Disclaimer: I still don't own Les Mis. I got highlights from the original cast recording last night, but I left it in my friend's car. I'll be listening to that as soon as school starts! Even though this disclaimer isn't terribly witty, here's the shout-out I promised! AliceRose_Loves to HUG guessed that one of the Disney references in another chapter was Flynn Rider! She was right! There's still another Disney reference in that same chapter! Here we have the fourth installment of these ten Baby Grands!
4 - Boat
It had rained for a good three days straight. The streets of Paris ran with mostly water, but also with a few other assorted… things. From the smell, it was probably a combination of mud, spilled drinks from the local pubs, and the substances produced by livestock. By now, the rain had stopped, but the cobblestones still had miniature little rivers flowing round them. The children in Cosette and Marius's care, plus the other children living round them, had ants in their pants. As soon as all parents involved gave consent or something close to it, they all trooped out to play again. Rainier and the other boys had spent the three days indoors creating little boats to float through the rivers in the streets. The girls squealed with delight as they chased the boats in packs down the sidewalks. Today's game would definitely be pirates!
Up in Heaven, Cosette and Marius's loved ones looked down in golden light over the edge of the still-soggy cloud. Jean Valjean actually laughed out loud at a small pile-up of children involving a flying shoe and a rather upset cat. The cat slinked away as some of the boys retrieved tiny Aveline's shoe from under a cart, the woman selling cider giving them a fond smile. Fantine hid a laugh behind her hand at Marguerite doing her best impression of a pirate, swaggering round on the sidewalk. The little boats flew down the sidewalk current at, for their size, breakneck speed, followed by happy children. Eponine grinned at the little girls as well, still glancing sideways at Enjolras. Grantaire approached and slung his arms round both their shoulders.
"Look at them go!" he cried happily, pulling his friends closer to the edge to watch Lucille try and get Christophe in a headlock. "I think the little one has the makings of a fine pirate!"
In her best pirate voice, Doriane bellowed "Belay that!" then lost steam on her order and followed it with "Do somethin' else!" The children laughed and began stomping in the puddles, trying to soak each other as much as possible. Cosette had come out on the front porch, vainly trying to encourage her girls and boys to behave like ladies and gentlemen. No dice – they continued to holler and push each other, still chasing their boats and each other through the streets. Rainier had apparently commandeered a hat from somewhere, declaring himself captain. The merchant responsible for the hat kept a watchful eye to see that no damage was done – he trusted the lad to bring it back. Fabien went screaming by, brandishing a stick with his wrecked boat in one hand, a cow having sunk it. This time, Cosette had to get up and try to call a halt.
"Fabien, you really must be careful with that stick!" she tried hard not to yell, calling over the heads of the other children. "And Marguerite, please try to be ladylike in a sword-fight – no kicking!"
Back up on the heavenly cloud, the barricade boys plus Gavroche had gathered around Enjolras and Eponine, shooting each other knowing looks and placing bets on the pirate outcome. So far, the odds seemed to be on the side of the girls. There might have been more boys and they might be older, but the girls, with the exception of little Aveline, were far more organized! Marguerite, the eldest, actually might have made a fine fencer in the opinions of Eponine and Grantaire. Enjolras and Gavroche, on the other hand, had to hold out for the boys until Christophe poked Doriane with his stick. The seven-year-old girl promptly took the stick from him and administered a sound thrashing.
"Christophe! Doriane!" called the warning voice of Marius – word of the commotion had reached him upstairs in his office. "Let's bring it down a bit!"
The sole survivor of the failed barricade surveyed the children in his care. On the one hand, it did his heart so much good to see them playing safely (once they put those sticks down) in the streets. However, the liquid running in the streets themselves made several of his other organs squish uncomfortably. No, he didn't really remember Jean Valjean taking him from the barricade or the trip through the sewer described by that awful Thenardier bloke. Even so, he swallowed hard at the swirling watery mess in the streets. Maybe it was that cow up the street with the new baby – more smell in the air than usual… Something about this whole business made him want to go back inside and stay there until things dried up. Yes, that was it – the streets just smelled worse than usual.
Enjolras, Grantaire, Gavroche – all the boys Marius couldn't help but think of – looked down from Heaven on their old friend. They watched Cosette finally pick up her skirt and stride out into the street to get a handle on the situation. Smiles lit on heavenly faces again as muddy, wet children swarmed their Mama Cosette and Papa Marius. Bad smells, fleeting memories, wet streets or whatever, Marius could not ignore five-year-old Lucille splashing up to him with outstretched arms. Smiling almost in spite of himself, Marius lifted the dripping child into his arms, uncaring of the stains on his suit. Fabien and Christophe tumbled past with Doriane in hot pursuit. It had taken both of them to wrest the stick from her possession. Aveline toddled after her sister, tugging on Captain Rainier's hand.
Cosette, however, had not missed the inexplicable trepidation on her Marius's face, nor had Eponine up in Heaven. While Jean Valjean and Fantine watched the children go squishing into the house to kick off muddy shoes and peel out of wet socks, the younger woman watched the couple. Marius smiled brightly, helping the smaller ones out of soggy coats and shawls, but something stung. Even up in Heaven, Eponine's heart hurt to see the man she had loved on Earth in pain.
In the street, boats floated away.