Fate Deals A New Spool of Thread

Montparnasse listened to the chatter of the two younger Thenardiers as they ran around the bakery back room. "How long till your parents come for you?" he asked Eponine.

"I don't know," Eponine said, sitting down beside him. "Don't know if they ever will. Where are yours?"

"They won't ever come," Montparnasse said, staring into the distance as the memories threatened to overwhelm him. He felt a small hand rest on his and squeeze his palm.

"You could be my older brother," Eponine said softly. "Papa always wanted...ah, it's hard to say, but I think he'll like you."

"It's never that simple!" Montparnasse said, biting his lip.

Eponine looked at him keenly. "I'll talk to him. You'll see! So what do you say?"

Somehow, looking at her then, Montparnasse was sure that his adventures were going to begin. However, he wondered if he even wanted them to.

"It's a life..." he reminded himself as he shook Eponine's hand by way of agreement.
Cosette had hidden in the garden while Musichetta was being scolded by the Mother Prioress. If there was anything that the poor orphan feared more than displeasing her adoptive father, it was the wrath of the usually peacable nuns.

It seemed like hours till Cosette finally saw Musichetta emerge from the prioress' cell. The fifteen year old looked downcast, but still resolute.

"Chetta? Now..." Cosette asked, going up to her friend.

Musichetta sighed sadly. "I have to go away. Today, Cosette. Within an hour. I don't care. I want to go away."

"But the streets! The people!" Cosette asked, horrified at the thought of hapless Musichetta out alone in the world. "What will happen to you?"

"I'll be fine, ma petit," Musichetta said, smiling as she ruffled Cosette's hair. "Now you be good to your Papa. Study, and sometimes smile at the young gentlemen. They'll smile back one day, when you're prettier than I am,"

Cosette held on to Musichetta's skirt. "Will I see you again, Chetta?" she asked, holding back her sobs.

Musichetta hugged Cosette briefly. "Maybe one day," she said as she let go of the child, then hurried down to pack her things. She did not look back.

However, Cosette stood there for a long time, as if waiting for something. With a sad sigh, she turned on her heel and went to the garden to find the man she called "Father".

Joly drained the last of his glass of wine as he watched his friends gather around the billiards table in the cafe. Even Enjolras had been talked into joining the game.

"Just this once," the serious young man said as he picked up a cue.

"Are you still troubled by what happened?" Combeferre asked him.

"Perhaps. Something..." Enjolras said, trailing off as he managed to get one billiard ball into a pocket.

"...needs to be addressed?" Courfeyrac asked, smiling knowingly.

"Be careful, Don Quixote," Bossuet grinned, thumbing the cue he had in hand. "Tis not the time for jousting..."

"You never know!" Bahorel laughed. "But I say it's the time for love. Today, Cupid's aim was true!"

"Skirts, skirts...that's all you think about!" Enjolras said chidingly.

"And you?" Combeferre asked. "You're a bit of the Gascon, I daresay."

Enjolras smiled as he waited for Courfeyrac to finish his turn. Joly, still in his corner, rubbed at his eyes. "I'd better go out for some fresh air..." he said, getting up.

"Don't be long!" Courfeyrac called after him. "We have to have a chance at beating you."

Joly was laughing so hard that he almost did not notice the young girl who'd just entered the cafe. He almost bumped into her, but she caught his spectacles.

"You need to be careful, Monsieur!" she laughed, handing them back to him.

"Hello, Musichetta!" Bossuet called from the back of the cafe.

Joly hastily put on his glasses again. When he looked at the girl who'd helped him, he couldn't help but smile. "Angels do fall," he said in a whisper.

The girl blushed. "A poet?"

"No, medical student. You can call me Patrice, but my friends call me Joly. I see my friends know you already, Mademoiselle."

Musichetta absent-mindedly put a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. She smiled at Joly as she took a seat beside him.

"Maybe you're right about the angels part," she whispered contentedly, feeling safe for the first time in several hours.

finis