Dinner

Things became a little awkward between Louise and myself. After a coughing fit it was a little hard not to have been, but I smiled through what I could for her. At least, the dinner was ready. Adelphe came into the room after us playing for another thirty minutes. “Louise! It’s time to eat. You need to let Miss Lacerius have a break.”

“But we just got started, mum!”

“Now Louise, you don’t want to leave Miss Lacerius starving do you? She hasn’t eaten since arriving.” The mother looked over to me for a little aid with her daughter.

I did seem to be the center of attention for Louise. And I did sort of use her eagerness to get myself some time with the family. She wasn’t wrong about me being hungry. Road rations weren’t the most enjoyable way to fill yourself. “I have been looking forward to some local eats. You want to show me what your mum makes the best?”

“Alright! You should try the spaghetti!” Changing subjects sharply, she dropped the small figure and grabbed my hand. Her tiny hand tugged on me as I gave her room to pull. A grateful mother nodded as she followed in behind.

The table had a clean white polished finish looking to be some plastic or metal alloy. While I did sort of act like there was going to be a choice for food, there was just one thing on the table. And it sort of might be spaghetti, but I looked back.

“Chicken parmesan.”

“Ah!” Underneath there were noodles that to Louise’s eye made it spaghetti and a white sauce. At each side a salad with carrots and cherry tomatoes as the dominant element to the lettuce. A plate of simple bread cut from a loaf looked ready for butter as a touch of steam rose. “It’s been a week since I’ve had a fresh meal! Thank you kindly for letting me intrude!”

“I appreciate you keeping Louise entertained while I cooked. My husband should be along soon. He’s wrapping up some work for a Courier heading out tonight.”

“Late contract?”

“Would seem and their FLAG was acting up.”

She pulled Louise back to her seat and helped serve her up. I politely worked on my salad as I watched. “The Basilica would normally handle something like that.”

“He needed it rushed and you know the procedures they go through.”

“Ah!” I gave her a nod familiar with the lengthy efforts that they went through. They certainly did good quality work, but speed was never paramount to them. Things had to be done a very specific way and no other. Good to see her husband was so talented, a FLAG wasn’t a simple computer.

Once Louise finished getting her dinner, she passed it over to me. “I hope Louise wasn’t too much, Miss Lacerius.”

While I served up some to my plate, I looked over to her daughter. The excitement she had for a new person seemed to have died in favor of food, fair enough. I smiled back to Mrs. Lalonde. “I had fun. I like learning new things. And you can just call me Valeria or Val if you want. I’ll be here for a bit, no need to be rigid.”

“But you’re a guest.”

“It’s fine.”

“Yea, mum! Miss Val is really nice!”

Her mother leaned over cleaning up a little mess Louise created in her eagerness. She moved a couple small pieces of chicken back on the plate. “Miss Val already? You did have a lot of fun.”

“Lac—Lacer—La…”

“She was having a little trouble.”

“Imperium names can be like that, but you’ll need to get practice if you plan to help.”

“Lacorice?”

Adelphe patted Louise on the head for an attempt. “Don’t forget your carrots.” She settled back in her chair taking in a little more of her dinner. “Miss…Valeria…you’re quite…unique for Courier.”

I finished what I had in my mouth and smiled seeing her tip toeing around words. A small nod and water cleared my throat. “A lot of people say that. But I have a rule that I follow in each town I visit.”

“Rule?”

“Just a personal thing. To know a people, is to know to the town.” I looked over to Louise, who already showed me a few things. “Everyone has so many stories to share. It’d be a shame to visit and not learn anything.”

“Very unique. For Couriers this is business. If it’s not the money or debt, why take on such a risky job?” For townspeople, I could see why they might see Couriers as a risky career choice. It wasn’t many that wanted to give up the benefits. She wasn’t wrong that some dangers came in leaving your town, but it was worth it for me.

“To see new places. It’s the only job that lets me travel. Stuck in one place my whole life wasn’t for me.” I thought back to my parents, who were equal parts supportive and concerned. They understood in the end what I wanted to do. But I couldn’t imagine everyone being so understanding.

“You’ll certainly be able to travel, but I heard settling back down is hard to do.”

“So they say, but I’ve got a long life ahead of me. I’m not overly worried about that future. The present is much more exciting.”

She slowly nodded to herself still trying to accept that. I was definitely a rare sort in a time where people clung to the sides of the Corpus. Across the table Louise continued mostly ignorant of our conversation. Aside from the carrots, she ravenously devoured her food. “What about you? I’m guessing the House is a long family responsibility.”

Mrs. Lalonde paused with the question flipped. She seemed to recall my previous words and relaxed a little. “That’s right. If you can believe it, Lalondes go back to the time of the Basilica.” So it was what I guess might be the case. That certainly explains a few things.

“Predating the Collapse. Did much survive? Is this the original Chapterhouse?”

“No, I think we used to be next to the Basilica after the Separation. Though I don’t know when we moved.”

“So no records either?”

“Nothing in what you’re thinking. Our trade skills survived because that was our work, but anything digitally preserved was lost in the Collapse like everyone else.”

“So much lost history…” I wanted to believe that buried somewhere the Basilica had records still, but short of joining and going up the ranks I’d never be able to even see such a thing. And if they did exist, it was probably a highly guarded secret at this point. The divided Corpus States existed for a reason.

She pushed Louise’s salad bowl closer to her daughter that still carried too many carrots for her liking. “Maybe so, but we have a simpler lifestyle now. What little carried on from those times sounded pretty miserable.”

“Oh? What was it like?”

“Long hours of work with marginal pay. A lot of self reliance and discrimination from the Basilica and others. I don’t know why they kept doing it.”

“They must have enjoyed the work.”

“I guess so… If they hadn’t I wouldn’t be here. So I’m thankful for their sacrifice at least, Sol be praised. But I’m happy with how things are.”

I nodded, finishing the last of my meal. It wasn’t really my place to debate such a viewpoint. Especially when I still didn’t have a conclusion to that sort of question yet. I sort of hoped this job would give me that insight. Not that I had any sort of allusions to anything grander. No, knowing where I fit into the world seemed a big enough question to answer.

“But you’re on good terms now with the Basilica?”

“Hm?” She stopped monitoring her daughter, to make sure she finished her dinner. It took another couple seconds for her to follow back the path. “Sol preserve! That sort of thing doesn’t happen anymore. They’re an important part of the community.”

“That’s true.” I started to consider another question, but stopped when I heard a distant noise with footsteps approaching. That must have been her husband finished with work.

“Dad’s back!” Louise shouted, jumping out of her chair and hurrying along the hall. The two pairs of feet quickly met. Cheers and rapid barrage of statements came from her with hardly a chance for interruption. But I could hear them still approaching.

I turned around in the chair to meet them as they entered. The father was a tall man with a cleanly kept short beard and some patchy early grey for someone still so young. He carried his daughter with ease in his large arm letting her continue to recount her day. “That’s her! Miss Val, she’s a Courier, dad!”

“A new guest! Always glad to have fresh faces! I’m Leonce Lalonde. Hope Louise hasn’t been bothering you too much.”

“Not at all, sir! She’s been quite the host.”

“I’m a host!” she repeated with pride. Louise beamed, lost in her own world. “I showed her the painted city! And—“

“Did you finish eating, Louise?”

She became quiet. For the eagerness, she seemed to clearly understand what she did. “No…”

“You should finish off your mum’s wonderful meal and you can tell me more while I eat!”

“I will!” She hurried off once let down with that same energy as before. I really started to wonder when she’d collapse from exhaustion. It made me think back to the cough and how it drained her. That hardly seemed like the same girl that I saw now. I wonder if he might know something, but dinner didn’t seem like the time to ask.

I needed to find a good moment.