"Jackie, slow down. What's wrong?" Remy asked.
Jackie took a deep breath and continued. "He's gone. He was s'posed to come over today, we were goin' to go for a walk, you know? Mais, he never showed up. How could he do dat to me? I t'ought…"
Remy sighed and wished he was in New Orleans to comfort his little sister. He wasn't entirely sure what to tell her. He knew Emil a lot better than she did, obviously, and it occurred to him that his friend would not have stood up the woman he loved without a good reason.
"Jacqueline…he has a reason. A good reason. B'lieve me. I know him. He wouldn' have done dis without one. He loves you, an' he would never hurt you for anyt'ing. I know dat for a fact." Remy said, then paused. "Jackie, what's de date?"
Jackie looked at her watch. "It's March 2, why?"
Remy slapped his hand on his forehead and almost laughed. "Dat explains it. Jackie, don' worry 'bout Emil. Trust me on dis one. If you want to know where he is, go to de graveyard. You'll find him dere, if I'm not mistaken."
"Are you sure?"
"Oui, very sure. You're 'bout to learn a bit more 'bout him, an' dat's not a bad t'ing either." Remy told her.
"T'anks Remy. I needed dis." Jackie said. "Bye."
"Au revoir, ma petite soeur. Take care. An' say hi to Papa for me."
"Will do."
Emil stood in the graveyard, a solemn figure under the trees. He stared at the graves in front of him, hands shoved in the pockets of his trenchcoat. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't see or hear Jackie walking over to him.
Jackie stopped a few feet away from him, and, with her sharp eyes, was able to read what was carved on the tombstones. She sighed quietly as she realized that Emil was visiting his family, who had died a long time ago. She walked over to him and gently put her hand on his shoulder.
Emil jumped slightly and turned around. "Jackie! What are you…?"
With a sheepish grin, Jackie replied, "I called Remy, an' he said I'd probably find you here. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting…"
"Non, you're not. It's okay." Emil told her, returning the grin and taking her hand in his. "I'm de one who's sorry. I totally forgot 'bout our walk b'fore. Dat was wrong of me, an' I'm sorry."
Jackie squeezed his hand. "Now it's my turn to say it's okay. I understand. I'd be a pretty crappy girlfriend if I didn' don' you t'ink?"
"I s'pose. So, do you want to meet dem? I mean you can', really, but I can at least tell you 'bout dem."
"If you want to…dey're your fam'ly…" Jackie faltered.
"An' you're de woman I love, so why not?" Emil laughed softly, his blue eyes lighting up. "May as well start at de top, non? Papa was a good friend of Theoren an' Claude, hard as it is to imagine dem havin' friends other den each other. He an' I didn' see eye to eye very much when I was a teenager. It was mostly over de fact dat I wanted to go to away to university an' he didn' want me to go."
Jackie frowned. "How come? Papa said you're de only one who went. Dat's pretty incredible."
"He an' Mama couldn' afford it, but rather den tell me dat, he pretended he jus' didn' want me to go. Jus' b'fore he died, he told me to go, to make everyone proud. So I did, t'anks to Jean-Luc bein' nice enough to pay my way."
"What 'bout your mother?" Jackie asked.
Emil sighed, a faraway look on his face. "Mama was de nicest, sweetest woman in de whole world. Even better den Tante Mattie, if you can picture dat. She always took my side in my arguments with Papa, which drove him nuts. She never asked any questions 'bout what de Guild did, as long as no one got hurt."
"Do you look like either of dem, or…?" Jackie asked with a mischievous smile. "I'm jus' curious, you don' have to answer if you don' want to."
"For de most part, I look like Mama. I have her hair, eyes an' smile. But I managed to get Papa's nose. Chloe was de lucky one. She got Papa's hair an' eyes." Emil told her.
Jackie looked at the dates under Chloe's name. "She was only eleven…? Mon Dieu…"
"Oui. It was pretty bad. She was six years younger den me. She'd be twenty-nine years old right now if she was still alive." Emil explained, looking away, trying to keep back the tears. He loved his sister very much, and missed her even now. Jackie let go of his hand and moved to stand in front of him. She reached up and took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her.
"It's okay to miss her, Emil. It's okay to miss all of dem." She said softly. "You know, dey say pain goes away with time, but I don' b'lieve dat. It might not hurt as much, but it's still dere, no matter how much time goes by."
Emil gave her a small smile and blinked back his tears. "Chloe was de most important person in my life, even more den my parents were. She an' I were so close…when she died I felt like a part of me had died too." Emil sighed, reaching up and taking Jackie's hands in his. "It still hurts. 'Specially today."
"Is dere anyt'ing I can do?" Jackie asked, concern showing in her violet eyes. "I feel kind of helpless right now…I love you so much, an' I don' know what to do to make you stop cryin'."
"Jus' be here. I allow myself dis one day to be totally an' completely miserable 'bout de whole t'ing, so technically, you can' make me stop cryin'. Mais, don' let dat make you feel helpless, b'cause you can help me, jus' by keepin' me company an' not tryin' to make me stop cryin' if I don' feel like it." Emil told her.
Jackie wrapped her arms around him. "I can do dat," she looked up at him and smiled. "So what do you feel like doin'? It's your day; you call de shots, okay? I'll do whatever you need me to."
"You still want to go for dat walk?" Emil asked with a raise of his eyebrows. "Maybe we could stop at de house an' get some bread to feed de birds in Jackson Square."
"Sure. Dat sounds like a good idea."
"Knock, knock!" Emil said, poking his head around the doorway of Jackie's bedroom. They had spent most of the day together, but Mercy and Genard dragged him out for dinner. When he dropped Mercy off, he used the opportunity to take a run upstairs and see Jackie, which got huge smiles from both Mercy and Jean-Luc.
"Emil!" Jackie exclaimed, looking up from the book she was reading with a smile. "You certainly look more cheerful den you did earlier. What gives? Oh, an' get your butt in here an' have a seat."
Emil came into the room and sat down on the bed beside her. "De day's almost over, an' it's impossible to stay gloomy around Genard an' Mercy. Aside from dat, it's even more impossible to stay gloomy when I'm in de same room as you."
"Oh come on, I'm not de most cheerful person on de planet." Jackie joked.
"Maybe not, but you're beautiful, charming an' I love you so I can' stay miserable when I'm around you." Emil replied. Then he started laughing and said, "You don' have dat effect on anyone else, do you…?"
"Hey! I resent dat!" Jackie said, shoving him down on the bed and tickling him mercilessly. She stopped for a brief second and he took the chance. Reaching up, he threw her back on the bed and rolled over, pinning her down.
"Nobody tickles me an' gets away with it," he said with a grin, bending over. Their lips met in a soft, passionate kiss that thrilled every sense in their bodies.
"T'ank you, by de way," Emil said breathlessly when the kiss ended.
"What for?" Jackie replied, slightly confused. Her mind was whirling, mostly thinking about how good it felt to be that close to him.
"For dis morning. For puttin' up with me."
"Hey, I love you, remember?" Jackie grinned. "Puttin' up with you is part of de deal."
"Oh very funny," Emil replied.
"I like to t'ink so," Jackie said, pulling him back down and kissing him deeply.
Two days later Emil stuck his head into Jackie's room, having been told by Jean-Luc that she was there. He frowned, unable to see her anywhere.
"Jackie?" he asked.
Jackie poked her head through the curtains and gave him a tearful smile. "Hi," she said before retiring back behind the curtains and continuing to sit on the window seat and stare out into the yard.
Emil frowned again, tilting his head at the curtains like a confused dog. He walked over and pulled gently at one of the curtains. He peeked in and looked at Jackie, a mixture of concern and confusion on his face. "Did I do somet'ing?"
Shaking her head, Jackie refused to look at him.
"Okay…so you're jus' goin' to sit here an' not tell me what's wrong?"
Jackie shook her head again, and sniffed. It occurred to Emil that she was crying, and he wanted to know why. He pushed the curtain away and sat beside her on the window seat silently. He had a feeling she would talk when she wanted to and in the meantime, he was content to sit and wait.
"You know how you have dat day for bein' miserable?" Jackie asked. Emil nodded, and Jackie continued. "Well, I have dose days too, only dey happen more den once a year. Dis happens to be one of dem."
"You don' have to tell me if you don' want to, Jackie." Emil said softly, gently wiping the tears off her face.
"It's okay…I do. You told me 'bout your fam'ly even t'ough it was difficult to do so. You deserve to know 'bout me too…"
"Are you sure?" Emil asked.
Jackie nodded. "Oui. Seven years 'go today, when I was still in de circus, dis guy attacked me an' raped me. You know, it's almost kinda funny, but when you see t'ings like dat on television, you don' realize how bad it is. Den, when it really happens, it's…it's jus'…" Jackie's voice trailed off as she broke down.
Emil wrapped his arms around Jackie and held her close to him. "Oh, Jackie…I'm so sorry…" He didn't understand how anyone could do that to another human being. Jackie didn't deserve to be treated that way, and he was furious at the jerk who had decided to get his kicks hurting a beautiful, innocent girl.
"It's not your fault, Emil," Jackie whispered through her tears. She snuggled closer against him and smiled slightly when he kissed her forehead.
"Jackie, chere, I promise you, I will never let anyone hurt you 'gain." Emil assured her.
Jackie giggled and sniffed again. "Dat's a big job you're givin' yourself."
"Ooh, a laugh! Hey, it might seem like a big job, mais, you're talkin' to a guy who once stole one of Michael Jackson's gloves. Not'ing is impossible. 'Specially where you're concerned."
"Should I hold you to dis promise you're makin'?" Jackie asked, fully smiling in spite of herself.
"Oui! Jackie, I mean it, you're stuck with me. I'm here for you, no matter what. I love you, an' I won' let anyone hurt you 'gain. End of story."
"T'anks." Jackie sniffed as the tears started again. She wasn't sure if she was still upset over the memories, or if she was happy because she finally had someone who loved her and would be there for her always.
"So," Emil commented, pulling a Kleenex out of his pocket and handing it to her so she could blow her nose. "What now? What can I do?"
"Jus' hold me," Jackie replied, snuggling against his chest with a sigh. "Don' leave me. I jus' need you to be here right now."
Emil tightened his arms around her and nodded. "I'm not goin' anywhere, chere, I promise." He whispered softly. "For as long as you need me, I'm here."