New Home
Part Two
By Christine Demerath

Remy awoke to the sweet smell of eggs and sausage. He quickly hopped out of bed and put his shoes on. He slowly crept down the stairs, trying not to make any noise. He still didn't understand why they would bring him in, but he was determined to find out. The black women Tantie Mattie as he recalled, was in the kitchen humming to herself. Remy walked down the hall toward the study, no one was there. Across the hall was the bathroom. After going to the bathroom and washing up he headed for the kitchen, the smell was too tempting to stay away.

"`Morning," Remy smiled at the woman.

"`ello, chile. You sleep well?" Her smile exceeded his.

"Oui."

"I guessed as much, it's already ten."

"What ya makin`?" He walked over and look onto the stove. "Can I have some?"

"Ah course, I did make it for ya." She smiled warmly, before continuing. "Jean and Henri already had theirs and be gone."

"Where dey go?"

"You are a curious little chile, ain't ya?" The smile appeared again, staying this time.

"Yep." She chuckled. Already he was beginning to like this woman and her smiles.

"Here," she handed him a plate full of food.

"Ain't ya going eat?" Remy sat down at the table.

"Oui, but not til I'm done cleaning up this mess."

"I'll do it."

"Now why ya want to do that?" The smile still there.

"Just trying ta pay ya back."

"Remy, there's no need ta pay us back. Jean doing this out of the kindness of his heart. We don't want nothing." She commanded sternly.

"But…"

"But nothing, child, now eat up. You can help me with these dishes when we're done eaten." She sat down next to Remy, and began to eat herself.

After finishing the dishes, Tantie Mattie took him shopping for new clothes. "Now you see here, your going to try this on and stop fussing. We got almost everything you wanted, but ya got ta get some Sunday clothes."

"Why I need special clothes for Sunday? Never did before." Remy continued to whine and complain.

"Ya need good clothes for going ta church and important places," she sighed almost disgusted.

"I'm sorry," Remy took the clothes from her and walked behind the curtain.

"Dat's okay."

"So, how I look?" Remy popped out a few minutes later, wearing a type of tuxedo.

"Very handsome." And he did, even though his hair was every which way. He quickly went back into the booth and changed back into his original clothes. "Remy, we're meeting Jean at a park in a half-n-hour."

"`Kay."

"So, Remy, did you have a good time?" Jean knelt/crouched next to Remy.

"Well, kinda." Remy replied. Jean Luc turned to glance at Tantie Mattie.

"I made the boy try on clothes he didn't like. But he does look bad in them either, actually quite good."

"I don't like getting dressed up either." Jean Luc whispered to Remy, a smile on his face.

"Now, don't go encouraging the boy, Jean."

"Be patient, Tante." Jean-Luc turns to face Remy, who has disappeared. "Remy?" Jean called. Quickly he scanned the crowd. He spots Remy, giving a younger boy some money, then whispering something in his ear the other boy quickly went into an alley were two other boys stood, and Remy came running back to we're Jean Luc and Tante Mattie waited. "Remy?"

"Sorry, I just…." Remy's sentence faded away.

"Non, don't worry none. Come on," Jean put his arm around Remy. Who couldn't help but cringe, he wasn't partial to being touched. Jean noticed the change and removed his arm. Slowly they made their way through the crowded street to a bakery (which Remy refused to go into `because of past experiences` was how he put it) and meat market, then headed back to Jean-Luc's mansion.

As Tante Mattie and Jean-Luc go into the kitchen Remy waits in the living room, looking at the all the expensive and different things that surrounded him. Remy hadn't noticed Jean enter, and jumped at hearing his voice.

"Would you like to learn how to play?" He looked at the chess set Remy had been examining.

"I guess, what's it called?"

"Chess."

"This must've cost ya a fortune." He continued to look at the detailed pieces.

"Oui. That's the knight, he moves in an L shape, one then more two spaces in to the left or right from the first move."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry, it takes a time to learn. I'll explain a little more tonight, if you're interested."

"Where ya going?"

"I've got a meetin`, I'm already late. If you want to read something, there's some of Henri's old books, Tante Mattie is going to get them in a little bit."

"`kay."

"I'll be back in a few hours."

"Bye."

"Tante Mattie?" Remy made his way to the table.

"Yes, chile?"

"Would Jean be mad at me if I couldn't read?" He sound a little distressed.

"Oh," she pauses, thinking. "Non, Jean won't be mad at ya, ain't your fault. Don't worry about it, we should have known. Why?"

"He being so nice and all. It's just that well I don't want ta get him mad. Ya think ya could teach me? I'm a fast learner, honest."

"Remy, ya can't learn in one day."

"Why not?"

"Reading isn't all that easy, when ya start. Be sides ya got ta know you alphabet."

"I do."

"Where ya learn?"

"I don't remember, but I do know `m. Please," his eyes pleaded as well.

"It still going to take more den a day."

"Bein," he quickly hugged the women before he knew what he was doing, and quickly retreated to his chair afterward. "Sorry."

"Nothin` to be sorry `bout. Everybody need a little loving."

After dinner the all moved to the living room. Henri was reading a newspaper occasionally looking up at the TV news as well, Tantie Mattie was reading a book, and Jean-Luc and Remy were at a small table near the fireplace.

"So dis is da rook, it can move as far as it wants, but only left, right, forward, and back, right?" Remy asked unsure of himself. Jean nodded approvingly, Remy continued. "This the bishop, he move diagonally can go as far has he wants to, too." Remy continued to describe the pieces and their ways of movement. He had trouble with setting the board up, mixing the up the bishop's and the knight's places up.

"Non, try it again. You're going good."

"`kay, rook, knight, bishop, queen on light, king on dark, bishop, knight, rook. And da pawns in the front row." He set the piece up as he went along.

"Excellent, would you like to try it?"

"Isn't there more?"

"Oui, but ya learn that as ya play." The first game last only about five minutes. Jean-Luc coming out victorious.

"Boy I suck," Remy mumbled under his breath.

"Non, you just starting I've been playing this game since I was about your age."

"Guess ya right."

"Now, let me show ya some tricks."

"Tricks?"

"Oui and go a little more into da rules. If ya manage ta get a pawn to the enemies side ya can trade it in for a better piece ya've lost, still with me?"

"Oui."

"`nother thing, it ain't really a move, but a strategy. Sometimes ya gotta sacrifice a piece, almost always a pawn, ta get an important piece from your enemy's army. It's called a gambit." He continued for a while, then had Remy watch him and Henri go at it. Watching their moves, the game lasted short of two hours, Jean-Luc won again. Remy was enjoying himself too much to notices that he was tired. It was about twelve when he got ta bed, the others also went to their rooms. Jean had taken Remy to his room tonight and made sure that he was content.

A scream emerged from Remy's bedroom, Jean-Luc was the first to reach Remy. He was shaking violently in his bed muttering.

"no..no.. don't hurt her.. Momma.... no.. don't leave.. non.. please.. no," he wasn't awake, but he wasn't sleeping either. His mind wasn't there, but in the past.

"Remy, it's okay, son." He rapped his arms around the body, trying to comfort him, trying to stop his shaking and screaming, trying to stop his pain.

"Nooo! Let me go! No!" He began to scream loud and started to hit a Jean-Luc. "No, leave me lone!! You a bad father!! I hate ya, daddy. Ya killed her!! Ya killed my momma!! No!!" Jean-Luc tried ducking the hits, but refused to let the boy go.

"Shhh, it's okay. It's all right, I ain't going to hurt ya. Shhh," he continued his effort of comforting Remy. After another fifteen minutes Remy, stopped his assault and screaming. Now his, screams were turned to sobs, but the shaking remained. He couldn't remember what had happened, but he knew it hurt, cause the pain just wouldn't go away.

"I'm sorry, Papa." Remy, tears streaming down his cheeks, looked up at Jean who still held him tight. Soon after he fell asleep.

That's it for now. I'm probably going to go up to 4 or 5 at least. I might even write about his other adventures in the Guild. This last part is the only thing that might not fit into Marvel, and would go under my other category. I'm not sure if there's going to be anything said about this last part. If there is there will only be a little bit about it. Tell me what ya think. mystiquecd@hotmail.com
-Christine