Baby the Hero
"Baby the Hero"
George rubbed the sleep from her right eye as she entered der Wafflehaus. Rube, Roxy and Mason were already sitting at their usual booth with coffee. As she moved to join them, Kiffany strode over to refill their cups. "The usual, Sweetheart?"
"Yeah, thanks, Kiff." She prepared to slide onto the bench next to Mason, but he stood up.
"Sorry, Love. I gotta use the loo."
She grudgingly moved out of his way, then slid in after he was gone and moved his mug to the outside of the table, so she didn't have to move again when he came back. Kiffany brought another mug full of hot coffee for George and headed back to the kitchen to get their food. As she was handing it out, Rube asked, "Kiffany, could we get another set of silverware please?"
"You got another one coming?"
"Yeah. She should be here any minute now."
"Okay, sure." She set the last plate down in front of Rube as the young blond woman walked through the doorway.
Rube lifted his chin a little to get a better view of her. "Here's our girl now." He caught her gaze and motioned her over. Roxy just gave her a half smile, but Mason turned around in his seat.
"Baby!" he yelled when he realized who it was, then jumped up and ran to her, catching her in an embrace and pulling back to plant a kiss on her mouth. She laughed slightly as he reeled her back into a tight hug.
"I missed you," he mentioned to her right ear.
"I can tell," she whispered back, smiling. He finally relented his grasp and allowed her to head toward the table. On her way, Kiffany stopped her.
"Hey, Baby, haven't seen you in a while."
"I've been on the East Coast for a bit."
Kiffany nodded knowingly and asked, "Can I get you anything?"
"Um, a couple of runny eggs, toast, potatoes, and some biracial coffee."
"Sure, Honey," she smiled and made her way back to the kitchen once more.
Mason pulled up a chair for the girl while she was greeted by Rube with a kiss more conservatively placed on her cheek. "How've you been, Baby?" Roxy ventured.
"Oh, you know, Rox; I'm still here."
Roxy nodded with a smile and the girl sat down in the chair at the end of the booth. George looked around confused. "Um, who are you?"
"Oh! Sorry, I'm--uh--Hero."
"Wow, aren't we modest . . ."
"No," the girl corrected gently, realizing what it had sounded like coming out of her mouth. "That's my name--Hero--like the character from 'Much Ado About Nothing.'"
"Oh." George felt a little silly now, and lowered her eyes back to her oatmeal. She focused her attention on trying to stand her spoon upright in it. Suddenly remembering, she voiced, "Did you just order biracial coffee?"
"Yeah," Hero smiled. She paused for a second, and then explained. "It's half milk, so it's not black, and it's not white, but somewhere in between."
"Ah." Weirdo.
"Um, you have me at a disadvantage," Hero voiced.
"What do you mean?"
"You know my name, but I don't know yours," she explained.
"Oh . . . I'm George."
"Like the curious monkey?"
"Like, short for Georgia." The awkwardness between the girls was lethally apparent, so George chose not to continue the conversation. She returned her efforts to her spoon as Kiffany returned with Hero's food.
"How long are you here for?" Mason asked, hopefully.
"Just the one assignment," she sighed. "Then I have to head back down to California." Mason's face fell, but he said nothing else.
Rube allowed Hero to finish her breakfast before doling out the Post-Its: two for Roxy, none for Mason, one for George and one for Hero. "Alright, well, I've got an early one," Roxy moaned, "so I guess I'd better get going." She dropped a few dollar bills on the table for her food and slid out of the booth seat after Rube had moved out of her way. "It was good to see you, Baby."
"You too, Rox."
"Bowser," George read aloud. "That's an unfortunate name. I bet he got made fun of growing up."
"How's it spelled?" Hero asked, curious.
"B-O-W-S-E-R, just like the turtle-dragon from Super Mario."
"Hunh. . . That's the last name on mine too."
"That's 'cause they're together," Rube clarified.
"Then how come I didn't just get two?" George asked.
"Different kinds of cases, Peanut" Rube answered simply. "You're not qualified to handle Baby's."
"What do you mean I'm 'not qualified?'"
But Rube didn't answer her, he just stood up to leave, kissing the top of Hero's head and paying his tab to the table as well.
"How come you call her 'Baby' but I get stuck with 'Peanut?'" George asked. Rube ignored her and started for the door.
"What about me?" Mason whined.
"You're hanging out with the girls today," Rube called over his shoulder.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Maybe," George put in.
"I don't get it; I always get a Post-It."
Hero raised her mug to her mouth, sucking down the dregs of what was left. "Maybe I'm just going to need extra support on mine today." Mason looked into her eyes for a second, then lifted her hand to his lips. He had missed the way Hero had always been sympathetic to him.
"Alright, Ladies, shall we?" He stood up, still holding Hero's hand and assisted her in doing the same. Hero reached into her pocket and dropped enough money down on the table to cover the rest of the bill before starting for the door. Mason seemed slightly twitter-pated as he entwined his fingers in hers. Who is this girl? George already didn't like her. Not only did she have a cooler nick name--and name in general for that matter--she seemed to have the rest of the group eating out of her hand. She wasn't even all that pretty. George realized that she was no beauty queen herself, but she was certainly better looking than this girl; so why was Mason falling all over himself just to be next to her when he barely even noticed George?
She grudgingly stood up, made an annoyed face at their backs, and followed after them.
George could already tell that this day was going to suck. The appointments wouldn't be taking place until evening, which meant that they had all day to get through. The upside was that she had to work. Upside? Work? Really? But the unfortunate truth of it was that she did see it as an up-side. She would go to work and type numbers into a computer and make copies and file endless amounts of paperwork; but all that was a Tilt-A-Whirl compared to spending the day with those two.
--
The sun was beginning to set as George pulled on her hoodie and pushed open the door at the Happy-Time Temp. Agency. She pulled the Post-It out of her pocket and looked at it again. K. Bowser, 425 W. Harbor Street, 7:16pm. They were waiting for her outside. "How was work?" Hero asked.
"What do you care?"
"That was a little hostile," Mason commented.
"I didn't have a very good day, okay? Lay off." George really wasn't looking forward to being forced to work with this new girl who everybody seemed to love. And seriously . . . Hero? Could she get a more cliché name? And how was Hero more qualified to handle a job than she was? All this was confusing and frustrating. Even more confusing was how the girl didn't seem to ever get angry or annoyed. Since they'd met, George hadn't exactly been open-armed. And how did she put up Mason? Oh, well. She did say that she was only around for this one job, so they might as well get it over with.
The sun was setting as the trio arrived at the intended address. "So what do you think the story is here?" George asked, anxious to know what her accomplices' thoughts were.
"Um," Mason spoke up. "Maybe a fire?"
"Gas," Hero said tersely. "Carbon Monoxide poisoning."
"Okay . . . And how do you know that?" George rolled her eyes until the other girl pointed. Following her finger, George's gaze came to rest on the garage. The light was on, and a man moved from the inside door to the car. Seconds later, the car roared to life. "Oh."
They waited, watching as the windows of the garage clouded up. "You think we can go in yet?" Mason asked.
"Yeah," Hero answered. The other two followed her as she opened the unlocked front door and headed in. She weaved through the maze of the house until they reached the door to the garage. A thin trail of smoke snaked from under the crack. "Alright, George, I'll meet you upstairs."
"What?"
"That's yours," Hero clarified. "Mine is upstairs."
"How do you know that one's mine?"
Hero didn't answer her; she just turned around and headed back the way they'd come. Mason followed her like a lap dog, nearly making George want to vomit. She heaved a big sigh and pulled at the doorknob. The man was surprised and barely hanging on. "K. Bowser?" He nodded, dazed. She reached out and patted him on the shoulder, swiping her hand down his arm and pulling his soul from his body. Then she stepped back into the house and closed the door behind her. The man stood next to her looking somewhat horrified. "Oh, don't worry; you'll go to the big fun place soon enough."
"No," he objected. "You just opened that door."
"I had to get to you."
"You weren't supposed to open it," he stammered. "None of the gas was supposed to get in the house."
"It was coming through the crack anyway," she revealed. "What's the big deal?"
"The police were supposed to come and find him upstairs and take him somewhere he'd be safe."
"Find who?"
"My son."
George's brow furrowed. His son? She turned on her heel and ran through the house, the spirit man following her because he had no other choice. As she reached the top of the stairs, she heard a faint melody coming from one of the rooms. It sounded like a lullaby.
Fare thee well
Fare thee well and adieu
Fare thee well
With the sun, I'll be gone
Fare thee well
The two figures stood out in the hall watching through the doorway. Hero cradled a baby in her arms, rocking it back and forth. Mason stood with them, his hand on her shoulder. "Is she saving him?" the man asked.
"Yeah," George replied in a stupor. "He's gonna be just fine." She watched as the man nodded, satisfied, and headed down the stairs toward a blinding light. With a WOOSH he had disappeared, and George turned her attention back to the baby's room. Hero heaved a great sigh and ran a finger down the baby's cheek, then it vanished into a small flash. The girl caught her breath, and Mason caught her, wrapping his arms tightly around her from behind. Her hands gripped his arms, trying to hold herself up as well. After a few deep breaths, she was able to stand again. The pair turned to see George still standing in the doorway. "What exactly is your specification, Hero?"
"Under four years old," she replied simply. George stood amazed as the others stepped past her. They'd made it to the stairs before she started following them again.
Outside, Rube was waiting for them. "I just wanted to say goodbye before you headed out," he explained.
Hero smiled weakly. "You know I would have come to find you before I left town."
"Yeah, I know." He returned her smile and opened his arms, embracing her warmly. "It was good to see you again, Baby."
"You too, Rube." He kissed the top of her head and let her go. She came to Mason once more, allowing him to say "goodbye" in a manner similar to the way he'd said "hello" and finally, ended up at George. "It was nice to meet you, George," she smiled. "Take care of my boys for me, huh?"
George nodded solemnly and accepted the girl's hug, wrapping her arms around Hero in return. Then the young woman turned and headed out into the night. "How do you get stuck with that job?" George asked no one in particular.
"You have to be a really special person," Mason answered. "That's also why we call her 'Baby' in case you didn't catch on to that." He nudged her with his elbow.
"Hunh . . . I just figured it was 'cause she was the youngest."
"Nope," Rube piped in. "She's actually older than all of us."
"Really?"
"You remember when she said that her name was Hero, like the character from 'Much Ado About Nothing?'"
"Yeah."
"Well, Peanut, she didn't get her name from the character. Her friend Will named one of his characters after her."