Page 57 of Dragon in Denial
“I’ll be quiet,” Rahu said. “Because I’ll be stuffing my face.”
Ketu shook his head again and then led his friends into the house through the carport door. As soon as they walked into the kitchen,Mamásaid, “I whipped up a batch of crawfish fritters. They’re almost ready.”
“Yes!” Rahu shouted and fist pumped. “Ketu’s bragged about your fritters since I’ve known him. I can’t wait to try them.”
So much for being quiet.
Noah, who was a chef, and of course Rahu, hovered aroundMamá, who was in her element as she explained her cooking process, while Ketu and Antoinette introduced the rest of the crew to his dad.
“Pleased to meet you,” Simeon said to Gabe. “It’s nice to meet a reeve I can actually respect.”
Talia snickered and Gabe shot her a scowl.
Soon, the platter of fritters on the table had been refilled three times, and everybody had a bowl of gumbo in hand whileMamásliced crusty French bread and piled it into a towel-lined basket she placed next to the fritters.
A pajama-clad Henri came wandering down the hallway, rubbing his sleepy eyes. “What’s going on,Manman?” he asked.
Before Antoinette could reach him, Ketu scooped the child into his arms. “We brought a few friends over to meetGranméand Papa.”
Henri glanced around, taking in the group, and then his eyes widened. “What is he?” He pointed at Argyle.
“He’s a gargoyle,” Ketu said.
“Cool.”
The group laughed. Gabe stepped up and offered to shake the little boy’s hand. “Who’s he?” Henri asked, looking to Ketu for the answer.
“This is Gabe, my reeve.”
His eyes widened again. “You live where it snows?”
Gabe chuckled. “Yep, sure do.”
“Are you a good reeve?”
“I’m certainly trying to be.”
“We don’t have a good reeve. I wish you were our reeve.”
Gabe patted his head. “Thanks, but unfortunately, I don’t think I can handle running two colonies on opposite ends of the country. But we’re going to try to help you out, see if we can find you a better reeve, okay?”
“Okay.”
“All right,” Ketu said, “say good night to your mom and I’ll put you back to bed.”
“I’ll come with you,” Antoinette said. After they’d tucked Henri back into bed, she grabbed Ketu’s arm.
“This is going to sound weird, but…I’m sorry I was so angry at you for leaving after Eulalie died.”
“You’re right, that does sound weird. I didn’t even know you were angry.”
“That’s because you were gone. Which is exactly why I was so mad. I thought you’d abandoned me.”
He gave in to the overwhelming urge that hadn’t died down since they were in the car earlier, and he pulled her into his arms. “I won’t ever abandon you again. I swear.”
It was going to be interesting to see how he’d be able to keep that particular promise.
