“My father is in the kitchen, I told him to stay there. Let’s get you into the bathroom and get a hot bath drawn.”
“I’d love that,” Angelle said.
Boon scooped her up, cradling her close to his chest. “Good morning,” he said, as he smiled at her.
“Good morning,” she answered, beaming happily up at him.
Boon opened their bedroom door, then leaned out to make sure no one was within eyesight of them. He quickly crossedthe hall and went directly into the bathroom, setting Angelle on her feet so he could start running her bath. “You good to stand here?”
“Yes. I’m not injured, just really sore.”
“Next time we’ll be more gentle,” he said, his back was turned to her as he adjusted the water flowing from the faucet. When she didn’t answer, he glanced over his shoulder at her. “What?” he asked, when he realized she was eyeing him doubtfully.
“You will do no such thing. We’ll do whatever we feel, and eventually I won’t be new to all of this and I won’t get so sore so easily.”
“We’ll see. I don’t like that I hurt you.”
“But you didn’t hurt me hurt me, you just hurt me enough.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but instead just started laughing. “What does that even mean, and why do I understand it?”
“Lahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlah…”
“What is that?” Angelle asked, trying to figure out what she was suddenly hearing.
“My father,” Boon said with a sigh. “He’s probably standing in the kitchen with his fingers in his ears singing at the top of his lungs to drown out our conversation. Gargoyles have an uncanny ability to hear even the slightest sound.”
“Bekfus!” Carnage yelled.
“Did he just say he brought breakfast?” Angelle asked.
“More or less. Told you he could hear.”
“I think I’ll live in this bathroom until he leaves.”
Boon laughed. “You know what? It’s our home. He shouldn’t have been here if he didn’t want to hear our conversations.” Boon stood up and kissed her again. “I’m going to go get rid of them, and send the biscuits he brought with them so they have no reason to come back in here.”
“Your dad really brought breakfast? Biscuits?” she asked, her interest piqued.
“Yes. And it smelled like ham, too, and I saw a jar of jam.”
Angelle shook her head. “Keep that for us. But make them go.”
“Done,” he said. He pointed toward the water. “Is it okay, too hot?”
Angelle leaned over and held her fingers beneath the water’s flow. “No, perfect.”
“Let me help you get in,” he said when he saw her wince as she tried to lift her leg to step over the side.
“No! Just go take care of your dad, and mine when he gets here. I want to soak here for at least an hour.”
“I’ll bring the biscuits back with me,” he said, leaving the bathroom and pulling the door closed behind himself.
The minute Boon closed the door, Angelle hurried to use the toilet, hissing in discomfort when she did, but doing her best to keep it to herself so he didn’t come rushing back in. Once that was done, she eased herself into the tub, relaxing against the slanted back and letting the heat of the water begin to sooth her aches.
It was only about ten minutes before she heard a tap on the bathroom door. “Angelle?” Boon called.
“Yes?” she answered.
