I spent several hours walking through Paris hoping the winter air would cool my temper. Finally when I knew I could not stay out any longer I made a stop at a local grocery and bought a large amount of food for Sacree. The little we had managed to get her to eat last night would only have kept her from sinking farther, not help repair the damage. To do that she needed to eat regularly and frequently while resting.
When I returned I found Elizabeth waiting for the boy. He was still in bed with Sacree and she did not seem inclined to let him go anytime soon. I put down the bags I was carrying and walked over to the bed. ?Is she asleep??
?Right now. She fell asleep shortly after you left, but every time I move she wakes up.?
?She?s burning up Erik,? Elizabeth said from her seat on the other bed. ?Isn?t there something else we can do??
I shook my head. ?I only let it run its course for the moment.?
Just then there was a knock on the door, ?five minutes,? someone called through it.
?We have to go,? Elizabeth said.
The boy nodded agreement. ?You?re going to have to trade places with me,? he said to me starting to wriggle free of Sacree?s grasp. ?She doesn?t seem to stay warm enough with only the blankets now.?
The she in question woke up just then. ?Who doesn?t stay warm enough??
?You don?t sweetheart. I have to go to the theatre right now.?
?OK?
?I need you to let go of me so I can go.? The boy started gently pulling her hands free.
?OK? As soon as he freed one she would latch onto him again. He couldn?t wiggle free of the covers and hold onto her hands at the same time.
?Sacie, you have to let me go,? the boy pleaded.
?But it gets cold when you go,? she complained.
?It won?t this time, I promise. I?m going to trade places with someone. He?ll keep you warm.?
?Do I know him??
?Yes he?s an old friend of yours.?
?Is it Duncan? I like Duncan.?
?No. But I think you?ve known him for almost as long.?
?Is it Desha??
?No, not Desha.?
?Then who??
?You?ll just have to wait and see, but first you have to let go of me.? While she was questioning him the boy managed to get out of the tangled blankets and her grasp. Once he was free he gestured me towards the bed.
Reluctantly I removed my jacked and boots and climbed in bed with Sacree. She melted against me. That was the only way I could think of to describe her reaction. Elizabeth was right she was burning up. It amazed me that she was not delirious. Despite the head trapped under the covers she was shivering violently in my arms.
?We won?t be back until late, is there anything you might need?? the boy asked as he finished getting dressed.
?No, I think we will be fine.?
?All right,? he said dubiously. I think he would have stayed if he had not been needed at the theatre.
After they both left and I found myself alone with Sacree I discovered that time had not dulled my reaction to her. It had, somewhat unfortunately, sharpened my senses around her and having a physical body only made me more a ware of the fact.
?Erik,? she sighed and tried to get closer.
?I see you haven?t forgotten me.? I felt increasingly inept at the moment. She had a way of doing that to me. Every time she got sick or hurt I never seem to prevent it, I always felt that it was my fault, and yet she always trusted me to make things better.
?I don?t feel good. My stomach fells funny and every time I sit up my head spins.?
?You?re probably hungry.?
?I?m cold too.?
?I know. Let me get you something to eat then I?ll see what I can do to make you warmer.? I was surprised when she actually released me and let me go and get her some food. It was cold by necessity; there was no way to warm it up. I also filled a small bowl with cool water and retrieved a washcloth from the bathroom. When I returned to the bed she was sitting up on the side of the bed. I immediately put everything down on the side table and caught her before she fell. I pushed her back down on the bed, where she just laid limply saying, ?You shouldn?t try to get up.? I worried when she didn?t respond. ?Sacree??
?Go away,? she moaned.
?I brought you something to eat. Come on Munchkin, get back under the covers.?
?You sound like Frank when you call me that.?
?What is he up to these days?? I put her back under the covers.
?Making masks. You?d like him, when he gets tired of a mask he gives it away and makes a new one.?
?Do you have any of them?? I tried to keep my voice level. I could not understand why I was feeling jealousy over something as impersonal as a mask.
?No. I don?t like masks much.?
I sighed in relief over her answer.
?Erik? Do you think, maybe, you would like it if I had kept one of your masks??
?I . . . Yes, that would please me very much.? I was stunned until I remembered Sacree?s perchance for reading my feelings like she would a book.
?Oh good, because I do have one. What?s for dinner?? I proceeded to feed her the food I had brought. She had a voracious appetite, which did not surprise me much. Very little will make Sacree miss a meal. The entire time we talked like old friends who hadn?t seen each other for a long time, it seemed like nothing had changed between us. Unfortunately it did not last.
She hit me
Sacree?s fever was down a bit the next morning, either from the food or the sponge bathe I had given her. Either way I got the reaction I had been dreading, when she woke up. She woke suddenly, and woke me by pounding on my chest, which she had been contentedly cuddled against only moments before.
?Get out you . . . you monster. You masochistic fool!? she woke the boy with her yelling.
?What?s going on?? he asked sleepily.
?This . . . this heathen thinks he can just insinuate himself back into my good graces as if nothing ever happened. That?s what?s going on,? she raged.
Chapter 5Not yet avalable.