Adele sat on the couch with Jason and Sookie on each side of her. Erik sat across from them in the easy chair, with Charles' presence by his side.
"So what is it I can do for you?" Adele asked.
Charles and Erik shared a look. 'You should do the talking my friend,' Erik thought.
Charles nodded his head absently and sighed. He smiled. "Mrs. Stackhouse, I just want to first say that you have exceptional grandchildren. Jason is very good at sports and, even though I'm not really here to talk about that, I can tell that he was a bright future ahead of him.
Jason was practically beaming at the compliments. "Why thank you," Adele said with pride.
"It's the truth," Charles answered, looking at Jason. "You have a lot of potential and I wish you the best in all your endeavors."
Charles could hear buzzing in his head as he felt pride and then confusion as he wondered what endeavors were.
"An endeavor is an attempt or effort," Charles calmly explained. "I meant good luck on whatever you might try to do in life." Jason's eyes widened in shock and realization, 'He's just like Sookie!'
"I'm sorry about that Mrs. Stackhouse," Charles said. "I didn't mean to startle anyone. That was what I wanted to talk to you about and it also concerns your granddaughter."
Erik studied Mrs. Stackhouse's expression. "You don't seem very surprised Madame."
Adele studied him. "Are you also…?"
"Like them?" Erik finished, gesturing to both Charles and Sookie. The woman nodded. "Yes and no."
"What does that mean?" Jason asked.
"Jason!" Adele exclaimed.
"That's quite alright Madame," Erik said, holding a hand up. With a gesture of his hand, every small metal object moved in the air and landed on the little living room table. The Stackhouses watched in fascination as knives, forks, and spoons organized themselves neatly on the wooden surface.
"To answer your question… Jason was it?" Jason nodded his head excitedly, signaling for Erik to continue. "My friend Charles, your sister and I are the same; we are mutants or human beings that happen to have certain abilities that make us different from others."
"But I'm not a telepath like Charles and your sister. I have the ability to move objects made of metal."
"Mutant?" Adele asked, unsure.
"Yes Madame," Charles answered. Charles quickly explained what mutants were and his research on the subject. Erik nodded his head in parts of the explanation.
"So… Sookie's powers are genetic?" Adele asked to understand, "And you two have a school for mutants that you want Sookie to go to?"
"Yes," Charles confirmed.
"So I'm like this because of granddaddy?" Sookie asked. The question surprised the two men.
"That may be," Erik answered slowly. "Was your grandfather a mutant?"
"He was like me," Sookie answered. "He had a handicap."
Charles decided to ignore the handicap comment; he would deal with it later. 'We will address that at a later date,' he telepathically promised his friend. The German national nodded. Charles turned to Mrs. Stackhouse. "Is it true what your granddaughter has said?"
Adele nodded. "Earl was the same way."
Charles thought. 'That's interesting.' "Well, Mrs. Stackhouse? Is there any other question that we can answer for you?"
Adele thought, hesitating to voice her question.
Charles sensed her discomfort. "It's alright Mrs. Stackhouse," he answered comfortingly. "You can ask anything. No question is a pointless one."
"It just seems too good to be true…" Adele looked at her granddaughter, who she loved dearly. It was so obvious that she wanted to go. She could barely stay still in her seat. "How much is this all going to cost? If the school is in New York, will I still be able to see her? What about the other children in the school?"
"Well Mrs. Stackhouse," Charles started. "There is no expense to you. This is an opportunity that we offer to help young mutants like Sookie to help them grow to control their powers. As for visiting her, you will be able to do that on holidays or anytime you feel that you need to. We can talk about that more."
"As for the other children," Erik answered, "I will admit that most of them did not have the best homes. Most of their parents were not as understanding when they found out about their mutations. Some of these children are even runaways who have had run-ins with police, but Sookie has nothing to fear from them. These children are facing a similar struggle as her and will not ridicule her because of her powers. For the most part, they will treat her the way they would want her to treat them."
'This sounds like a good place for Sookie, but… do I need to make a decision right now?'
"There really is no need to make a decision this very instance," Charles answered. "This is a lot of information to take in and we do have other business to attend to. We'll be in Louisiana for a few more days. If you'd like, we can come back at a later date?"
"I would appreciate that," Adele said. Everyone exchanged their farewells.
"Thank you very much for your time Mrs. Stackhosue," Erik smiled, shaking the older woman's hand.
"Please call me Adele," she said as she led the two gentlemen towards the front door.
After she finally closed the door, she sat back on the couch with her grandchildren and sighed. There was still a lot to talk about.
Once they were outside, the two gentlemen shared a look.
"Why are you staring Charles?"
The man in the wheelchair smiled. "You surprised me just now my friend." They made their way over to their next destination.
"How so?" Erik asked.
"This is the first time I've ever seen you act that warmly towards family members without powers."
Erik shrugged. 'It was just easy to like them,' Erik thought to Charles.
'I know,' Charles said. 'They love her so much and Adele seems very open-minded.'
'They're proving to be a rarity.'
'But they still exist,' Charles thought strongly. 'The only thing that could make it better is if the other family are like the Stackhouses.'
