It was a beautiful Friday afternoon. The cabaret was closed, so Francoeur was helping Raoul with some of his deliveries. Emile was premiering a new Melies film so he couldn't help. Raoul needed the help for one delivery for certain. It was to deliver an order of peat to the Professor. The only way the Professor would even allow Raoul deliver it was if someone else brought he peat inside. Raoul only consented to this because he needed all the clients he could get. He needed money to repair Catharine. After the flood receded he was able to retrieve her, and now she had a massive crack in the oil tank.
When they arrived at the Paris Gardens greenhouse, Francoeur retrieved the three bags of peat from the back. He held one on each shoulder easily, the third he held in his second pair of hands. They were far enough that no one would see them otherwise. Francoeur went over to the door and knocked. Charles opened the door and greeted him with a cheerful coo; Francoeur returned an equally happy chirp. He put the three bags by the door where Charles indicated.
Francoeur returned his arms into his sleeves, which was easy since he left his white coat in the truck, since he didn't want to dirty it. Lucille tended to get cross with him if it got dirty, as it was difficult to clean.
Francoeur headed over to where the Professor was standing. There was a lot of commotion going on at the greenhouse, he noticed. There was a man holding a large piece of glass steady on some rope, that started lifting the glass up to where there was a hole in the roof. Francoeur held his hat as he looked upward to see there were people standing on he roof as well.
"Hello Francoeur." the Professor greeted him. "mind the broken glass." he indicated bits of glass littering the floor near the lab area. Francoeur nodded. The men workin on the hole in the ceiling were shouting orders at each other. They started hoisting the glass upward. Francoeur, Charles and the Professor watched intently as they attempted to place the pane of glass.
"Shit!" one of the men shouted. The pane of glass slipped and fell. Without thinking Francoeur sprang into action and caught the glass before it hit the ground. He carefully leaned it against the counter. He hid his other arms again before the strangers in the room realized what they saw.
"Thanks sir, that would have been expensive to replace." one said as he came over to the professor. "excuse me, Proffesor, can I talk to you?"
"Yes, what's up?"
"There's a slight problem with the metal framing. Whatever broke thru the glass also bent the support framing. We can't straighten it with the tools we have. We probably can't get the proper tools till Monday. I'm sorry."
"It's alright gentlemen. Go on and take off for the evening, I have a guest anyways."
The workers packed up their tools and swept up the remainder of the glass. The Professor saw to the men's departure, and alwhen be came back he saw Francoeur staring up at the hole.
Francoeur was thinking back to that night. The night he came into the light. He remembered being confused, Emile screaming in fright, thinking there was danger still. He remembered the need to flee and how he jumped, farther than he ever did. He vaguely remembered something striking his back. It hadnt hurt.
"I'm sorry" he said as the Proffesor approached him.
"I don't blame you for that Francoeur. If anything-"
He was cut off by Francoeur suddenly jumping upwards. He landed deftly on the roof and crouched near the warped metal. Professor and Charles watched as he inspected the framing. Francoeur put his gloves in a pocket and pushed up his sleeves so he would have freedom of all his hands.
He gripped the warped metal and tested to see if it was moveable. He easily straightened the one side. The other bit of metal was more difficult only because it was curled more. Francoeur had to do it in parts to straighten it.
All while he was doing it, the professor and Charles were watching. The professor stroked his chin in thought.
"Charles, write this down with the other info on Monsieur Francoeur. It is quite intriguing how strong he is."
Charles cheeped with a nod. He scratched his back as he pulled out a notebook from a drawer at the lab table, quickly scribbled something in it, then put it back.
In the time that this transpired, Francoeur had returned inside. He had to come thru the front door, as the opening in the roof was no longer wide enough for him to fit. The professor and Charles watched as Francoeur went over to the pane of glass and picked it it up with ease. He carried it back outside.
It wasn't long before Francoeur came back in , finished with fixing the roof that he felt responsible for damaging.
"Well thank you Francoeur" the Proffesor said, holding out a hand to shake Francoeur's. Francoeur shrugged and chirped. It was the least he could do since the professor gave him the potion that allowed him to be full sized and participate in the human world, and let him enjoy his passion in music.
"It's getting late, Lucille is probably starting to wonder where I've gone. Sorry again for breaking the roof."
The professor waved his apology off. "Think nothing of it. It's fixed now, and I can start controlling the climate for the plants now."
Francoeur smiled as he fixed his sleeves and put his gloves back on. Raoul had left hours ago so Francoeur would have to walk home, or in his case leap roof to roof making sure no one sees him. He chirped a goodnight to the professor and Charles. They said goodnight back, Charles tipping his hat as well. They watched as francoeur leapt off. It definatly was an interesting day for All of them.