As a quiet begins to settle after Charlotte's visit, Facilier reaches for his favorite shrunken head when the door opens slightly ajar, then closes a few seconds after. Without turning around, Facilier lowers his hand and stares at the wall across from him. It is covered in an ornate purple and gold wallpaper. He remembers picking it out himself at the old furnishing store a few streets over and enjoys viewing it from time to time.
His eyes look higher at the line of wooden voodoo masks of different creatures, some with human-like faces, looming over the wallpaper. Facilier's eyes fall upon the mask with the horns Charlotte looked at earlier. He smells a light scent of roses.
"What? You're not gonna' greet me?"
The voice is cold and low waking Facilier from his daze.
Facilier turns and meets eyes with his second unexpected guest of the day. The man is tall, a little taller than himself. He wears a blue collared shirt and gray slacks with black boots. He is older, but his body is muscular and strong; the veins along his arms blend in with his umber brown skin. Pinkish brown lines map the visible scars along his forearms. A newsboy cap covers his black buzz cut, and his jaw is outlined by his short black beard.
"La Thorn." Facilier hisses, "Why are you here?"
"That's Terrence. Everyone calls me Terry. I stopped goin' by my last name a long time ago," Terry states in a friendly manner.
Watching Terry stride from across the room, Facilier doesn't budge. He keeps his eyes on him when Terry takes a seat in the same chair Charlotte sat in earlier; the shrunken head in front of him.
"So...when did you get so chummy with the La Bouffs? That one was prettier than a peach just now wasn't she?" Terry inquires, running his finger across the table then assesses the layer of dust between his fingers.
Lowering his eyes, Facilier asks, "Is that why you're here?"
"I thought I would come by to visit an old friend and lo and behold! I find you chattin' it up with a La Bouff," Terry states. Turning his face toward Facilier, he says in a serious tone, "What are you plannin'? I want in."
Facilier's body stiffens. He should have known that La Thorn or Terrence or whoever he is now can see right through him. After all, Terry is the one who taught him all he knew. Every trick, illusion, manipulation Facilier has learned from him. Of course, now Facilier has his own flair.
Closing his eyes, Facilier explains bitterly, "Let's just say I'm workin' my way into the La Bouff family."
"Well, well, well! Now that is a big plan! Is this marriage you're talkin' 'bout? I s'pose you'll finally get that family you've always wanted," Terry taunts. He proceeds to grab the shrunken head, bobbing it back and forth like a puppet.
At this, Facilier's blood boils. He begins to rebuttal, but before he could say a word, in a flash, Terry has a hold of the collar of his jacket. The head falls to the floor with a small thud. An icy glare pierces Facilier's gaze.
"Are you runnin' away? You can't escape who you really are. I thought I taught you your place," Terry threatens his friendly demeanor dissipating in mere seconds.
Facilier tries to shake Terry's hand off his collar but to no avail. He looks back into Terry's eyes with the same icy glare and reaches into his pocket.
"Uh-uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Terry warns. Facilier pauses before dropping his hand from his pocket.
"Did you forget who saved you before you tried offerin' that soul of yours for your poor mother?" Terry states firmly. He lets out a snicker and continues, "You were so eager to make a deal with the Shadows on The Other Side. Who knows what you woulda' become..."
Furious but unable to move, Facilier hisses between clenched teeth, "I'm not runnin' away. I will get my hands on the La Bouff fortune. After I marry that brat, I'll kill her father!"
A slow smirk coils onto Terry's face, his gaze never faltering, he releases Facilier's jacket.
"Now you're talkin', Fido!" Brushing his hands, he says, "I want half of the fortune."
Fido. Frowning, Facilier remembers despising that nickname.
Memories of when he was a child floods Facilier head. Terry, or La Thorn at the time, finds Facilier in the streets. When La Thorn asks for his name, Facilier never gives him an answer. Thus, the nickname Fido came about.
As a child with hardly any experience with people other than lying and deceiving to survive, Facilier recalls thinking that Fido was a great name. He remembers calling himself "Fido the Great" or "The Amazing Fido!" It is not until his juvenile years that Facilier learns that Fido is a pet name for a dog. A fitting name for what he is to La Thorn, playing fetch and answering his every beck and call.
"Don't call me that."
"Don't call me that," Terry says at exactly the same time as Facilier.
A low laugh escapes Terry's throat. "Predictable," he says, "Listen, if you need some help with that marriage plan of yours, you know how to find me."
Terry saunters toward the door.
That's not going to happen, and Facilier doesn't even know how to contact him. Terry always leaves, disappearing with only rumors of his whereabouts.
As if knowing Facilier's thoughts, Terry opens the door and says, "I'll be watching."
The still of his parlor is different from when Charlotte had left. Although the sunlight pours itself through the rooftop, a cold heaviness hangs in the air. Facilier draws the curtains close, focusing back on the La Bouff marriage scheme.
Picking up the shrunken head, he says to himself, "I need a ring."
He turns his gaze up at his array of masks and ponders the collection of rings at the downtown department store. He will need one befitting a princess, one befitting Charlotte La Bouff.