Chapter 6 #2
There were some measly leftovers, so Emmeline pulled out ingredients to make a mixed vegetable curry.
At least there was dough for roti, and when the curry was done, she made roti to go alongside it.
She rarely made roti for herself; there was something kind of depressing about making a singular roti and eating it all alone in her home.
So though she was tired, she didn’t mind making dinner if she got to eat it with everyone together.
At the smell of food cooking, both of her brothers made their way into the kitchen.
“Hey, Emmy, when did you get here?” Haris asked.
“A little while ago,” she replied, flipping the roti on the flame. “Did Ammi tell you about Millie?”
“Yeah, she texted us,” Naveed said, entering behind Haris. Her brothers were a year apart at twenty-four and twenty-three and could pass for twins if not for Naveed’s longer hair.
Emmeline pinched Naveed’s cheek, bothering him on purpose as she left a streak of aata on his face. He swatted her hand away, and she smiled, returning to her roti.
“No meat?” Naveed asked with a pout, pulling the lid off the pot to check the curry. He poked it with a spoon, moving the potatoes and cauliflower around.
“No,” Emmeline said, voice turning stern. “And don’t complain—set the table. Dinner’s almost ready.”
They all sat down together to eat, chatting about random things: Dragon Council politics and Naveed’s job in finance.
“Hey, where’s Motu?” Haris asked, reaching for a second roti.
Emmeline gave him an arch glance. “You just noticed your baby dragon is missing?” Haris winced. “He’s outside with Torch.”
“Thanks.” Haris gave her an easy smile, and she rolled her eyes, continuing to eat.
“I’m going to fly down on Torch tomorrow, but you all drive in,” she said. “I’m making Mills chicken corn soup and cardamom buns, so bring those with you; I don’t want the soup to spill on the flight.”
As she spoke, she remembered the cookies for Noah, but the cookie dough was at her place. Mentally adjusting, she planned to make a new batch here for the boys to bring everything together.
“Why doesn’t Ammi just make soup for Millie there?” Haris asked.
“Because Millie likes my soup,” Emmeline replied. “I made the soup and buns when she had the last two babies, too. A fact you’d recall if you had any sort of memory.”
“God help his patients,” Naveed snorted.
“I cannot even imagine him being a real doctor,” Emmeline said with a shudder. Before Haris could respond with a retort, one of the dragon caretakers appeared with Motu.
“He’s getting fussy,” the caretaker told them, looking at Haris.
“Here, I’ll take him,” Emmeline said, standing. She had already finished eating, so she took Motu from the caretaker. At a year old, Motu was quite big, but she could still carry him, though he entirely filled her arms.
He scratched at his face, fussing, and she made a soothing sound. “Oho,” she said, rubbing her nose against him. “It’s okay.”
Baby dragons needed love and attention from their family the same way human babies did. Nannies could only do so much. After the caretaker left, Emmeline took Motu to the living room, setting him down on the couch and sitting beside him.
“Hey, um, so speaking of Motu,” Haris said, wiping his hands with a napkin. He looked nervous as he came over to Emmeline and sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “You know you’re my favorite sister, right?”
“It’s not much of a competition with Millie four hours away,” Naveed said from the table. By then, Charles had finished eating as well and had retreated back to his office.
Ignoring Naveed’s comment, Emmeline gave Haris an unimpressed look. “What do you want?”
Haris pretended to be offended. “I can’t appreciate my caring and kind sister without wanting something?”
“Precedent says no,” Emmeline replied.
“Don’t use big words around the bechara.” Naveed snorted.
Haris gave him a dirty look. “I know what precedent means, you asshole.” His voice sweetened as he spoke to Emmeline again. She could tell there was something he wanted to say that he had been building up the courage to mention.
“What is it?” she asked.
“You’re so good with Motu,” Haris said. “I was wondering if you could watch him for a few weeks.”
“What?” she asked. “Why?”
He looked embarrassed then. “I kind of failed one of my university courses,” he told her.
“What?” she snapped. Haris cringed, and even Motu hid behind his wings.
“It’s okay!” he added quickly. “I can take it again during the winter and it won’t affect my graduation timeline.”
“I can’t believe you failed one of your courses! I told you to stop going out so much and focus on your studies, but do you ever listen? No!”
Haris winced. “I know, you’re right. I’ll focus on my studies now, promise, but do you think you can watch Motu while I do?”
As if she didn’t have enough on her plate! Motu was a little over a year old and hardly trained, though he was more lazy than mischievous. Even so—it would be extra work, and she already had her business and the bookshop proposal for Anh plus Millie’s baby.
“Haris . . .” she said, drawing out his name, but he knew she wouldn’t refuse him. She never did. The problem with Emmeline was that she couldn’t say no to her family. She had been taking care of everyone and everything for so long that they all relied on her.
“Come on, please!” he said. “You’re the one who says I need to focus, and if I don’t pass the retake, then my whole timeline will be screwed.”
She couldn’t let that happen.
“And I’d leave him with the caretakers, but you see how he is,” Haris said, reaching over to pet Motu.
The baby dragon closed his eyes, happily leaning into Haris’s touch.
“He needs one of us, and he already likes you better than me!” Emmeline took a deep breath.
“Plus, he’s Torch’s egg. It’s only for a few weeks, a month tops! Just until my winter course is over.”
Glancing at the baby dragon, Emmeline knew that if she didn’t look after Motu, he would be left to the caretakers and suffer for it. There was no one else Haris would ask, and there was no one else Emmeline trusted with such a matter.
Releasing a long breath, she looked back at her brother, and a grin lit his face.
“Fine,” she agreed, drawing the word out to express her irritation. “But after we get back from Millie’s.”
“Of course . . . You’re the best!” Haris hugged her, kissing her cheek.
She let him, saying, “You owe me.”
“My life,” he agreed. “I owe you my life.”
As annoyed as she got with her siblings, she was still fond of them in the way only an eldest sister could be.
Emmeline went to the kitchen to get started on the soup for Millie, running through a to-do list for the rest of the evening and tomorrow. She rubbed her temples.
She really wouldn’t be getting any sleep for the next six weeks, would she?