown eyes flashing warningly. "Emil…"
"Sheesh…." Emil groaned. "Look, guys jus' go okay? You're gon' be late. I got all de instructions in my head, I won' forget dem, an' if I do, I'll call Remy, I promise, okay? I can do dis. I'm not a kid. Trust me."
Tante Mattie glanced at Mercy, Claude and Genard, who were waiting by the door. "Maybe I shouldn' be goin'…not when Zoe's sick…"
Seeing the distress in Emil's face, Mercy chuckled. "Tante Mattie, c'mon. Emil's perfectly capable of takin' care of Zoe. We need you t' come wit' us. Dey'll be okay."
"Alright." Tante Mattie sighed. Before she followed the three of them out the door, she paused and looked at Emil. "You be good."
Emil mock-saluted the stout black lady. "Yes ma'am."
Tante Mattie joined the others outside in the car, but Theoren stayed behind for a few moments to speak to his young cousin. He had to laugh as Emil shook his head.
"Get de reputation for bein' an obnoxious, immature brat an' it'll follow you 'round for de rest of your frickin' life!" Emil squeaked in annoyance.
"You're one of a kind, cousin. An' none of us would have it any other way. I know you an' Zoe will be fine. Jus' don' get into trouble. I'd hate to have to prove to everyone dat I can still kick your butt."
"Aww…Theo, jus' go, would ya?" Emil complained.
Theoren laughed again. "Okay, I'm goin'. Oh, an' Tante an' I asked Bel an' de others to let you guys be. You don' need five assassins buggin' you when you're tryin' to take care of Zoe."
"T'anks Theo."
Theoren went for the door, but stopped with his hand on the doorknob. He had just remembered something else. "Oh I almost forgot," he said, reaching into the pocket of his jeans and pulling out some money, which he handed to Emil. "Here."
Emil stared at the five crisp twenty-dollar bills in his hand with a look of pure astonishment. Theoren never gave anybody money for any reason. Ever. "What's dis for?"
"I know you, kiddo. You'll cook for de sake of makin' Zoe eat, mais, you won' cook to feed yourself. Dis way you won' have to take Tante's money." Theoren replied.
Emil's sparkly blue eyes widened in gratitude. "Wow…t'anks Theo. You're too good to me…"
"Yeah well. Somebody has to be. An' b'lieve me, you owe me, cousin. Big time. See you in a week. Have fun."
"I'll try. You too."
After watching the car pull out of the driveway, Emil stuffed the hundred dollars in the pocket of his jeans and went up the stairs. He decided he might as well check up on Zoe and see if she needed anything. He was bound and determined to do a bang-up job taking care of her and keeping things in order, if only to prove to the others, and maybe to himself as well, that he could.
Zoe's small room was lost in a semi-dark cascade of shadows. The pale pink and cream curtains that matched everything else in the room were drawn in an effort to keep the bright New Orleans sunshine from hurting her head more than it already was hurting. Zoe was lying in her bed, tucked neatly under the pink and cream quilt, her dark hair contrasting with the lightness of the pillow. She was on her back, staring at the ceiling. When she heard Emil come in, she tilted her head and looked at him, her dark eyes bright but thoughtful.
"Are they gone yet?" she asked him, lightly patting the edge of the bed in a request for him to sit.
Emil took the offer, careful not to disturb her. "Oui, jus' a few minutes ago. Dey prob'ly woulda left earlier, but Tante Mattie had to go over de instructions one more time…sheesh…"
Zoe laughed. "She's only trying to take care of us." She chided her friend gently.
"I know dat, but she's not de only one who can, ya know? How are you feelin', anyways?"
"Every muscle and bone in my body aches." Zoe replied, shifting slightly on the bed in an attempt to get more comfortable. It didn't work and she sighed miserably.
"I'm sorry…can I get you anyt'ing? When was de last time you took some Advil, do you know?"
"It was only two hours ago."
Emil checked his watch and made note of the time. "Well, I can' give you any more until four o'clock, but would you like a popsicle? Dat might help some…"
Zoe smiled wearily. "That would be nice. Can I have orange, please?"
"You can have whatever you want to, Zoe." Emil replied. "I'll be right back."
Less than five minutes later, Emil returned with an orange popsicle and a bowl, in case it dripped. He didn't want to get any stains on that pretty bedspread of hers. He didn't exactly like the bedspread, it clashed with his Archie Andrews hair, but it was still a nice bedspread and an orange popsicle stain would ruin it.
"Thank you, Emil." Zoe said, taking the cool treat and relishing how good it felt on her sore throat.
"You're welcome. I brought somet'ing else too. Tante Mattie used to use dis t'ing all de time, when we were babies, or so she says. It's like a walkie-talkie or a monitor. You can keep dis one here an' I'll keep de other one wit' me. Dat way if you need me an' I'm not within' actual callin' distance, like if I'm in de kitchen or de TV room or somet'ing, you can still reach me." Emil explained, handing one of the walkie-talkie things to her.
"That is such a great idea." Zoe said, placing it on the table beside her bed. "Thanks."
"Pas de problem. Now, is dere anyt'ing else you need b'fore I go? Dey were real nice, left me some dishes to do, so I t'ought I'd get dem done now b'fore supper. Actually, dat's a better question…do you have any idea what you feel like to eat for supper?"
"Hmmm…no I don't think in need anything else right now, and if I do, I can call you." Zoe replied while sucking on the popsicle. "As for supper…mashed potatoes would be good."
"Okay then. Mashed potatoes it is." Emil got up and headed for the door. "I'll come up when I'm done de dishes an' check on you, alright?"
"Sure. Hey Emil? The assassins aren't going to give you a hard time or anything this week are they? I mean technically, it's you against them if they do decide to pick on you. Those aren't great odds." Zoe commented.
Emil stuck his head back in the door with a wry grin. "Theo said he an' Tante asked dem to leave us alone. I'm sure dey won' give me any problems, an' if dey do, all I have to do is call Remy an' he'll straighten dem out. Don' worry 'bout it."
A few minutes later, up to his elbows in dishwater, Emil thought of something. He stopped in mid-wash, with the cloth in one hand and a bowl in the other, a look of slight panic on his pale, freckled face.
'I've never made mashed potatoes in my life…' he thought in horror. 'I've never even watched anybody else make dem. Oh man. Well, it can' be dat difficult…I'll jus' do what I t'ink is right an' if I have any problems…I'll…I'll jus'…ask Bel…yeah…dat's it. She'll know…won' she...?'
Emil continued washing the dishes with only one thought going through his mind. 'Dis gon' be a long week…'
Standing outside the safehouse, unable to be seen by anybody due to an invisibility spell she had put over herself, Candra, the immortal benefactress of the New Orleans Guilds, was watching and plotting.
She hadn't stirred up trouble with the Guilds for awhile, and was bored to tears with their valiant attempt at a peaceful unification. So she was there to kick up a little trouble. And she was going to enjoy it. Oh yes, was she ever.
Candra giggled to herself as she listened in on Emil's thoughts. "You think you're in for a long week, looking after your friend, my dear young thief? Well I hate to break it to you, and I won't, but you have no idea just how long it's going to be. It's high time I had a little fun with you foolish mortals and I believe I have thought of the perfect way to do it. You'll see." She whispered to the bushes and trees around her.