11. Colors

Brooke anticipates her evening with Shawn and wonders how she will face the people she so desperately wanted to work for, especially without any woman stuff to fix herself up. Madam Moon will help.

“Brooklyn, hey are you up?”

Two blue eyes appeared in front of her. She squeaked and frowned at Rogue. “I am now.” Brooke then laughed, stretched, and yawned. She looked out the window to see the light of morning and a snowy ground. Brooke glanced over at the forest-decorated calendar and realized the princess’s recital was four days from today. She began to wonder what she was going to wear. All her clothes were at the house and she did not want to return there. Why had she agreed to go knowing her current situation? She wasn’t as depressed today, but still she sat in filth. When was her last shower? She couldn’t go to the recital with B.O. She could ask Rogue to use his bathroom, but there was nothing to wear afterwards. And what about her breath and her hair and everything? It soon dawned on her that she may have to return to her father’s house, but oh, how she dreaded that realization. She thought about canceling her plans with Shawn, which would be just as dreadful. “What’s up, Rogue?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“We have visitors coming over.” Rogue plopped down on the couch cushion, almost crushing her feet, but she moved them away. She sat upright, combing through her unkempt hair with her fingers. She thought about asking Rogue for a comb, but she remembered that Rogue had dandruff and who knew what else in his mane of hair.

“Who are the visitors?”

“You’ll see, but tonight I’ll be cooking baked chicken, rice, corn, and spinach.” Brooke faked a gasp, dropping the hair over her left shoulder. It went as far as her shoulder bones. Rogue cocked his head to the side. “What?”

“You’re cooking normal meat?”

Rogue arched a brow at her. “I always cook normal meat.”

“Rabbits and deer are not normal meats!” she exclaimed remembering that rabbit she ate. She imagined herself eating a rabbit’s eye or a deer’s stomach and grimaced.

Rogue smirked and then shrugged. “Eh, the cuter, the edibler.”

Brooke crossed her arms and scoffed, “Next you’ll try a puppy I bet.”

Rogue waved his hand dismissively and shook his head. “Nah, I wait till it’s a dog.”

“Yuck!” Brooke thought about the dog she saw when she nearly passed out before Rogue’s house. She hoped it didn’t go into some kind of dinner surprise. “You didn’t eat the dog, did you?”

“What dog?”

“That dog you were feeding,” Brooke’s eyes widened, “Please tell me you weren’t plumping it up for the pot?”

“Oh no, that’s just a little friend I have.”

Brooke’s shoulder relaxed as she looked at Rogue with admiration. “I didn’t know you were friendly towards animals.”

“Guess you learned something.”

“I figured they ran away from you since you eat them.”

Rogue laughed. “I’ll be back, okay?” He stood on his feet, grabbed his coat, and laid it over his arm like a dead raccoon. He took a deep breath and smiled at Brooke. “Get some rest for tonight and don’t worry about how you look, kay?”

Brooke nodded, but she did care about her appearance. She didn’t want to face visitors looking like the way she did. For now, however, she listened to Rogue, laid down, and napped.

A pleasant aroma tickled the tip of her nose. She sniffed and opened one eye, looking around the cottage. Rogue stood in front of the stove, rocking the handle of the pot boiling with rice. Brooke chuckled at the big guy wearing an apron around him and mittens that covered half his hands. He said nothing, just nodded to her acknowledging that she was awake.

The hearth was blazing. Brooke kicked the covers off her and sat up. She wished Rogue had a television, a computer, or something electronic. He loved a newspaper and chugging down a beer any day, but he just didn’t believe in technology. Technology numbs the mind, he said, but her mind needed some numbing. Oh well. She grew accustomed to watching the hearth and the wriggle of the fire as if it were an exotic dancer. Sometimes she lost herself in each movement. There was no distinct pattern, just random waves.

Someone knocked at the door. “My hands are tied at the moment,” said Rogue.

Brooke nodded and went to the door. She grasped the wooden handle and pulled it open. She gasped when she saw it was Shawn and his boss, Madam Moon. She wore a brown jacket, a purple, silk blouse, and jeans. The single strand of hair laid over her shoulder. She smiled, her purple lips stretching over her face. “Good evening, Miss Brooklyn.”

“Good evening, Madam Moon,” Brooke said awkwardly. Her name was exotic and strange to say. Brooke stepped aside and allowed the two entry.

Madam Moon sniffed and smirked. “My, my was I wrong about you, Rogue.” She whistled glancing around the room. “I mistook you for a pig, but this isn’t so bad.”

Rogue frowned. “Thanks, I guess.” Madam Moon laughed. Brooke wondered why Shawn came down now. Brooke’s depression had lifted for this while, but it lifted nonetheless. Rogue turned off the fire and turned to the group, holding the pot. “Shall we eat?”

Brooke, Shawn, Madam Moon sat down at the table. Rogue took out plates from the cabinet and fixed their food. Brooke received two drumsticks, a small portion of rice topped with corn, and a side of spinach. Madam Moon and Rogue had a big plate. Madam Moon’s plate had a lot of spinach, opposite of Rogue’s plate in which he had five pieces of chicken. Rogue prayed over the food and they ate. Shawn talked about how it felt to have his license. Brooke tried not to feel down that he’d probably made his master proud, but she had….Then he talked about how much harder the projects had gotten. He even talked about the sword he will be making for Princess Meredith.

Madam Moon talked about magic before Rogue interrupted her claiming no one’s interest. She yelled at him and Brooke laughed at the two. Rogue said nothing afterwards, his large smacks talking for him. Madam Moon scolded him about his bad manners and Rogue rolled his eyes. She then turned to Brooke and said, “So, Brooklyn, I heard that you are attending the recital and Rogue has shared with me that you need some female assistance?”

Brooke blushed as she lifted her head, gulping down a fork of corn and rice. “Um.” She glanced at Rogue and arched her brows. He shrugged with a drumstick to his mouth.

“You said you didn’t want to go to your father’s house, so I got some help,” Rogue said with his mouth full.

Madam Moon grimaced. “Ugh, you disgusting thing.” She looked at Brooke. “I just thought you would like one of my dresses.”

She imagined some tone of purple dress and it didn’t appeal to her. Purple was not Brooke’s favorite color to wear.Then again, she didn’t have much of a choice. Brooke nodded to the woman and she understood. Madam Moon left the house, and returned with a small shopping bag. She reached into it and pulled out a long yellow dress with a ruffled skirt and a strapless bodice. It was unexpected. Brooke’s eyes widened and she gasped over the lovely dress. “I bought this old thing for my prom night; I thought yellow would suit you.”

“Wow, thank you so much!” exclaimed Brooke smiling.

“I’m not done yet, you do know how to use a flat iron, huh?” She pulled out a flat iron from the bag. “Or did you want to flatten your hair?”

“No that’s better than going like this,” replied Brooke as she looked at her Capris and tank top. Madam Moon stuffed everything back into the bag and gave it to Brooke. She shook the woman’s hand. “Thank you so much, Madam Moon!”

“Always happy to help, darling, and here’s a toothbrush and toothpaste. Rogue’s ways of hygiene I know is nothing like yours, is it?”

“All I can say is thank you Madam Moon.”

The woman nodded and laughed. “Yeah, now you can brush that spinach off your tooth.”

Brooke blushed and everyone laughed. 

Author's Note

Dear Reader,

This chapter can be equated to a filler episode of an anime series. That's all I have to say about the chapter honestly.

I chose this picture because the purple represents Madam Moon and the yellow represents Brooke.

Thank you for reading!

Sincerely JazzSoulKeke,

God bless