Del was tired and her entire body was sore. She wanted to go back to bed and pull the covers over her head for a million years but no one was moving. She swung her feet and waited. And waited. And then got heartily tired of waiting any more. "I'm sorry I called you Mister Half-Dead." she mumbled at Master Frodo's bowed head. Sometimes she had to apologize to keep the peace but she didn't have to like it. He didn't look up. He seemed beaten and Del felt guilt again. She was mighty tired of that, too.
"We're sorry we frightened you." The Mayor quickly put in and he was sincere. The Mistress nodded. Del made a forgiving sort of noise.
"I'm sorry I hit you and kicked you." Hope joined in. The Mayor and the Mistress waved a hand, simultaneously dismissing it.
"I'm sorry I was ever born." Master Frodo muttered.
"Oh, please. You're not that bad." Del replied.
"Del, that wasn't polite." Hope snapped.
"Sorry. You are that bad." Del said again and, after a pause, Master Frodo actually laughed. He put out a cautious hand and Del stretched over the table and shook it. He was warm and his hand was gentle. Alive. She tapped at his chewed-over fingernails. "But not As Bad as some. All right?" Please say it's all right.
His eyes were suddenly playful. "Thank you, my dear." Del decided to let that pass and said nothing. Frodo smiled and straightened up, abandoning, mostly, his defeated posture. Del felt much better.
There was more sitting.
Finally the Mistress Rose broke the silence. "There's a dead boar in the middle of my dining room. It's staining my rug." They all looked at it.
"We'll butcher it tomorrow." Master Frodo decided. "I suppose it was rather stupid of us to just leave it out there. Doubly stupid with a family this size to just let our game drop when we've drunk our fill. I never considered that before."
"I know a wonderful pork sausage recipe. Ma was famous for it." Hope quietly offered.
"Lovely." the Mistress Rose decided and stood up. She pointed at the Mayor and Master Frodo. "You two drag that nasty thing out into the woodshed and board up the window. I'll let the children out." She sighed and wearily gazed at Del and Hope. "You two take a bath. You're covered in grass and mud and blood." Blood? Del looked down at herself in confusion. Yep. She was covered in bloody scratches from the rosebushes. Not good or wise in this home. "I'll keep the young'uns away from you until the morning. But you better be ready for a load of questions, then."
"Yes, ma'am." Hope replied, her Meek Scholar mask firmly back on. The Mistress Rose paused a moment and then she pointed down the hall. The sisters obediently went. "Goodnight."
"Night." The Mayor mumbled and sighed. As they passed it, Del scraped her fingernails over the wood of the master bedroom door and smiled at the gasps and yelps from inside. Hope smacked her hand down.
Then, "I get the tub first!" Hope called before Del could even think of it and sprinted into the washroom. She stuck out her tongue at her sister's back and continued on to the guest bedroom. She closed the door and then the window. She lit a candle and righted the furniture. She could just hear the Mistress Rose herding all the Gardners out of their fortress. She could hear her reassure and comfort them. Everything's all right. Nothing to worry about. Yes, they were real live Dead things but they were gone now. No, they mean us no harm or they would have done us harm. Dad's fine. Uncle Frodo's fine. They're fixing the window. Del's fine. Hope's fine, too, she's taking a bath. Merry! Come BACK here! The boar's in the woodshed, we're going to turn him into sausages tomorrow. Sammie killed it, isn't that grand? Yes, Ruby, of course you can sleep with us. You can too, yes. Now, we can't fit all of you in there!
Del's vision blurred as she found the poker and stirred the ashes of the small, round fireplace. Looking for live coals was calming. She found a few sparks and started to build the fire again to combat the cold. It must be nice, having a mother care for you when you're upset instead of a sister that you have to fight for the bathroom. She could smell tobacco smoke on the Mayor's waistcoat. A Dad, too, would be nice. Ah, well. Some people were lucky and some weren't, that's all. At least the fireplace was on her side of the bedroom so she'd be warm soon. She heard the faint taps of hammers as the window was boarded up. Then she turned and sat numbly on her bed. She would not cry. She would not.
Her window creaked open and Sammie crawled head first into the room with her nightgown in his hand. He almost fell and Del, alarmed, jumped up and helped him the rest of the way in. Some monster, indeed. "Here." he said, holding out the flannel.
"Thank you." She looked at him. He looked like she felt, raw and pained and tired. Time to apologize again. "I'm sorry I went mad, Sammie. I was scared of them."
"Not of me?" He looked as if he was going to jokingly bare fangs and growl at her but stopped himself just in time.
Del thought it was cute. "Nah. Unless you want me to be?" She pulled her hair. "Eek!"
Sammie laughed but smothered it quickly before anyone could hear him. "Are you leaving?"
"No. We all decided we could trust each other. More or less. We can't afford to leave right now, anyway."
"Oh, good. I mean, I'm glad you're staying. I mean...you can't leave, there are dead things out there!"
Del grinned. "And I love them. But I'm glad I'm staying, too." She giggled then as Sammie stepped up and clumsily hugged her. She didn't have a Da and Ma anymore but she had a sweetie of a friend. She hugged him back, hard, and kissed him on the cheek. She would not cry, she would not cry, she would not. "I'll tell you all about them tomorrow." She felt Sammie nod and then he kissed her back, right on the top of her head, and her heart broke completely open. She gave him another powerful squeeze and stepped back, shy and awkward, and dragged an arm across her face. He patted her shoulder.
Suddenly, she became aware of a throbbing pain on the back of her hand. She examined the problem. "Ow." She casually pulled an enormous rose thorn out of her skin and a large bead of blood welled up. Sammie saw it and blushed. Del was amused. "I suppose the polite thing to do is offer you some?" She held out her hand, the blood trailing towards her fingers, dark in the dim firelight.
"What?" His huge eyes got impossibly huger. "Er...I don't know. I don't think so. I've never had any from a person!"
"I don't think it's poisonous. Go ahead."
Sammie breathed in deeply and his eyes began to glow. He tried to hide them by looking down at the floor. "Can I? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. It's just a little bit." A heavy drop formed on the end of her middle finger. "Go Laaaah!"
"Laaa..." she tapped the drop onto his tongue. He closed his mouth. He swallowed and his eyes fluttered shut. "Oh."
Del was curious. "Is it as good as a boar's?" Slowly he focused on her hand and licked his lips. Every inch of his skin was flushed. "Sammie?"
"Uh! It's...much better, actually. Can...can I have some more?" He looked hopefully at her, not even bothering to hide his eyes anymore, and slowly reached out, palms up.
"Sure." She held out her hand. Del was nothing if not generous to the people she adored. And it was soothing to her nerves to do something nice for someone but there was a sudden ruckus from the hall.
"Merry! I'm telling your mother! You've got to stop that!" Hope was shouting and Del backed away from Sammie.
"Here comes Hope. You better go before she catches you." She was surprised to see that Sammie looked near tears again. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Um. I'll be going now..." He opened the window and practically threw himself out onto the grass. His head appeared at the window again. "Del?"
She leaned out. "Yeh?"
Sammie licked his lips again. "Thank you."
"Certainly." Del smiled wonderingly. It wasn't as if she gave him chocolate after all. "Goodnight."
"Night." and he was gone. Del closed the window.
Hope opened the door. She was wrapped in a large towel and was cursing peeping Gardner children under her breath. "The bathroom's all yours, Del. I thought I could take a bath with the light on tonight, at least, but noooo..." Del snickered. "You sound good. Are you all right? I'm sorry I took so long, the hot water felt wonderful. What happened to your hand?"
"I found a thorn the size of one of Hildy's claws in there. I'm fine. Did you leave any hot water for me?"
"Yes. For a change!" Del grinned again and reached up to hug her sister. "Awww." Hope kissed her and pulled her hair. "Things'll be better after some sleep. You're a mess. Want me to guard the bathroom door for you?"
"No need." Del gave an exaggerated sigh. "I'm not as interesting as you are." She poked at her non-existent chest.
Hope laughed. "Not yet but someday a boy'll find you interesting enough to break down your door."
Del blew her sister a raspberry. "Yes. Someday." Del headed down the dark hall towards her bath. Maybe, someday, her boy'll just come crawling in through the window.
Someday.
End
~
Pretty Good Year