Tuesday
was sitting in the corner carefully building a house of cards
when
Jean knocked lightly on Remy's bedroom door.Tuesday
glanced up,
smiled
briefly, then directed her attention back to the cards.
"Remy's
brushin' his teeth."
Jean
smiled back."I can wait."
Remy
emerged seconds later.He looked
at Jean for a moment before
greeting
her."Bonjour."His
left wrist was wrapped in white,
covering
the stitches Hank had had to give him the day before.
"Hi,
Remy," were her words, but her tone was heavy and apologetic.
"What
is it?"Tuesday was about to set
down a card to connect two
towers.She
had three full layers so far, and still half a deck left.
Gently,
Jean said, "Tuesday, I need to talk to you about the
Marauders."
Tuesday's
hand shook, and the castle collapsed.She
stared from
Remy's
guilt-stricken face to Jean's uncertain concern.She
didn't
say
anything.
"It's
very important.Are you okay with
that?"
"Do
I have t'?"she asked Remy.
He
licked his lips and nodded."Yeah."
"Why?"
Jean
replied, "We need to know about them.We
are going to find them,
but
we need to know what you know to help us look."
"C'n
Remy stay?"
Jean
nodded."Fine with me if it's fine
with him."
"Oui."He
sat heavily on the edge of his bed, rubbing his hands over
his
face.Tuesday jumped up and jumped
next to him; Jean settled on
Tuesday's
bed, across from them.
"What
d' y' need t' know?"Tuesday asked
nervously.She brought her
hand
to her mouth and ran her teeth over the smooth polish.
"Scott
wants to know about Sinister and how powerful the Marauders
are
now.Whether they're a threat in
the near future.Hank needs to
know
what they - how he can help you, Tuesday.Whatever
you can tell
me.If
you can't say it, you can think it to me.That
okay?"She
looked
from one to the other.
"I
don' like dem."
"I
don't, either, Tuesday."
"O-okay."
"I'll
start."Remy spoke about the scene
on the road, leaving out
all
dialogue once the Marauders appeared.He
briefly considered
leaving
out the cigarette but decided against it.Jean
raised an
eyebrow
but sobered when he didn't react.
At
Jean's prompting, Tuesday haltingly told about the shots and the
drugs
and the Legacy virus.Jean helped
her recall details that
could
potentially help Hank.As the child
spoke, hysteria began to
creep
into her voice; Remy held her hand.She
stopped short when she
came
to waking up for the first time to see Remy being beaten and
cuffed
to the wall.She closed her eyes;
her breathing was shaky;
tears
streamed down her cheeks.Remy slid
closer and wrapped his arm
around
her waist.He kissed her hair and
murmured that everything
would
be all right.
Jean
hated herself but knew she had to keep asking."What
happened
then?"
Remy
glared at her with misdirected hatred."Dey
raped her, what d'
y'
t'ink dey did?"
"Remy,
I'm - "
"I
sure as hell couldn' do not'ing."
Tuesday
didn't hear."I dream ‘bout dem as
demons, with blood
dripping
down deir hands.But dey're not demons.Dey're
real, and
dey're
in my head, and I can' make dem go away..."
"Jean,"
Remy said slowly, "don' make her go t'rough dat again.What
dey
did t' her - "
"Demons,
I hate de demons..."
"Tuesday,
honey," Jean started.
"Don'
call her dat," Remy warned, too late.
"Philip
called - " were the only words Tuesday could force out.
"Who?"Jean
asked.
"Riptide,"
Remy answered after a beat
Jean
looked at her strangely."How did
you know his name was Philip?
"
"Remy
was screaming at him when he..."
"How
did you know him, Remy?" she asked cautiously.
Still
holding Tuesday, he skimmed through his option.Denial
was
impossible.Lying
was impossible; Tuesday would know.Jean
probably
would
to.*Go for a half-truth.*
"Dey
have connections in de Assassins' Guild."
"Dey
would," Tuesday scowled.
*Jean,*
Remy thought, hoping she would hear him.*There's
nothing
left
that she knows that I can't tell you.Leave
her out of all this.
*
Jean
smiled sadly.*Okay.Remy,
I'm sorry about - all this.*
"D'y'
wan' t' go back t' de card castle?"
She
glared contemptuously as the cards in the corner."Cards
an'
card
houses are stupid.Wind always knocks
dem down."
"Okay."Turning
back to Jean, Remy thought everything to her except
his
meetings with Sinister.He could
sense her anger and indignation
growing
until, when he was finished, she said with quiet deliberation,
"I
swear to you, Remy, and you, Tuesday, that we will find them. We
will
find them, and I swear to you we will kill them.No
matter how
long
it takes.We will find them."
***
Tuesday
struggled again to block events from her mind, succeeding
enough
by noon the following day to decide she wanted ice cream for
lunch.Remy
decided to take her into a Baskin Robbins in town.He
wore
his trench coat, and she wore her new soft blazer.She
swung
onto
the motorcycle behind him.
Scott
frowned from the porch."Doesn't
she need a helmet?"
"Why?"She
felt safe enough with Remy to talk back to Scott.
Remy
gave a half-smile."She's dying anyway,
homme."He laughed
when
she raised her middle finger, but Scott had already turned away,
his
disapproval apparent even from behind.
"C'n
I drive?"
He
started the engine."Not wit' him
in sight."
She
waited until they were out of the yard."Now
c'n I drive?"
"It's
illegal."
"So's
t'ieving."
"Touche."
"C'mon,
please?"
He
slowed the bike and put his feet down.She
squealed and hopped on
in
front of him."But I'm gonna keep
my hands on yours, oui?Y' can
steer,
but it be jus' in case.If y' good
enough...maybe won' even
need
dat."
She
beamed at him.
"Anyway,
it'll give me a chance t' have a smoke."
She
gave him a look."If y' stop smoking,
y' may live longer dan I
will."
He
stopped, suddenly sober."Don' talk
like dat."
"Sorry."
She
asked for bubblegum; he ordered cookies and cream.They
both
kept
their coats on inside.*Cold-blooded,*
Jean-Luc had told Remy
once.*Cold-blooded
as a lizard.*
They
sat down at a small table against the window.Remy
sighed.
"You
okay?"
"It's
been a bad week."
"An'
me showin' up didn' help any."
"Actually,
you did."He smiled."It's
no fun gettin' ice cream
alone."
"What
else's happened?"
He
hesitated."Been thinkin' ‘bout Rogue."
"She
used t' be y' girlfriend, right?"Tuesday
guessed.
He
nodded."Broke up a few weeks ago."
"She
found a new guy awfully fast."
"Oui."He
smiled bitterly, then ironically.He
usually had talks
like
this over beer, not ice cream.
Tuesday
continued casually."So why did you
break up wit' her?"
"I
didn'."
"She
dumped you?For him?"Tuesday
exclaimed in incredulous
disbelief."Why?"
He
grinned ironically, feeling a little better."T'anks,
chere."
Tuesday
couldn't get over it."She left
y' for dat - walking...
eggplant?"
Remy
burst out laughing, attracting the startled stare of an elderly
couple
behind Tuesday.
"Didn'
she know what she had?"His laughter
was infectious.
"Guess
not," he chuckled.
"Geez,
she didn' even deserve you."She
wrinkled her nose up.She
looked
ridiculously cute, and Remy felt a brief surge of pride that
she
was his and that she loved him.
His
ice cream tasted better after that.After
a while he glanced up
and
repeated, "Walking eggplant, eh?"
She
grinned and shifted in her seat."Well..."
He
just shook his head.
"You're
happy.I like seeing you happy,"
she told him.
"I
like being happy."
"Do
you?"It wasn't a challenge.
"Eh?"
"Y'know,"
she said, putting both elbows on the table and holding her
chin
in her hands, "you're hiding somet'ing."
"Now?"
"De
whole time I been here.Y' hiding
somet'ing."
"Good
or bad?"
"Can'
tell."
"Want
a soda?"He stood up.
She
didn't particularly, and he knew it, but they both knew he was
just
avoiding the conversation."Whatever
you want."
"T'anks."
Soon
as he walked away, she pulled her jacket over her face and
coughed
so hard and so long that the elderly woman behind her offered
her
a cough drop."No, ma'am, I be okay.Just
tryin' t' keep from
coughin'
for so long it kinda builds up."
By
the time Remy came back with his coke, she had remembered another
question
she had wanted to ask him.She was
sure he heard her
coughing,
but it pained him so much to see her sick that she did her
best
to avoid it.
"What's
it like being a myth?"she asked
as soon as he sat down.
"Like
bein' a what?"
"What's
it like being a myth?Like a comic
book hero.Everyone
wants
t' be you, y' know."
"Everyone
who?"
She
shrugged."We do.Everyone.We'd
act out stories and role-
playing
and t'ings.All of de T'ief kids.Me
n' Pierre.He'd be
you,
‘cause he likes t' blow up stuff and kill t'ings and I'd be
Bella
Donna."She shrugged, slightly embarrassed."It's
funner dan
cowboys
and Indians.
"Y'
serious?"
"Oui.An'
we'd fight imaginary Assassins and Candra and jus' make up
everything."
He
seemed fascinated."I'm a legend
now?"
"Oui."
"Cool."He
was smiling."So how are t'ings in
N'Awlins?"
"Not
good.We're killin' each other again."
"Figures."
"Does,
don' it?Mama said Mardi Gras makes
people crazy like dat."
Remy
nodded."Oui, t'ings seem to flare
up den, don' dey."
She
brightened."I got t' be in our parade
last year."
"Wish
I coulda gotten down t' see."
They
rose to leave, but Tuesday hung back when she heard someone
speaking
to her.
"You're
a very nice young lady," the old woman said in a feeble
voice,
"but you cough too much.You should
see a doctor."
"I
did."
"And
what did he say?"
"He
says I'm dying."
The
old woman assumed the typical look of pain and sympathy and
tightened
her grip on her walking cane."I'm
sorry to hear that,
young
lady."
"Everyone
says that."She turned and followed
Remy into the sun.
He
looked down at her and quipped, in falsetto, "I'm sorry to hear
that,
young lady."
"Shu'up."When
he simply laughed, she said, "Va au diable!"Go
to
hell.
His
eyes went wide."Whoa.Strong
language, petite."
She
smiled."Va te faire foutre."Fuck
off.
"Who
taught y' t' swear like dat?"
"I
assimilate."She looked at him sweetly.
"It
was Augustine, wasn' it."
"Maybe."
"It
was Augustine."
"Maybe."
"Kids
today."
As
they walked to the motorcycle, she pointed back the way they had
come."Was
dat church we passed dere Catholic?"
"Oui."
"C'n
we check de times?"
"Why?Y'
wanna go?"
She
nodded."I haven' been in a long
time.Well, over a week."
"Y'
still believe in God?"Remy had
long since tried to convince
himself
he was an atheist.Otherwise he would
have had to face the
fact
that he was damned.
"Oui."
"After
everyt'ing?"
"God
didn't make me sick.God didn't
hurt me.God didn' do any of
dat."
"God
didn' do anyt'ing, period."
"He
let you be dere for me."
The
sincerity of that simple statement choked him.*If
you only knew
what
else I had been there for...*
"It's
kinda comforting t' know dat dere's somet'ing bigger out dere
watching
and guiding everyt'ing.Y' know?"
"I
know de feeling, but comforting ain' de word I would use," he
muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing.We
can go see if y' wan'."
Mass
for Remy went as well as he had expected.He
shifted
uncomfortably
and kept glancing down at his watch whenever Tuesday
wasn't
looking.With her there, he could
find no way out of going up
for
communion.
"Body
of Christ."
"Amen,"
Tuesday whispered, and crossed herself.Aimee
had been so
happy,
she remembered, at her first communion.It
had only been a
few
weeks ago - *only a few weeks ago?* - beginning of February.At
the
big Gothic church that overlooked New Orleans.The
Thieves'
church.
"Body
of Christ."
Remy
took the host and choked on the "Amen."
***
Tuesday
slouched in one of the leather chairs that faced the big-
screen
TV.She frowned at a remote control,
trying to figure out how
to
change the channel.
"Wrong
controller," Remy explained when she said something.He
handed
her another."Dat one for de VCR."
She
shook her head as she started flipping stations."I
don' see how
y'
c'n get used to living here."
Remy
looked around."It's strange; I've
lived in mansions like dis
half
my life."
"What's
on?"
Remy
turned around to see Bobby standing in the door way."Hey,
Bobby.Nothing,
really.Jus' flipping t'rough de
channels."
Tuesday
smiled.
Bobby
settled into the sofa."Baywatch
is on, you guys."
"Oh,
please."
"It
was worth a shot."
Rogue
tripped into the room."Hey, y'all,
any a' y'all seen - "She
stopped
short when she saw Remy.
Remy
tried to smile."Chere."
"Don'
do it," Tuesday whispered.He didn't
hear.
"Remy."Rogue
nodded and turned to leave.
"I
don' suppose you wan' t' stay an' watch TV," he interrupted
hopefully.
"Ah,
well, Ah'm lookin' for Joseph."
He
nodded, his poker face hiding his pain from Rogue if not from
Tuesday."Y'
know, _American President_ is on t'night.We
both
wanted
t' see dat."
"Ah'm
goin' out with Joseph tonight," she explained awkwardly."Ah
-
sorry."She
retreated hastily.
"Figures,"
Remy whispered as he watched her leave.He
clenched his
fists
and squeezed his eyes shut.Then,
suddenly sensing Tuesday's
concern,
he stood up."I be back."He
left in the opposite
direction.
***
"You
know, ‘f I grow up, I don' t'ink I'd get married."Tuesday
and
Remy
were sitting on the roof.The midday
clouds were gray and
almost
marbelized; small patches of baby blue appeared in the swirls.
It
was warm for March.
Remy
felt a sharp pang in his chest."When,
neh?" he corrected,
trying
to sound casual.He held a cigarette
in his right hand, which
rested
on his knee.
"Okay."She
left it at that."Scott and Jean
are in love, aren't
dey?"
Remy
nodded."Dat dey are."
"Remy?What
is love?What do people mean when
dey say dey're in
love?"
"Well,"
he fumbled for an answer."It's
when y' care a whole lot
about
somebody, more dan y'self, and y' want to spend de rest of y'
life
wit' dem."He brought his cigarette
up to his lips.
"Oh."
She thought for a moment."Remy,
I t'ink I'm in love wit' you.
"
He
sat bolt upright and started coughing."Dat's
not really what I
meant,"
he choked, taken completely off guard.
"I'm
sorry; y'okay?"she asked, alarmed
and dismayed.
He
nodded and cleared his throat."Oui,
fine."
"What
did I say wrong?"
"Well,
see, chere,"*How the hell do I
explain this?*"Well, dere
usually,
on some level, de element of desire."
"Desire?"
"Oui,
like sexual desire."He was blushing.He
never blushed.
"Oh."
"Y'
mama did, uh, tell y' ‘bout sex?"He
almost held his breath.
This
was difficult ground.They were walking
on thin ice here.
"Oui."She
could sense his relief."Do people
really like dat?"
"Sometimes.Not
‘zactly like dat, t'ough."
"Oh."
Remy
interrupted the strained silence.He
held out his hand."Y'
wan'?"
"Merci."She
took the glowing cigarette.
____
ttrg33b@prodigy.com