'Well, this is it.' Dani thought. She looked around at the people assembled in the room and noticed that quite a few of them, Etienne included, looked as nervous as she felt. She still didn't know what she was going to do herself, but she figured it might help to know Etienne's decision.
"What'd you decide, chil'?" Tante Mattie prodded, noticing that Etienne wasn't coming forward with his decision.
Etienne sighed. It had been a difficult choice to make, one that he hoped wouldn't be a mistake in the long run. He went over to Rory and Dani. "Dis wasn' an easy decision to make…havin' you guys here made it even harder, if you'll b'lieve me. I love you both like sisters, an' your mothers are wonderful. But dis is my home, my heart has always been here, an' I've decided to stay here. I'm sorry."
Across the room, it took all the restraint Emil had to keep from jumping up and shouting "Woohoo!" but he managed to barely contain his excitement. He sat on the couch with an insane, giddy grin on his face, which made both Mercy and Zoe giggle. Beside him, Theoren sighed with relief. He had been extremely worried that his brother would choose to leave again.
Rory was the first to react out loud to Etienne's decision. "Do you think either Dani or myself had any doubt that you'd choose to stay here?" she asked. "I'm glad you decided you decided to stay, because it means you listened to your heart and that's what's important."
"Agreed." Dani said. "You don't have to apologize, Et. There's no need of it."
"We're glad you decided to stay too, Et." Remy commented. He looked at Emil and Theoren, who were whispering to each other about something. Emil still looked like he wanted to jump up and down or dance a jig. "Do you two have somet'ing to say?"
"Well…" Theoren replied. "I'd jus' like to say dat Emil an' I are very relieved, to even jus' have de answer. We were goin' a bit nuts, not knowin' one way or de other."
"Yeah, an' now dat we know…can we have a party?" Emil asked.
"Maybe later, Emil. Not right now." Remy laughed. "Right now, I t'ink maybe it's time for de girls to tell us what dey're doin' as well."
Rory went first. "Well, as much as I love all you guys, I miss my mom, an' I miss California, so I've decided to go back home. However," she laughed. "Genard now has my address, phone number and ICQ number, so I don't plan on being out of touch!"
Claude put his hand on Dani's shoulder. "What 'bout you, Dani?" he asked quietly. He was more nervous about his sister's decision than he would dare let on, and none of the others noticed. Except for perhaps Tante Mattie, but she remained silent, keeping his secret.
Dani sighed, tears forming in her green eyes. She didn't want to make the decision, she didn't want to have to say any of it. But she knew she had to. "Choosing between the life I've always known and the life I could have been living here is not an easy thing to do." She began softly. "And since I knew what Rory's decision was last night, it's been more than just having to choose between two lives. In a sense, I have to choose between two people, my best friend and my brother."
Everyone looked at her, silent, waiting for her to continue. She looked at Rory. "I miss California too, Ro. And I miss Mom. But I like it here, and I want to stay, even if it's just for awhile, you know? Two weeks isn't long enough."
Rory looked away. "You mean you're staying?" she asked quietly, her voice barely audible. She hasn't been expecting this. She and Dani had always done everything together, since they were babies. They had never been separated before. This was a blow to her, and it upset her quite a bit.
"For now…" Dani replied. Then she looked at the assembled thieves, her brother included, and giggled. "If they'll let me, that is."
Claude looked like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He knew Genard was a bit upset over Rory's decision, although he wasn't showing it. He had been afraid that Dani would make the same decision her best friend had made, and he was just as relieved over her decision as Theoren and Emil were over Etienne's. He looked at Remy, who just smiled and nodded.
"Are you crazy?!" Claude demanded of his sister. "Of course we'll let you stay! I'd have to kick some serious butt if anyone in dis room told me you couldn'!"
Dani laughed and hugged him. "I'm not saying I'm going to stay forever, but I'll be around for awhile anyway."
"Awhile's good. I can handle dat." Claude grinned. "Awhile means you're not gon' leave today."
Genard sighed quietly and left the room without a word. Tante Mattie, with her emphatic abilities, knew what he was feeling and when Rory went to follow him, she stopped her.
"Chil', don'. Not yet. I'd like to talk to him first, okay?"
Rory stopped where she was and gave Mattie a quizzical look, but nodded. "Okay, Tante."
Mattie left the living room in search of Genard. She found him sitting on the back porch, staring at the trees. When he heard the door open and close, he glanced over, and seeing that it wasn't Rory, he sighed.
"It's not fair." He said miserably, his brown eyes swimming with tears. "How come Theoren an' Claude are so lucky?"
Mattie sat down beside him and put an arm around his shoulders. "De only reason dey're lucky in dis case is b'cause Rory's different from Etienne an' Dani. Jus' like you're different from de others. You an' Rory are so much alike, it's almost scary. Genard, tell me dis. If someone gave you de chance to leave Nawlins an' move to a new place in a new state, would you do it?"
Genard's eyes widened in a look of horror. "Non! Dis is my home, I'd never…" his voice trailed off as he realized what Tante Mattie was getting at. "Oh."
"Rory feels de same way 'bout Los Angeles. Goin' an' visitin' other places is fine, but she would never leave her home for very long."
"I know what you're sayin', Tante. It still doesn' seem fair, but at least I understand now." Genard sighed. "I jus' wish dese two weeks weren' up yet…"
"It's not like you'll never see her or talk to her again, Genard." Mattie commented. "An' you can always go visit her an' your Mom if you want, sometime."
"Yeah, I could, couldn' I? I never t'ought of dat. Don' know why Claude an' I didn' t'ink of it b'fore…"
"Well, don' forget it, now dat you've t'ought of it." Mattie chuckled, getting up and going inside. When she got back to the living room, she told Rory to go talk to her brother.
Rory tentatively sat down beside Genard, where Mattie had been moments before, and bit her lip. "Are you mad at me?"
"Non, non Rory don' ever t'ink dat. I was a little jealous, I guess, b'cause even t'ough Dani isn' gon' stay forever, Theoren an' Claude both got what dey wanted an' I didn'…"
"Oh Genard, I'm sorry…" Rory stammered.
Genard smiled sadly. "Don' be. Los Angeles is your home, an' you shouldn' have to leave if you don' want to, if it doesn' make you happy. I'm de same way. I couldn' leave Nawlins for more den a couple weeks without getting homesick."
"So you understand how I feel?"
"Oui. I do. An' it's okay."
Inside the house, Dani and Etienne were talking. Et had been surprised by Dani's decision. He had figured she'd go back to Los Angeles with Rory. They sat on the stairs, away from everyone else.
"Why'd you decide to stay? I t'ought you'd jump at de chance to go back to LA wit' Rory." Etienne said.
"I don't know. I didn't have an idea what I was going to decide until I was asked. I just realized there on the spot that I wanted to stay for awhile."
"Well, I'm glad you're stayin', an' I know Claude is too." Etienne replied.
"So am I." Dani smiled. "I just hope Rory's not mad that I decided to stick around."
"I don' t'ink she is, chil'." Tante Mattie commented, joining them. "She was more worried 'bout Genard's reaction to her own decision."
"Are they okay?" Etienne asked, concerned.
"Oui, dey are. Dey jus' had to realize dat dey're more alike den dey t'ought." Mattie replied, heading out the door.