Day Six-Thirty-Four: Doubleteam

"We have a suggestion for you."

"A plan."

"A pretty good one, in fact."

A crumb fell from my lip. 

"Sorry. Maybe we should've waited."

I was taking a break - a very, very short break - when Logan and Celine strode up to me. That in and of itself is unusual, as I'm used to both of them appearing out of nowhere. Maybe they decided not to shock the shit out of me, for once.

"Mmmmph," I replied, swallowing a hunk of lobster sandwich. Damn can that bitch cook. "Tell. Quick. I'm back on soon."

"It's simple."

"So simple!"

"So simple we're surprised you didn't think of it yourself, frankly."

"Yes, quite."

I looked from brother to sister, annoyed at their back-and-forth. "Stop talking like that. It's freakin' me out."

"Sorry." Logan curtsied, but his face was serious when he stepped out of the bow. "We talked about it a bit, 'n we both agree. Dragomir should talk to our dad."

I blinked. "Your dad? The hell's he gonna do?"

"Well..." Celine put her arms behind her and mimed a whistle. "We may have sneaked a few peeks at Mud."

"Mud?"

"She means Dragomir. Will you stop calling him that?"

"He told me I could!"

"Whatever." Logan lightly punched his sister on the forearm. "We looked in on him. A lot. And, y'know, we... know the signs. We travelled with the signs."

"Me longer than him."

"Oh, shut up."

"It's true. You ditched us."

"I still know what to look for!"

"Not as well as me."

I stood and shook the table, confident a nice, juicy vein was popping out of my forehead. "WILL YOU GET TO THE POINT?!"

The siblings rocked back on their heels. I swear they should've been twins. "Sorry," they said in unison, not looking particularly sorry. "We do this sometimes."

"It's damned annoying." I shoved the last of my sandwich in my mouth, giving a brief thumbs-up to Bora behind the counter. She waved back. She deserves that much. I guess.

"We figured," Logan continued, a hand now on his sister's mouth, "that... y'know... he could use support from someone who gets it."

"Mmmph."

"Dad's been there. He's still there. Maybe, I dunno, maybe he can kick Dragomir out of his funk? In ways none of us can?"

I thought back to my conversation with Grylock. He seemed more than capable of doing it. Whether he would, though... "I guess that's true. Couldn't hurt for them to talk... I'm surprised Jeffrey hasn't done it himself already. They get along pretty well."

"That's what I figured, yeah. After they, uh, ambushed me. Two weeks ago."

"Ambushed?"

"Long story."

Sweeping my plate from the table, I nodded. "Okay. Sure. We'll see if Jeffrey can get it done. One question, though."

Celine bit her brother's hand, freeing herself as he swore. "Yes?"

"Not you, him."

"Shoot," Logan grunted through the pain and the hand shakes.

"You hate your dad. Everybody knows you hate your dad. Why're you recommending him?"

"Oh, that's easy," added Celine. "I could answer that one."

Logan pushed her aside. "You steal all the gravitas from a serious moment. Bug off, kid. Uh, anyway, as for the question..."

I tapped my foot.

"I'm recommending him 'cause, as much as I hate the guy..." Logan bit his lip, his emotions clearly more convoluted than he would care to admit. "I can tell no one hates Jeffrey more than Jeffrey himself. 'n that's how Dragomir's probably feeling about himself right now."

Fair enough, Logan. Fair enough.

Jeffrey's agreed to sit down and talk to Dragomir. He wants to prep tonight, and tomorrow... tomorrow we'll see if my husband is ready to eat, drink, and be merry again.

Sincerely,

Libby the Mechanic