"Did you ever replace me?" Hutch wondered, as he watched Casimir drink his coffee.
"Nope. I left it to Barhalis to replace us both and went back to being the King. Gods I fucking hated every minute of being in that palace. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that throne was?"
"No, please, tell me more about how terribly uncomfortable your massive, cushioned throne was, as I ran for my life and slept on the cold stones of the ground," Hutch replied, slow and sarcastically, while rolling his eyes and leaning against the table as he watched Casimir over the rim of his mug.
"That was exactly the problem. It wasn't cushioned. The fabric was wafer thin and the cushion itself was rock hard. The damn thing was made of compressed grass. I didn't pay my decoys enough to sit on that thing for as long as they did. And those robes? They were so ridiculously heavy. It was a workout just to drag them around with me. Sleeping on the ground, bah, as if I didn't do that for years right along with you."
"Un huh," Hutch replied, before finishing his coffee.
"Then there was the crown itself. That cursed thing was actually carved from a piece of stone. It weighed more than our ceremonial helmets. It put a permanent kink in my neck. And I'm not even going to mention how bad it was for my feet and knees to be walking around on those floors with improper footwear. And a moment of peace and quiet, forget it. Every inch of that palace echoed, and the rooms wailed like banshees when the wind picked up."
"You done yet?" Hutch huffed as he stood up from the table.
"I could on and on for hours," Casimir stressed, before grinning up at him. "I'll listen to your complaints about life in Cheph later. For now, have another cup of coffee. Something tells me you're going to need it today."
"Was already planning on it," he replied as he headed into the kitchen. "You want waffles or pancakes?"
"Pancakes sounds just fine, Hutch."
"You got it boss. Pancakes it is."
The rest of the day went much as Hutch expected. The day was a slog with snarky remarks, gossip, and unfounded rumors, and it took carrying around his travel mug all day as a reminder to behave himself, taking a drink of water every time, he wanted to say something in return, and gripping it tighter to avoid punching the other boys, who had taken things too far on more than one occasion. It was a simple trick that Casimir had taught him long ago, when he was still a trainee in the academy, and the habit had never left him.
By the end of the day, he was relieved to have made it to the weekend without incident. While to most it would have been a miniscule step, to him, it felt like a monumental achievement. After all, he'd been out of school for over twenty years.
The rest of the day consisted of dinner, chores, homework, conversations, and then bed. His mind was thoroughly exhausted enough to let him sleep soundly through the night; no dreams, no nightmares, no unexpected torments.
He was pleasantly surprised when he awoke to sunlight filtering into his room, and the sensation of being well rested, as he stretched and rolled beneath his covers.
Coffee, breakfast, and dishes were done by 8. And by 10:30, all the beds had been striped and remade, laundry was in the dryer, and the vacuuming and dusting had been completed, which was his list of goals for the day. A quick shower later, and he was dressed and out in the lab with Casimir, reminding him that it was nearly time to leave.
"Go where again?" Casimir asked as he looked up from his computer.
Hutch scowled and leaned back against his table. "Ren's. You said I was doing good enough to drive," he replied, as Casimir got up and moved over to the large microscope on the opposite table.
"What I said, was that you should drive because you could use more practice. Now, come over here and look at this before we go."
Hutch straightened himself up and moved up next to Casimir, who nodded towards the microscope. Leaning down, Hutch looked through the eye pieces and saw an unfamiliar hexagonal, thatched pattern of lines before his eyes.
"What am I looking at?" he questioned before standing back.
"That is one of the sap samples we gathered from Pando," he said as he swapped out the slide and adjusted the focus. "And this is the myrrget from the amulet."
When Casimir stepped out of the way, Hutch looked into the microscope once again, and a similar pattern to the previous slide appeared, although it was different enough to be noticeable, even to someone like him.
"They look a lot alike."
"They do. They are far from a perfect match, but they are similar. It's what I had hoped to see."
"Oh?" Hutch said as he stepped back. "Take it that's a good thing?"
"Yes, Hutch, that is science speak for 'it's a good thing.' In the grand scheme of things, it is a tiny step forward, but every step at this point is significant."
Hutch wasn't entirely certain of what to say. He had questions but it seemed rude to ask, so he smiled and pat Casimir's shoulder. "That's great. Good job."
Casimir's left brow immediately lifted as his right sank, and the smile he had been wearing vanish, like a wild rabbit into a warren.
"This is entirely lost on you, isn't it?" The tone of disappointment was unmistakable.
"Absolutely," Hutch replied, bowing his head apologetically. "I have no idea what it means, aside from, you are working on things and making progress. Maybe."
Casimir took a breath and rubbed at the inside corners of his eyes, before pinching at the bridge of his nose. "Butler was definitively the more suitable position for you."
"Couldn't agree more. Wish I could tell you different, but I've only been back in school for a week, and this is a bit more advanced that what I'm learning. Plus, as I've been reminded repeatedly, intellect wasn't exactly handed out in abundance on my branch of the family tree."
"And yet, it is a wise man who understands his limitations, while the intellect explains what they are," Casimir said with a grin.
"You've been holding on to that one for a while, haven't you?"
"You have the keys?" Casimir remarked, pushing Hutch towards the door.
"You should get it printed on a poster to hang on my bedroom wall," he muttered, pulling the keys from his pocket as they left the laboratory. "Super motivational."
"Just get in the truck," Casimir huffed.
The drive to the trailer park took a bit longer than expected as some of the country roads were still covered in a layer of compressed snow. It felt weird to Hutch, when he pulled in the park, and crept his way down the road. He took the longer way around, not wanting to pass by Cherry's trailer. Parking in Ren's driveway, he turned off the truck and took a deep breath.
"Go get Ren and I'll drive you back."
"Was I that bad?"
"You were fine, Hutch. Parallel parking is still something you need to learn, but otherwise, you're doing well. Once we can schedule your road test, I'm sure you'll pass. But Ren's going to be a distraction, and the roads are just bad enough for that to be a recipe for disaster."
"Fair point," Hutch said, as he opened the door and got out. "Be right back."
Hutch made his way up to the door of the trailer, and gave it knock. He'd fully expected for Ren to open the door and was surprised when it swung open, and Stephanie was standing there.
"Hey, Momma Dodge."
"Hutch?" she questioned, clearly surprised to see him at the door. "Omg, Hutch! Get your ass in here!" she barked, pointing towards the living room.
Hutch lowered his head, and made his way inside, the door slamming shut behind him.
"Where the hell have you been?! Do you have any idea what you're putting your poor mother through!?" she shouted, as Ren stood in the doorway of his bedroom, looking sorry.
Hutch turned around and straightened himself up. "Ms. Dodge," he spoke with a calming and respectful tone, "I apologize if my being here has put you in an awkward position, but my mother, despite what she may have told you, is the reason I left. She was the one who told me to get out."
"She was angry, Hutch. She didn't expect you to actually leave. At least not for as long as you have."
"No, she expected that I would give in to what she wanted. Or that I would leave, find I had nowhere to go and come crawling back begging for her forgiveness. It's a game she likes to play, and I'm not interested in being a part of it anymore. I'm doing really, well for myself. I'm working, I have an amazing place to live, and I'm back in school."
"It doesn't matter, sweetheart. She is your mother, and she's been looking everywhere for you."
"If my mother really wanted to find me, it wouldn't be that difficult. She knows who my employer is. In fact, he's waiting out in the truck for us now. I can ask him to come in if you want to speak to him."
"Dammit Hutch," she scoffed, "I don't need to speak to him. Cherry told me that you left without a word, and she hasn't heard from you since. So, what I need, is for you to sit down and wait for her to get here so you can talk this out."