Whatever It Takes {Two | Alaric Saltzman}

Today Will Be Different

"Dear Elena, I hope this isn't too messy. I'm doing the mom thing of grabbing any spare moment to write before Alaric and I leave for work while Lizzie and Josie are upstairs watching cartoons after eating big bowls of sugar. They have excellent lives.

"There have been zero unwanted house guests since last week. Lizzie and Josie are blissfully unaware that they were ever in any danger. Even though I wish Ric and I could say the same, we've been distracting ourselves by researching our new enemy.

"It's my turn to update you and I'm happy to report that for the first time it's not entirely bad news. Enzo left clues for Bonnie, leading us to believe that he's on our side in all of this. He's given us more than a starting point, so whatever real-life, supernatural thing is controlling our friends, Ric and I will find a way to fight it."

She reached for her coffee to find it empty, but she didn't even have time to ask Alaric to pour her another cup before he was making it just the way she liked.

"What?" He asked as she smiled at him. "No comment about sugary cereal?"

"You handle breakfast on the days we leave for work together. That's the deal." She closed her journal. "But you gave them a banana or an apple or something, right?"

"No." He returned the coffee pot to its place. "I gave them cookies."

"I wouldn't put it past you." Tapping the counter, she rose to her feet. "We're going to have to go to the grocery store on the way home from work."

Laughing, he asked, "How is that possible?"

"Well, the girls drink as much orange juice as you, we cook dinner more than we don't, we pack lunches almost every day, the four of us love snacks, and they don't sell laundry or dishwasher detergent in quantities large enough to keep up with the constant stream of either that we produce. And I'm pretty sure one of the interns has been stealing my pens, so I need some more." She rolled up the documents they studied the night before and put them into her bag before pulling different ones out. "Just think of it as a date."

"How romantic." He walked up behind her, trapping her between his body and the counter. "What are those?"

She signed her name at the bottom of two identical papers. "Permission slips for the history field trip."

"That's a lot of fine print for a walk to Town Square."

"I know, right? Things were much simpler when I was a kid." Her hair fell over her shoulders in waves as she faced him. "How come you never took us on walks to Town Square?"

He kissed her. "I took you on plenty of walks in Town Square."

"You sure did." The front door opened and closed just as they pulled a part, giving them time to gather the rest of their things before Seline entered the room. "Hey, Seline! Thanks for going on the field trip. I really wanted to but there's a big archive search still in progress at work, so I couldn't get the day off."

"Oh, no problem," Seline said. "Before you guys go, I wanted to talk to you about something weird I noticed."

Alaric slowly asked, "What?"

"I think you guys overpaid me this week." Shrugging, Seline added, "It might have been a mix-up."

He laughed. "No, no. No mix-up. We decided to give you a raise."

"Wow. Thank you." Her surprised expression turned into a smile. "Any particular reason?"

"Trust us, you earned it." Abigail walked to the base of the stairs. "Girls!"

"Coming!"

Alaric put his hand on the small of her back, whispering, "Can I ask why you only have to call for them once?"