Ch. 3~ A Little Bit Of Home

Rick had been on the phone for nearly two hours, long enough for everyone to take showers and start packing. After he finished, he and Evie had disappeared into Alex's room to grieve. Jonathan had long ago started grieving in his own way: with a bottle of whisky and a jar of cookies. Unfortunately, that left Jeweli with nothing to do but cook and worry. She filled up bowls with a nick thick beef stew, with slices of buttered bread on the side. She also made two pots of tea and put one on Rick and Evie's tray, leaving the second on the kitchen counter.

The door to Alex's room was open, and she was met with the sight of her cousin and his beloved wife clinging to each other with their son's favorite bear between them. Jeweli nearly started crying then and there, but she's already cried enough for the night. Or so she thought.

"Rick? Evie?" They looked up, red eyes meeting red eyes. "I thought you two would like something to eat. I made my mom's beef stew, and some tea."

Evie got up and took the tray from her, set it down, and hugged her (for all intents and purposes) sister. "Thank you, Jeweli. You've been so good to us, all these years. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't come along."

"Paying for a nurse, a maid, a personal psychiatrist, and a coroner."

"That's true." Rick stated, getting up. "Thanks, Jewels." Then he joined in the hug. "So, where'd out friend run off to?"

"I think he's in the parlor. I was going to take him something to eat after I saw after y'all." Jeweli pulled away and started moving towards the door. "I'll see you in the morning. G'night."

"good night, dear." Evie said turning back to her son's empty bed. Rick patted his cousin's shoulder and joined the first woman.

someone had lit a fire in the parlor, casting dark shadows into the hall. Ardeth Bay was leaning with one arm against the fireplace, one hand on his hip He was staring into the fire so intently that he seemed lost. So, balancing the tray on one hand, Jeweli knocked on the door frame. The startled man had his hand on the sword at his side, before he realized who it was.

"I figured you'd like a little something after a long day. Hungry?" she gestured with the tray.

"Yes, thank you." Ardeth Bay finally relaxed.

She set down the tray and held out a bowl with a slice of bread already in it. "Tea?"

"Please." Instead of sitting in an armchair, he sat down on the rug right in front of the fire. They way he did was as interesting as the man himself. He crossed his legs at the ankles and then sat straight down without even tipping his bowl. When he noticed her still standing at the coffee table, he gestured towards the floor next to him. "Please, join me?"

"Um, alright." she gathered the tray and set it down on the flagstone. she passed him a mug of tea with a tea spoon, "There's sugar in that little pot if you want it."

"Thank you." There was silence for a moment as Jeweli ate her food. but, out of the corner of her eye, she watched him raise a spoonful of stew and smell it.

"It's just beef stew. It's not like it's poisoned or anything."

"Of course, forgive me. I am not familiar with the English cuisine." Ardeth took a bite and made a little noise of appreciation. "Mm, it is good. what are these little green and orange bits?"

"They're...uh...they're peas and carrots. And it's not English. This is my mother's recipe. It's American."

"Oh, I apologize. This is my first time outside of the desert." He told her with a grin.

"Really?" Jeweli nearly choked on her stew when she spoke, causing Ardeth to pat her back.

"Yes. I have never left Egypt. but, this was an emergency, so, I came."

"Well, I'm glad you did." he looked back up at her in surprise. "yeah. If you hadn't come, we wouldn't have known where to even begin to look for Evie. And now, you know Egypt like none of us. You are probably the only person who can help us get Alex back...and get to Ahm Sher." She looked down at her now empty bowl and leaned forward to set it back on the tray. As she leaned back, she noticed Ardeth's arm...still untreated.

"Have...have you even taken a shower yet?"

"No. Why?"

Jeweli leaned towards him and sniffed. "Oh-ho-ho, yeah. Fight hand-to-hand with a rotting corpse is defiantly a stinky business. C'mon, I'll get you set up."

"Set up?"

"Bath, clothes, bed...medical attention. that sort of thing."