The rest of the morning was quiet, Karl decided to go back to sleep after he had calmed down while Mia went to prepare breakfast. As soon as Ethan woke up they both went with Rose to get new wood for the broken floor, leaving him alone for a few hours.
He woke up around 11 am, scratching his eyes as he yawned, his eyelids were already lighter but he was still a little ashamed of having exposed his feelings in that way and was wondering if it was the right thing to do... or not. Of course, since childhood he had had his feelings and thoughts censored. Everything that was not related to Miranda's plans was of no interest to her or his "brothers". Saying everything he had said this morning to Mia was not easy but in a way, he felt even more relaxed. The woman seemed totally different from Miranda just because she had stopped, listened to him, paid attention to what he was saying - and to be embraced with sincerity was the most comforting feeling he had ever felt. On the other hand, the envelope was still poking at his brain. He needed to talk to Ethan about it...of course, as long as he was willing to listen after the fight.
He heard the noise from the front door so he decided to get up and naturally walked over to them.
"Good morning, Karl," Mia said, smiling. Apparently, she didn't mention what happened earlier.
"Heh, good morning... where did you guys go?" He straightened his blouse, leaning over the kitchen island.
"We went to buy new flooring to fix the floor that a certain someone destroyed..." Ethan replied, removing the baby holder and placing Rose in the infant chair near the kitchen.
"Uh, honey... let's talk a little bit, shall we?" Mia touched her husband's shoulder, who followed her upstairs and they both entered the bedroom.
Karl sighed, relieved that he didn't have to apologize again for the broken floor. Rose clapped her little hands on the pink chair table, looking up at the man and smiling. He raised an eyebrow, approaching her and placing his hands on her waist.
"What do you want, child?" He made a voice, imitating Dimitrescu with her mannerisms. "Don't tell me you want to escape again?"
He moved his hands and levitated a spatula and a small spoon, moving close by.
"Gee, who is this funny girl?" He made a thinner voice, imitating Angie and quickly changing to a calmer voice. "That must be Rose… amazing, she even looks like a porcelain doll!"
Rose watched the little theater giggling happily as the man levitated another spoon a little wider, imitating Moreau's voice.
"This little girl seems to be quite clever...we should be careful...pffft!" Karl laughed softly as he watched Rose lean her head against the table and pretend to hide. "What? Are you afraid of Moreau?"
She just answered with a small sound, as if saying yes.
"He was hideous, uh? Boy, how I wanted to gossip with you about my brothers, too bad you can only babble..." Karl returned the silverware to its place, bending down facing her and hiding his face with his hands. The baby lifted her head, grabbing a lock of his hair and pulling. "Ouch, ouch! Slow down there! It's not easy to keep a full head of hair at the age I am!" he removed her hand carefully, and she held his thumb up with a giggle. "What? I'm funny, huh? I know. Now tell me, what's so special about you that Miranda wishes she had, uh?"
The girl just leaned forward, placing her palm over the scar on his nose, making him blush slightly.
"Oh, come on... now you're making me unhappy... This was Aunt Dimitrescu. She was...well, she was pretty angry. I guess I deserved it."
Mia and Ethan walked down the stairs and watched the man interact with the baby, without interrupting him.
"Look, it's a good thing they put you protected in a glass! You wouldn't want to make Alcina mad with your hair pulling!" He joked, placing his right index finger against the tip of her nose and smiling.
"Hmhm." Ethan moved closer, catching Rose in the chair without making eye contact with Karl. "We're going to the market nearby, be right back."
"Please don't forget the cheese, I'll use it for dinner later." Mia said crossing her arms with a sigh.
The door closed as Karl and Mia looked at each other. He stood up slowly, leaning back against the kitchen island.
"She...she's really quite smart." He said, smiling with the corner of his mouth.
"I told ya, if I blink once she'll be walking by herself instantly!" The woman joked, picking up the utensils to make lunch.
Karl walked over to her, placing one hand on the counter and the other on his waist, waiting for her to say something.
"...What? Oh..." She stopped what she was doing, turning to him. "I told Ethan what happened this morning."
"Aaaaaand...?"
"Well, he's...still pretty angry about what happened yesterday, I don't...know quite what goes on in his head sometimes, but I believe everything will be fine. Don't worry."
"Is it okay if I fix the floor at least?"
She turned her head, analyzing the mess in the room, and turned her attention back to Karl, nodding slightly.
"Okay, leave it to me." He stepped away from the counter, going over to the bags and wood that was on the floor picking everything up before carrying it to the garage. "It's the least I can do now..."
Mia went back to cooking lunch, Karl was going back and forth from the living room to the garage taking measurements from the floor and after a few minutes, she heard sounds of metal and wood being cut almost in a musical rhythm. He appeared in the hallway with a hammer and nails floating around his shoulders carrying the already cut floor under his arm.
She took the moment the vegetables were being cooked to watch him using his powers to nail the pieces to the ground, concentrating on the movements of his hands and arms as the hammer went up and down over each nail perfectly, finishing fixing them in a few minutes. He put his hands on his waist analyzing if he had calculated the size of the pieces correctly and turned to Mia, surprised to see her watching his work.
"I think it turned out just right, want to see?"
"Sure!" She walked into the living room, crossing her arms. The floor looked better than before. "Wow...that's...perfect!"
Karl sighed in relief, putting his hands back. "Yeah, I think it's safe to walk here again... at least until you guys switch to a better service…"
"No, no! That's really perfect! Wait..." She scratched her chin, cracking a smile. "Ethan said he was going to help you look for a job, that would fit you like a glove!"
"Can you believe that?" He raised an eyebrow, curious.
"Yes, but that's a subject for later..." She picked up the carpet that was rolled up behind the sofa, laying it out on the floor over the newly repaired floor. "Thanks, Karl! Ethan was going to need a little help anyway because of his hand, you've already guaranteed his rest today."
"Glad to help...just hope he doesn't get mad about it."
"Don't worry, you two will get along again soon." She patted him on the back, heading back to the kitchen.
Karl felt happy to be useful again in some task involving his powers, so he decided to celebrate by watching a little TV, specifically the documentary channel - which was showing the life cycle of grasshoppers. After a few minutes, Ethan returned home with some bags and Rose in his right arm, leaving his shoes in the entrance.
"I came back...they didn't have the cheese you like so I brought another one." He left the bags at the kitchen island switching Rose from one arm to another.
"It's okay, thanks baby." She replied, giving Ethan a kiss and taking the food out of the bags.
"Now I'm going to..." He looked at the rug already open in the room, raising an eyebrow. "Why did you put the rug in place? The floor is open!"
"Oh, Karl fixed it...he wanted to help you."
The man frowned, processing what he just heard, and turned to Mia, whispering. "What do you mean 'fixed' it?It was my job!"
"Honey, please...it's being hard enough for him here! He's trying to be your friend."
Ethan was really bothered by his wife's change in behavior. She had been extremely suspicious of Karl at first, but overnight she seemed quite comfortable with his presence there. He began to wonder if he wasn't using some kind of power he didn't know about for this to be happening because it was impossible for her to change her mind so quickly.
"Mia, come here..." He ran over to her, touching her forehead to take her temperature. It was normal. "Are you sure you're okay, don't you want to go to the doctor?"
"Ethan..." Mia laughed, holding his hand. "I'm perfectly fine, calm down."
"Then why do you seem to be being nice to him? Even more so out of the blue!"
The woman shook her head, laughing harder. Sometimes she was hard to read, quite unpredictable.
"If you keep thinking he's someone suspicious even after he saved you just because of a little argument...maybe I'm crazy." She simply replied, turning back to cooking.
"But..." he frowned, thoughtful.
Maybe I'm the idiot in the end, right?
Or is Karl just being naturally manipulative?
The questions kept popping up just like they had that day at the factory, about the man's past, about his revenge plan, and the strange phrase he said in the middle of his fight with Miranda…
"Look - we're going to use your daughter!"
"WHAT?! I'LL KILL YOU BEFORE YOU EVEN TOUCH HER!"
"It's our only alternative!"
"NO! NEVER! YOU BETTER THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE, GENIUS!"
That had to be it, right?
The reason he was being so... friendly.
It was for Rose's sake.
She was still alive there, in his arms. Manipulating her mother was the best way to get close to the girl.
No, I can't let him get close to Rose again.
I won't let him.