"…So he bought it for you?" Carlos summarized, picking at the remaining croissant crumbs on his plate.

"The whole set." Rosie replied. "I feel really bad."

"Why do you feel bad, Princesa! He wanted to buy it for you, so he bought it."

"Wasn't his money."

"The uncle likes you, right?"

"Yeah."

"And he gave him the card to treat you."

"Right."

"So stop worrying." He nudged her head. "Anyway. Like he said; it's a present for him, too."

"I do really like it."

"And it's not like you can't do something nice, also. When's his birthday?"

"May."

"Two months. You can pick a nice gift. Even."

"I actually have it already."

"Already?"

"It's a surprise." She winked. "I'll need to buy something for Wayne, too."

"Just another bottle or something. You don't need to go broke, Babe."

"I won't."

Rosie finished at 6:30pm. She thought about dropping by the Hideout on the way home, but hadn't the energy for dealing with its patrons.

Claudia had kept dinner in the oven for her - sad-looking porkchop and some potatoes. Rosie re-fried it in some seasoning and settled onto the sofa to eat. They were trying to be civil, and her cousin had gradually stopped bothering her about Eddie. Now, she just didn't mention him, didn't ask where Rosie was going when she put on her coat, and pretended to be deaf when Dustin mentioned him. Tonight, she stared firmly at the TV while Dustin reviewed their latest DND campaign with Rosie.

"So you took out the goblins?" She tried to recall.

"No, no," Dustin pointed at his notes. "I was with Warren then. Mike and Will burned them up."

"Right."

"You should hear the voices Eddie does for them. I didn't know he could go that high. And then, when they scream he does this little -" Dustin tried to make some sort of noise but ended up coughing instead.

"I'll ask him to do it for me."

"Yeah. And then Paulie got the skull…"

"The one the necromancer dropped?"

"Uh-huh. It rolled down."

The phone rang, just as they were getting to the good part. Rosie answered, immediately walking out of the room with it.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"What are you up to?"

"I've just been hearing about your latest escapades in the Dungeons of… of…"

"Fornoth."

"Sure. Wait. Is that a rip-off of Fornost?"

"More like a typo."

"Nice."

His voice lowered: "I love that you can get that."

"You have DND. I have books."

Eddie laughed.

"What time do you finish?"

"Two."

"In the morning?"

"There's a party."

Rosie grumbled dramatically. "So I won't see you?"

"No." He answered. "But I have something better."

"Listening."

"You know Rick?"

"Your…" Rosie put a hand over the receiver. "dealer?"

"Correct. Well, he has a brother in Chicago."

"Good for him."

"Shut up. And he's going to stay with that brother for a week."

"Way to go Rick?"

"What I'm asking is: can you get a week off at the end of the month?"

Rosie considered. "I doubt I can get a full week."

"Even just a few days?" Eddie pressed. "Rick's asking me to watch the house while he's gone."

"I can try?"

"Yes! I swear, Babe, you'll love it. Nice cabin by the lake. Nothing but trees all around. Peace and quiet."

"Sounds fun."

Eddie's mouth came close: "And no-one to hear us for miles."

Rosie managed to negotiate the time. She had to work seven days in a row and ten after, but she got the week. So on a Tuesday at the end of March here she was, stockpiling groceries and filling her tank up for the stay, just in case she needed it. Claudia was still keeping gloriously quiet, though Rosie hadn't directly told her about her plans, either. She still left some money in her cousin's room, and stuck a note with Rick's number and address to the fridge. For emergencies ONLY.

She picked Eddie up outside his trailer, Wayne waving them away like they were off to war. Dustin's friend Max drifted past on her skateboard, and Rosie nearly killed her with fright when she honked on the way out.

Turned out, Eddie was not a great navigator, and risked ejection from the vehicle at multiple points, when he told her to turn as they were passing a junction.

"The roads all look the same til you get close!" He argued as she tried to reverse and turn.

"You said you knew the way."

"I do. In my own car."

"So it's a different way in mine?"

"Just drive."

"Excuse me?"

He realized his mistake: "Rosie, please turn right here."

"I'll turn you right out onto the road."

Rick's place was huge, at least compared to the Henderson's, with a swathe of green around and even a boathouse out back. There were some other houses on the row; mostly vacation homes. Eddie excitedly gave her a tour, babbling non-stop about the time he'd used it as a refuge from the growing mob in town.

"I nearly slit Steve's throat there." He declared, pointing at the wall.

"What?"

"I thought he was hunting me down."

"You know, if you're telling me about nearly killing someone, I'd appreciate some context."

"Right."

The lake was grey, surrounded by forest. Completely still. Rosie stood to look out across the water. She turned to find Eddie staring down into it.

"You ok?"

He shook himself. "Yeah…yeah. Just a lot of memories here."

"Where's this Skull Rock?"

Eddie pointed across the lake. "Not far."

"Can we walk there? Tomorrow? I wanna see."

"Sure. We can bring Sally."

"Sally?"

Turned out Rick had acquired a dog, and that was the main reason they were staying. As Eddie led her through the back door, a chubby rottweiler eyed them from her bed. Rosie immediately fell in love.

"No, don't!"

Too late; he'd sat on the sofa, and Sally had clambered up to get in his lap. She was not a lapdog, and Eddie wheezed under her bulk.

"She wants to snuggle." Rosie flopped down, too. "Don't you want a snuggle, pup?"

Sally stretched out across them. Rosie pat pat patted her plump belly.

"Can you move?" Eddie asked.

"Nope. You?"

"No!"

Great, Rosie pinched his lips together. "Now if we could just do something about that noise…"

She'd only left for five minutes, but the fish was smoking. Rosie dashed out to the kitchen to find Eddie with the pan in his hand, waving a grey cloud out the door. Sally wagged her tail at his feet, looking hopeful.

"What happened?"

"It's fine. Look. I saved it!"

He was proud of himself. The skin side of the mackerel was nearly black, but the white flesh had come out unscathed. "Good. We can just peel that off."

"I chopped." He showed her a board covered in mutilated scallion and leek.

"Did you wash them?"

"Shit!"

Rosie handed him a sieve to rinse them in, and prodded the fish. Eddie had put the vegetables on to boil, too. He hovered with the dripping sieve while she prepared the seasoning.

"Don't worry, you'll get to drink the rest." Corking the white wine, she added a little drop-by-drop to the pan, along with some lemon juice and herbs.

"Do I put them here?"

"Is the rice done?"

He tested a grain. "Almost?"

"Scallion in there." She lifted the lid off the other pot. "Leek here."

"Yes, Chef."