New Orleans, LA, Present Day
The cab pulled up into the driveway of a quaint little house. Rory and Dani immediately loved the house; its charm instantly drew them to it. It was elegant and simple, something they didn't often see in Los Angeles.
"Here we are, folks. Dat's $6.45." the driver said. Etienne handed him the correct change and a tip while the girls started to get the bags out of the trunk.
As they started to haul their bags up the walk to the front door of the house, the door suddenly opened as if by magic. The girls stopped and stared, unsure what to do or say. Etienne's face broke into a huge grin. Suddenly, he knew he was home.
Standing in the doorway was a woman with long black hair and a kind face. She was wearing a yellow flowered dress, with a matching yellow headband around her head, and dangly earrings. She stepped out onto the porch, her dark eyes glowing with happiness.
"Etienne…." She whispered, silently thanking God that he had finally come home. Aloud she said, "Chil' put dose bags down an' come give yer Tante Mattie a hug."
Etienne did as he was told and joined Mattie on the porch. "I missed you, Tante."
"An' I missed you too, Chil'. I been waitin' for dis day for a long time." Mattie replied, holding him at arms length and smiling with pride. "Well jus' look at how you've grown up!"
"Aww, Tante, stop scrutinizin' me…" Etienne complained. But he didn't really mean it. He was so happy to be back in New Orleans that he didn't care if all the world wanted to stare at him. "I want you to meet de girls."
Tante Mattie looked at the two girls, who were standing on her walkway looking like they didn't know what to do next. She went down the steps and stood before them. She turned to Dani first.
"You are Danielle Potier." Mattie said simply.
Dani's eyes widened. "Yeah…but how did you…? I mean you've never seen either one of us, how could you possibly know which one of us was which?"
Mattie smiled at the girls. "Under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn'. Mais, I've known both your brothers since dey were born, an' you look like dem."
"I look like Genard?" Rory asked. "Mom never told me that."
"Oui, you do, Victoria. Although not as much as Danielle here looks like Claude. De resemblance is truly uncanny." Mattie confirmed.
Both girls squirmed. Mattie looked at Etienne, confused. Etienne just laughed.
"Call dem Dani an' Rory, Tante. Dey don' often use deir full names."
Mattie nodded, understanding. "Ah. I see. Okay, Dani an' Rory it is. Now, let me help you wit' your bags. Don' worry 'bout findin' a place to stay, b'cause until your brothers say otherwise, you can stay here wit' me."
"Are you sure?" Dani and Rory asked in unison.
"Sure she's sure. B'lieve me, she wouldn' make de offer if she wasn'." Etienne told them as the four took the bags into the house.
"Now. Are you hungry? I'm sure dey didn' feed you all dat well on de plane…is dere anyt'ing I can get you?" Tante Mattie asked after she had shown her three guests their rooms and they had put their bags away to be unpacked later.
"Dey didn'." Dani confirmed. "It was hardly edible."
"Well, I have some chicken gumbo I could warm up for you, if you'd like." Mattie suggested, motioning for them to sit at the kitchen table.
"Chicken…?" Rory asked quietly, remembering the airplane food and blanching.
"Oh, Tante's chicken gumbo is de best on de planet, you have to try it!" Etienne told them. "Tante, dat would be fine. Dere's no need for you to go t'rough any trouble right now, we jus' got here."
"Don' talk nonsense, Chil'!" Tante scolded. "You haven' been here in ten years, an' de girls here have never been here. I will make all de fuss I want to over you!"
"Oh, Tante, you really don't have to…" Rory faltered.
Etienne cast her a warning glance. "Ro, don'." He said. "She does have to."
"Why?" Dani asked.
"B'cause she wants to. An' she can. Dis is one woman who can do whatever she wants to. An' no one questions it." Etienne explained.
Twenty minutes later, as they were sitting around the kitchen table, eating gumbo and talking with Tante Mattie, who was telling them about the Guild unification and Jean-Luc's sudden departure, there was a brief knock on the door.
Mattie excused herself and went to answer it, leaving the three friends in the kitchen.
"Wow…she's so nice!" Dani exclaimed.
"Yeah…" Etienne replied. "She is very nice. One of de nicest people in de world. I can' b'lieve de Guilds are unified…what is dis world comin' to?"
"I don't know, Et, but I'm sure we'll get to find out all about it in time." Dani joked as Tante Mattie came back into the room, followed by a tall dark haired man, who was aware that Mattie had guests, but was unaware of who they were.
As he walked into the room behind his friend, Theoren Marceaux stopped in astonishment at who was sitting in front of him. His dark eyes filled with tears and as his jaw dropped, he covered his mouth with one hand. He could only say one thing.
"Oh mon dieu…Etienne…"