A Miraculous Tale: Peacock

Ch. 12

May 8, 2001

Emily sat across from Gabriel. Her hair had a slight wave to it, and a gray beanie covered the top of her head. She had on a pink shirt with a gray sweater and jeans.

"You look cute." Gabriel told her with a smile. She smiled back.

"Thanks."

They were sitting at their favorite coffee shop; the one that was near their old college. The waitress came by, and they both ordered a coffee.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Gabriel was idly drawing on a napkin while Emilie was thinking deeply about something. The waitress brought their drinks, but Emilie barely registered it. Gabriel thanked her, and she left with a swish of her hips. After a moment Emilie became aware of someone calling her, and with a start she was brought out of her daydream.His voice startled her, and she looked at him curiously.

"Emilie, what is it?" Gabriel questioned once again.

"What is what?" She asked.

"That look on your face. It only comes around when you are determined about something. So... what is it?"

Emilie blew a stray hair out of her face. "I was just thinking about something." She left it at that, but Gabriel wasn't satisfied.

"C'mon, Emilie. You can trust me. You know that, right?"

Emilie nodded. "I know, and I do trust you. I just think that you won't like this idea; I don't want you to put it out." Emilie told him

He reached across the table and held her hands. "Well I can't put it out if you don't tell me what it is. Please?" He looked at her with puppy dog eyes, and Emilie sighed.

"Fine. I was thinking..." She took a breath for confidence. "What if we were heroes?"

His brow furrowed. "Heroes? What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if we were heroes that saved people. You know, stopped runaway cars, help the police, protect the innocent..."

"Stop robberies and shootings?" Gabriel guessed. Emilie didn't look at him. "This is about Jane, isn't it?" He guessed. Emilie nodded. Gabriel gently moved Emilie's chin so he could look her in the eyes.

"Emilie, you will always be a hero in your heart. That's one of the many reasons I love you, married you even. Endangering your life though? It's... reckless. Sometimes fixing the world isn't about going out and fighting crime, though that is important, but sometimes the best thing to do is to fix the small things. Like doing an act of kindness everyday, or volunteering at a soup kitchen. That's the kind of everyday hero things we can do, Emilie, and I'll do it with you."

Emilie pulled away from him and fiddled with her drink. A man passed by, and she spent her time pretending to watch him. When he finally left she sighed and turned to Gabriel.

"Those are good things to do, and you're right, what I was thinking is dangerous. But... I just can't help but feel like there's something greater that we can do. Something... amazing."

"You are amazing." Gabriel said. Emilie shook her head.

"Stop with the flattery, Gabriel. I... I need to go." She abruptly stood, shouldered her bag, and grabbed her coffee. "I'll see you at the house."

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Emilie sat on the couch, fiddling with the tassel on one of the pillows. She still couldn't get the idea out of her head, even when she tried to. It just sat there, stuck to her consciousness, refusing to leave, and part of Emilie didn't want it to leave. We could save so many lives if we would only try. She thought. Her cell phone started buzzing, and Emilie hurriedly reached for her bag. Ever since Jane's death she had been quick to answer calls, just to make sure everything was alright. She fished around for the small device, but she couldn't find it. She quickly dumped her bag and grabbed her phone the second it hit the couch. She clicked a button and put the phone to her ear.