Episode 36

The next few days passed as if in a blur. I managed to secure the Agency's help without issue, and we all went flying around distributing letters. Of course since it was my idea, I was in charge of delivering to the homeless population.

Not everyone reacted kindly to the news. Most of those I saw were fairly neutral to it. But the prospect of a hot shower and a free meal appealed to them.

I realized they didn't care about knowing who was ruling over them. They cared about surviving. They cared about finding a place to sleep at night. A hot meal, a shower, clothes that fit. A job. Seeing their family again, someday. These people's dreams were smaller, more down to earth, but so real. I wished I could help them get their HEA too.

Another thing I hadn't thought of was the sheer number of people in that situation. Shit, and here I was thinking the city was doing well. I struggled to reach them all.

But I did it. And the Agency, too. Every single person living in the city had an invitation to the engagement ceremony, and I'd make sure they'd also have one for the wedding when it came. Cecile was surprised we managed in such a short time. I wasn't.

At last, after 5 days of running and flying around, it was done.

Jo and I were celebrating with a pumpkin latte when I got a phone call. It was Laura.

"Hello Tina, how are you?" always so polite. "I'm fine thanks," I answered. "And you love? What's new? Have you made your decision about Erwan?"

She had. "Oh yes I made it days ago, I was just pretending to think on it more so you'd be on your toes. Of course I'll take the kid! I talked to my parents, and they don't mind helping out while I'm still studying."

I had to smile. I also had to ask. "So when are you free to meet him? He's still in hospital but will be out any day now."

She was free later that day. We set up a time and hung up. I turned to Jo with a smile. "I'm fairly sure this will work out. I don't know if it will close these cases, but at least Erwan will be safe and Laura won't be so lonely anymore. Anyway, we were talking about the ceremony. What are you going to wear?"

Josephine laughed. "Surprise! You'll see. Thanks for getting the Agency to help with those letters, by the way. It was good thinking and it was nice to spread our wings a bit."

Another smile. My face acted on its own lately. "Thank you for helping out. I couldn't have done it on my own."

"So," Jo started. "How are things between our prince and princess?"

Things were surprisingly fine. Now that a date was set and Eileen couldn't go back, she launched herself fully into the preparations for the wedding. She used every little bit of free time she had to get up to date on the kingdom, the ceremony, her future duties, everything she could. All with the help of August, who was to be her bridesmaid and probably her right arm.

I was really happy with the way those girls were getting closer by the day. August turned out to be a very reliable friend to Eileen. She was also very good at finding information Eileen could need.

I got daily updates on them and how they were doing. I also got daily updates on Gianni, from Cecile. Both of them were knees deep in the preparations but Cecile managed to take 5 minutes every day to keep me up to date. That was surprisingly thoughtful.

I was glad to be in the loop with everyone, and made sure Jo was included. She was my boss after all.

I was still musing on all of this on my way to the bar. That was an issue I still hadn't managed to solve, but the ceremony took precedence over my personal problems. So did the Erwan and Laura situation. I hoped I'd have time to fix my shit soon. I was tired of hangovers.