Dani sighed and knocked on the door of Rory's room, sticking her head inside with a small smile. "Can I come in?"
Rory didn't look up from the clothes she was busily packing. "Sure."
Dani entered the room, but hovered near the door. She had a feeling her friend wasn't happy with her, but they had to talk about it. "Are you…uh…are you upset with me? With the decision I made earlier?"
"A little." Rory replied, continuing her packing. Then she stopped and looked at her best friend. "Dani, how can you do this?"
"Ro, I didn't know until I was asked, I swear!" Dani exclaimed.
Rory sighed. "That's the not the point."
"Then what is the point, Ro? I made a decision, one I've been thinking about for two weeks. I honestly didn't know what I was going to do until it happened. I can't help that any. And I'm sorry."
"We've never been separated in our lives." Rory commented quietly, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall from her brown eyes. She wasn’t angry with Dani, she was just upset over the fact that they were being separated.
"I know…" Dani sighed. She knew that was what was bothering Rory, and she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to make it better. "But it's not like I'm never going back to LA. I just need a few more weeks."
Rory closed her suitcase and zipped it shut. "I know. I'll get over it. I mean, we can't do everything together all the time."
"That's right. Rory, I am sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Dani said.
"I know. Don't worry about it. Can't dwell on it anyway. I have to go." Rory replied. "Genard's driving me to the airport."
Dani remembered her other reason for visiting Rory. "Oh!" She pulled an envelope out of her pocket. "Would you give this to Mom for me when you get home?"
"Sure. What is it?" Rory asked, putting the envelope in her backpack.
"There's a letter in it, and also a picture of Claude and me. Mercy took it earlier in the week, and I made sure to get a copy for Mom. I know she wanted to see what Claude looks like now."
"Yeah. I've got pictures of Genard too, for Mom. I wish he could come with me. I know Mom would love to see him."
Dani thought for a moment. Suddenly, she got an idea. "Well, wait a second." She went to the door and stuck her head out. "Genard!" she yelled.
A door opened and Genard looked out. "Yeah?"
"Come here for a minute, would you?" Dani asked. Genard nodded and joined the girls in seconds.
"What's up?" He asked. Spying the suitcase. "You have to go soon, don't you?"
Rory sighed. "Yeah. I don't want to be late. Dani, what's this about?"
"Genard, why don't you go to LA with Rory and visit your mom?" Dani asked.
Genard frowned and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "What? Today? How could I possibly do that?"
"Go throw some clothes in a suitcase and use my ticket, that's how." Dani replied, giggling. "It's not like I'll be able to use it when I go to leave in a few weeks. It's only good for today. So instead of wasting it, why don't you use it?"
Genard looked at his sister. "What do you t'ink?"
Rory's eyes lit up. "Oh Genard, it'd be wonderful! But can you just up and leave on a moment's notice like this?"
"I don' know. No one's ever done it b'fore 'cept for Remy. How much time b'fore you have to leave?"
"Twenty minutes or so. Why?" Rory replied.
"I'll be back in a minute."
Genard ran down the stairs, almost falling flat on his face, he was in such a hurry. He knew Remy, Theoren and Mercy were in the living room, watching television. He joined them, out of breath.
"Hey Genard. What's goin' on?" Mercy asked with a smile.
"Um…would it be okay if I went to California?" Genard asked, not beating around the bush. He didn't have time for bush beating. If he was going to go, he had less than twenty minutes to get ready.
"When?" Remy and Theoren asked at the same time.
Genard looked at his watch. "Jus' as soon as I can throw some clothes into a suitcase. See de t'ing is, b'cause Dani's not goin' back, her ticket's gon' go to waste unless someone uses it today. She suggested dat I use it, since, well, I really wan' go see my mom."
"I don' see why you can' go." Remy laughed. "It'll be a nice change for you. I say go an' have fun."
"But what about Etienne's ticket?" Theoren asked skeptically. "Isn' it goin' to waste too?"
Etienne walked in. "Etienne didn' buy a round trip ticket. I was kinda hopin' to get to stay, but if I couldn', I had enough money to buy a ticket back."
"So…I can go?" Genard asked, a hopeful look in his eyes.
"Yeah, go! Get packin'. You don't have much time." Mercy replied.
"Dat's right. T'anks!" With that Genard ran out of the room and back up the stairs to rejoin his sister and Dani.
"Well? Can you come?" Rory asked.
"Can't you tell? He's beaming!" Dani laughed. "I'd say he can."
"Oui, I can." Genard told them.
"Cool!" Rory exclaimed. "Uh…shouldn't you be packing? We have to leave soon."
"Yeah that might be a good idea…" Genard replied, leaving the room and heading to his own to pack some clothes. He returned in a couple of seconds, poking his head in and looking at the girls quizzically. "What should I pack…?"
"Clothes." Dani told him seriously, a twinkle in her green eyes.
Genard rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Du-uh! Now you wan' be serious an' tell me what to pack?"
Rory giggled. "Genard, seriously, LA and New Orleans aren't that much different. Just take things you would normally wear when not wearing that armor you guys are so fond of. Jeans, shorts, t-shirts, stuff like that."
"Oh, okay." Genard replied. Before leaving again, he said, "And dat armor keeps us from getting hurt or killed, so it's actually a good t'ing…"
"Okay! Just go! You have, like ten minutes before we have to leave! And we haven't said goodbye to anyone yet…" Rory said, shooing him out of the room.
Ten minutes later, everyone was gathered in the living room of the safehouse. It was time for Rory and Genard to leave for the airport. Rory addressed the others first.
"Guys, thanks for everything. The past two weeks have been absolutely great, and I'm really glad I came. Oh and I really appreciate you lending me him for awhile," she gestured at Genard who shrugged. "I know Mom will be really happy to see him."
"We were real glad t' have you, chil', you come on back whenever you want to." Tante Mattie said with a gentle laugh.
Rory impulsively hugged Tante Mattie, who smiled at the unexpected embrace. "Thanks Tante." Rory said before turning to Etienne, who was standing near Theoren.,P. "You are comin' back sometime, right?" Et asked.
"Of course!" Rory laughed. "I'm going to miss you…but I'm really glad you're back home where you belong." She turned to Theoren. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but you take care of him, or I'll have to come back here and kick your butt."
"I'm going to call Mom, once you guys leave." Dani said. "I think she should know I'm staying for awhile. I don't want her to get a shock when they get to the airport."
"Make sure, if you tell her Genard's coming, to get her to promise not to tell Mom. I want her to be surprised." Rory replied.
"Got it." Dani smiled. "You take care. And call me when you get home, so we'll know you made it okay."
Rory and Dani hugged each other. They were really more like sisters than friends, and this wasn't easy for either of them. "You keep in touch, okay?" Rory whispered. "And if you think for one second you're going to stay here permanently, I'll come back and drag you kicking and screaming if I have to."
"Okay."
Genard cleared his throat. "Uh, don' we have to leave? You were buggin' me awhile ago 'bout hurryin'."
Rory checked her watch. "Oh dear lord, you're right!"
"Well go then!" Emil chuckled, waving them out of the room. "Don' let us stop you. Jeez, if you stay here talkin' to us, you'll never get to go."
"Call us." Mercy commanded as the two dragged their suitcases to the car.
"Hey. You are not my mother!" Genard joked, his excitement starting to get the better of him.
Mercy sighed. "No, I'm not." She looked at Rory. "Rory, would you ask your mother to make him call us?"
Rory laughed. "Sure, Merce. Bye guys!"
"You're awfully quiet." Rory commented. She and Genard were on the plane, heading towards California. They had passed up watching the in-flight movie, deciding they didn't really need to see 'Scary Movie'. Both of them had refused to see it when it was in theatres, and they didn't want to see it now. So they were sitting there, watching the clouds float by.
"Oh…I…uh…" Genard stammered.
"You're nervous." Rory grinned.
"If you know me dis well after only two weeks, what's gon' happen when it's a few years?" Genard asked with a smile. "Yeah, I'm nervous. I mean…"
"You've never been to California before, and you haven't seen Mom since you were five years old." Rory finished. "I understand. You don't have to talk if you don't want to. We could play a game."
"Like what? 'I Spy'?" Genard laughed.
Rory pulled her backpack from under her seat. "No, like checkers. Or chess. Or how about 'Sorry'?" she replied, digging out the three travel games.
"Ooh, maybe we'll be able to play t'rough de whole flight."
"That is the point." Rory said. "We didn't play them before, but there's no reason why you and I can't play now. Which one first?"
Genard thought for a moment before replying. "Checkers. I've always liked dat one. Can I be black?"
Rory sighed. "Fine. But only if I can be black next game."
"Deal." Genard replied as they set the game up on Rory's tray.
They played the games over and over, each winning some and losing some. The only time they stopped was to eat some of the meal. The flight went by very fast for them, and they hardly noticed the time passing. Next thing they knew, the pilot was announcing the plane's arrival in Los Angeles, and they were beginning their descent. Suddenly, Genard grew quiet again.
"Genard?" Rory asked as the plane pulled up to the terminal after landing.
"I'm okay...she's gon' be happy to see me, right?"
Rory nodded. "Yeah, more than you know. She'd be crazy not to. She's always wanted to see you again. She hated leaving you behind when she came here."
"A lot of time has gone by…" Genard sighed.
"You and Mom have a lot of catching up to do. Don't be nervous. Just relax and enjoy it. California has a lot to offer, even in a week or two." Rory laughed.
"I'm sure you're right." Genard said. They stood and got ready to leave the plane. The butterflies in his stomach didn't go away, but he was glad he wasn't alone. At least Rory could point out their mother to him. He had an idea she would look different than she did when he was a child.
LAX was a sea of people. Genard didn't think he'd ever seen that many people all at one place at one time before. Not even during Mardi Gras. He did his best to keep up with Rory, who kept laughing at him.
When Rory spotted her mother and Nadine, her face broke into a huge grin. She ran over to the two women and hugged them both. Genard suddenly felt shy, and hung back, walking over to them as slowly as he could. He recognized his mother more quickly than he thought he would, and not just because Rory hugged her first. He just knew.
"How was your trip?" Yvonne asked, still unaware that Genard was even there.
"Oh it was so fantastic! I had a blast! But we can talk about that later. I have the biggest surprise for you." Rory replied.
"Oh?" Yvonne questioned. Nadine smiled. She had been on the phone with Dani, and knew that Yvonne was about to get the biggest surprise of her life.
"Yep!" Rory replied, grabbing Genard's arm and dragging him the last few steps.
Yvonne's eyes widened as she realized that it was her son standing in front of her. Tears started flowing down her cheeks almost instantly. "Genard…" she whispered, totally amazed that the little boy she left behind all those years before had turned into this tall, handsome young man.
"Uh…hi." Genard said, his heart pounding. He was so happy to finally see his mother again, he wasn't sure what to do or say. He felt very conspicuous in the huge crowds of people flowing around them in the airport, something he wasn't comfortable with, being a thief.
Yvonne hugged her son, unable to stop crying. Genard was less embarrassed by the embrace than he might have expected, but that was only because he was crying himself. He had missed his mother very much over the years. He decided he didn't care what anyone else thought.
"This was a great idea, Rory." Nadine whispered.
"Thank Dani, not me." Rory replied. "It was her idea."
Yvonne finally let Genard go and turned to Nadine and Rory. "I think we should get out of this crowded airport. Let's get you two home, okay?"