I see shadows
And I don’t know
Am I dreamin’, or is this real?
Will I live through this ordeal?
A haunted house is no place to sleep.

Synapses write horror shows
I can't control the places they take me
I think they’re trying to break me
I pull up all the covers and scream, somebody help!
But no one ever comes

It’s — It’s a nightmare but I'm awake
My sleeping brain’s
A pit of snakes

Always on the run
The demons follow me wherever I’m heading
My reputation is spreading
And I’m not even safe in my bed

Wake up in a set of handcuffs, smile
But they still want to arrest me
They ask the doctors to test me
I’m fit to stand trial? But may I disagree…
No way, huh?

It’s — It’s a nightmare but I'm awake
My sleeping brain’s
A pit of snakes
It’s — It’s a nightmare but I'm awake
I got the shakes
My life’s at stake!

I’d rather learn to fly
Or eat a giant pie
Oh, gods, I need a gun
Back off, you bedbugs, please don’t bite
Just let me sleep tonight
Then I’ll turn out the light
I’ll be alright
I’m not alright…

Parasomnia! Parasomnia!
Every night these phantoms come haunt me
That’s why no one ever wants me
I'm sleeping on the street with the trash… gonna crash
See the monsters from my dreams
You understand? It’s not ‘cause I’m crazy
Just go away, you can’t save me
The twisted sheets and the lack of sleep
They're causing me pain...

It’s — It’s a nightmare but I'm awake
My sleeping brain’s
A pit of snakes
It’s — It’s a nightmare but I'm awake
I got the shakes
I need a break!

House Rules Conquest with seven players (Ann and Milo played, over the General’s objection that obviously they were going to ally with each other.) ate up a good chunk of the afternoon.

Once the General learned that they intended to allow magic, all the arbitrary rules meant to make the game playable went right out the window. All that was required to allow an unorthodox move was a rational explanation for how the strategy was to be accomplished — with ‘rational’ being rather loosely defined due to Calliope, Euterpe and Erik.

Mordecai peeked in later and began to advise Erik (who had by then been pushed into a small corner of Ifrana, despite the invisible lion army) on matters of defence, which only prolonged things.

By the end, Euterpe and the General had pretty much divided the map between them (the General had more resources, but Euterpe had more territory), Calliope was gravely holding on in Suidas (“Hey, pretty much the only thing I can do is keep everybody else from winning.”) and Erik, trapped in a walled city and surrounded, had begun to parse all the spent pieces unceremoniously shoved into the Magnus Ocean as dead people, which he was not too happy about. He was trying, with all his eight-year-old skill, to broker a peace from a position of whining a lot and being sad.

Euterpe and the General were not having it, especially Euterpe. “Look, Will, no one ever went out of their way to keep from crushing my feelings and I was a lot more pathetic than you. You are crying to the wrong person.”

“It’s just how the game is played, Erik,” Calliope said, rather more gently, and while frowning in her brother’s direction. “It’s okay if you want to quit. We can do something else…”

“Want them to stop fighting,” Erik muttered, curled up in his chair.

Mordecai was on one side of him and Ann on the other, having a silent implied argument over who was more comforting and responsible.

Maggie had long since departed to play in the alley.

Concerned over the lateness of the hour and the construction of dinner, Hyacinth finally dipped a bowl of water from the cement flowerpot and poured it directly into the centre of the game board. “Oh, darn,” she said. “Torrential rains. Whatever shall we do for trenches? There goes the war.” All the tiny pieces were disrupted and some of them puddled on the floor.

“Hyacinth, board games cost money,” the General said. Euterpe swore and kicked the table.

“Hang it on the clothesline, sir,” Hyacinth said.

“I think everyone still died,” Erik said, wincing.

“I’m certain they all had boats,” Ann said.

“Even the lions?”

“Lions can swim,” Mordecai said.

“Why aren’t I allowed to win things, Calliope?” Euterpe said miserably.

She had her hand on his back and was patting him. “It’s not a real game of Conquest unless everyone is unhappy at the end, Euterpe.”

Dinner, owing to time and space constraints, was takeout. Calliope volunteered herself and her brother to go get it. Ann went along to make certain they came back with food.

“Euterpe, dear,” Ann said, “are you certain you wouldn’t rather lie down for a little before dinner? You’ve been up since three.” Perhaps some of his… “personality” could be attributed to exhaustion…?

“Bad idea,” Calliope said, leading him down the porch steps.

“Yeah, I sleep better when I’m tired,” Euterpe affirmed.

“I think most of us do,” Ann said.

Furthermore, Calliope wanted to take Euterpe on a walk around the block after dinner. The rest of the household discouraged them. It was full dark and Strawberryfield would eat Euterpe and Calliope. Even if they sent the Lu-ambulator along, it didn’t understand Euterpe was a friend — it would shove past him and skitter off to a safe place with Calliope all by herself.

Disappointed, Calliope made do with walking him up and down the staircase while making conversation. Lucy was pleased to be included and did not appear to mind being passed back and forth between her mom and uncle. Maybe she didn’t notice any difference.

Lucy’s bassinet was removed to Room 202 and a cot and some blankets were brought up from the basement for Euterpe. They even managed to find him a pillow!

In his makeup bag (it was a Fermé) Euterpe had secured other accoutrements, such as toiletries, a set of striped pyjamas, some slippers, a plush, cloud-shaped pillow that lit up and played “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” and an egg salad sandwich that he had forgotten about at some point.

“Whaddya think, Calliope? Still good?” he asked her.

“Man, I dunno,” she said. “Glorie, you know anything about slipspace being refrigerated?”

“I believe if we were able to confirm that, we would be in danger of winning several scientific prizes,” the General said.

Euterpe was examining the sandwich. “Smells all right…”

“Ann, what does Milo think?”

Ann did not bother to consult with Milo, “It is Milo’s and my considered opinion that he not eat that sandwich, Calliope!”

“I guess I already brushed my teeth,” Euterpe said.

Euterpe bedded down in the cot, clutching his musical cloud — sans food poisoning. “Once more into the breach,” he said, smiling.

Calliope saluted him, “See you on the other side.”

◈◈◈

The household awakened to the sound of screaming.

Barnaby put a pillow over his head and went back to sleep, if David wanted him, he’d come in and scream louder. Room 101… Well, there was no telling.

Everyone else went into emergency mode.

Ann ran out of her room. Hyacinth ran out of her room. Erik and Mordecai ran out of their room.

The General gave orders, “Magnificent, look after Lucy,” and proceeded downstairs in a calm manner.

Ann and Mordecai had already broken into Calliope’s room. Hyacinth was about to. Erik had been told to stay back. The screaming had progressed to moaning, but it still sounded as if someone in Room 103 might’ve had a limb lopped off with an axe, and Mordecai was not yet willing to make a judgment call about the danger.

“Calliope, what is it?” Ann demanded.

Calliope did not answer, but she was otherwise engaged, and perhaps she did not understand she was supposed to.

Euterpe was sitting up in the cot with the blanket puddled in his lap and his hands pressed over his eyes. Calliope was beside him, with both arms wrapped around him and trying to hold him still. He was moaning and rocking — no words at all, just evident terror. Calliope was speaking to him but he didn’t answer, and he didn’t stop.

“Euterpe, it’s okay. Wake up. It’s okay now. Wake up.”

Ann stared and touched a hand over her mouth. “Calliope…” she said softly. No one else knew, not even Milo, but that was what Calliope had said when Milo lost control of himself in the basement. First, a few concerned inquiries, but then his bladder let go. Instead of recoiling from him or crying out in disgust, she put both arms around him to hold him still and she said, Milo, it’s okay. Wake up.

Is this something she’s used to? Ann thought. Is this why?

While she was still turning this over in her mind, and before Mordecai had the wherewithal to step forward and offer further comfort, Euterpe gave another shriek and punched Calliope in the face.

A red-headed blur in a white nightie knocked Euterpe out of the cot and pinned him to the floor by both shoulders, uncomfortably near his throat. One of his feet was still hooked on the edge of the cot. There was a slipper on it.

Calliope was frowning and rubbing a hand on her cheek. “Milo, babe, cut it out. He just woke up.”

“Milo?” cried Hyacinth. It was Ann two seconds ago! She was talking! What in the actual hell?

Ann felt much the same. She hadn’t changed like that since she took all the dresses. Truthfully, she had never changed like that, not so fast.

It must be because of the nightie, that was all she could think. Ann and Milo shared nightclothes. It wasn’t pants or a dress so it could be either one of them. Theoretically. Milo had just taken advantage of that fact.

Milo sat back, blinking, with his eyes winced narrow trying to see without glasses and his hair in disordered hanks at the sides of his face. He wasn’t hearing Ann at all. Nor did he care. But the man hurt you, Calliope…

“Hey, Calliope,” Euterpe said faintly.

“Hey, Euterpe,” Calliope said. “What was it?” she asked. Euterpe came up with some pretty neat things sometimes. She’d done a whole series on “Man with Wasps in His Head.” That might be worth revisiting. She was way better at painting now than she’d been at twelve.

“Giant chicken,” Euterpe said.

Calliope frowned. “Just a regular giant chicken?”

“Sorry,” Euterpe said.

“Nah, it’s not like you get to pick,” Calliope said.

“Did I land any?” he asked.

“Yeah. Just one.”

“Sorry,” Euterpe said.

“It’s okay, I’m out of practice.” She nudged Milo with a hand. He was still practically on top of Euterpe. “Milo, come on.”

Milo slid backwards but remained on the floor. Calliope helped Euterpe back into the cot. His head hit the pillow and he dropped instantly back to sleep.

“Calliope, what the hell was that?” said Hyacinth.

“What?” said Calliope. “I said he gets nightmares.”

“That is not nightmares,” Hyacinth said. “You do not get nightmares and then punch people.”

Milo nodded frantically. He should know because he had a lot of nightmares and he never punched anyone about them!

“I used to get nightmares and punch people,” Calliope said, frowning. “We all used to, but the rest of us kids grew out of it. I clocked Euterpe real good with a lamp once.” She paused and considered. “Huh. Maybe that’s why he’s weird.”

She had, as per usual, rendered the household speechless and gap-mouthed. She had a drop of blood on her lower lip, and Hyacinth wasn’t even in there trying to do anything about that.

“Calliope,” Mordecai broke in. He approached cautiously and offered her his arm. “Let’s go in the kitchen and fix you.” …If such a thing were even possible.

◈◈◈

Milo was pacing back and forth and reliving his hospital waiting room experience. Everyone else was in chairs around the kitchen table.

Calliope had an ice bag wrapped in a towel. There was a small bloodstain on it, but that was a mild contusion on the inside of her lip. Euterpe hadn’t broken anything. It was sort of a glancing blow. Hyacinth was on one side of her and trying to deal with the physical consequences. Mordecai was on the other, and utterly mystified as to how to be of comfort. She didn’t seem like she needed it.

“This isn’t going to happen again, is it?” was all the General wanted clarified.

Calliope shook her head. “Uh-uh. He’ll sleep through. It’s hard when that happens, you get real tired.”

“Then I shall relieve my daughter of duty,” the General replied. She departed with a bow.

“Calliope,” said Hyacinth, “Are you telling me that a whole houseful of nine kids used to be up all night screaming and punching each other?”

“No,” she said. “Not all nine of us. Like, two or three. And we’d go back to sleep.”

“…And nobody thought to call an exorcist about this?”

“Why would we want one of those?” Calliope said.

“Oh, I don’t know…” said Hyacinth.

“My dad used to get nightmares when he was a kid,” Calliope went on. “Or whatever you want to call ’em. It’s not like a big deal.”

“Is that going to happen to Lucy?” said Mordecai.

Calliope shrugged. “Maybe when she gets older. She’s little for it.”

Why are you not terrified? thought Mordecai. Your brother just went screaming insane and punched you in the face and your daughter might do that too! Why are you not pacing back and forth like Milo and waiting for the roof to cave in?

But, the roof hadn’t caved in. There was screaming and punching and then everything was fine. No one was mad. It wasn’t going to happen again — not for a while. Oh, sorry, thought you were a giant chicken. It’s okay, I totally get that. And this was, apparently, how it always went. Even up to hitting each other in the head with a lamp. No harm done. Goodnight. Back to sleep.

No wonder she’s so calm all the time, he thought. Her whole world ended in pants-wetting terror every night but it never meant anything. She just expects everything to snap back to normal when it all goes wrong. It’s trained into her.

“Scary chicken,” Erik complained, staring into his mug of hot chocolate. He was also not too in-love with the man with wasps in his head.

Mordecai turned and dealt with his child, who had never learned the lesson that trauma was a transient thing. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“Milo, do you have a shift tomorrow?” Calliope said.

Milo ceased pacing and glanced up without really seeing her. Huh? A “shift”? What’s that? People are hurting each other, I don’t understand…

“Babe, go back to bed,” Calliope said. “Okay? I’m gonna be okay. I know you’re worried, but you don’t have to do this. It’s okay.”

Milo shook his head. You’re hurt. You have ice. That man hurt you but he still gets to stay here and everyone keeps saying it’s okay…

Milo, it wasn’t on purpose. She explained what it was. He didn’t know it was her. And it’s not going to happen again. Maybe it isn’t okay, but there’s nothing else to do and you’re not helping things pacing around the kitchen.

She wants me to go away, Milo thought, stricken.

She wants you to get sleep so you can function tomorrow. The going away is incidental.

It’s an excuse, Milo thought sadly. But he sighed and nodded. Head hanging, he left.

It was an excuse, but she understood Milo well enough to know she needed to make one. If she was just honest with him, he’d think she was trying to hurt him. She wasn’t mad, just worried. She asked Erik if he was all done with his hot chocolate.

Erik sighed heavily. He’d like another one, but that wasn’t a good idea right now. There weren’t a whole lot of good places in the house for people to talk, not warm, nice ones when the weather was cold. They were doing so well, he thought. They were liking each other again. He took hold of his uncle’s hand. “Come on.”

Mordecai glanced at Calliope. She nodded to him. Hyacinth glanced at Mordecai, but quite a bit less placidly. Whoa, wait a minute. Is this serious? What’s going on? She looked at Calliope and pressed her lips closed on a snicker. Are you breaking up with me?

Calliope looked down and rested her cheek in her hand — the one that wasn’t developing a bruise. “I just want to talk for a minute.”

It’s not you, it’s me, thought Hyacinth. I just think we should take a break for a little while. We should see other people.

When she heard the door to Room 102 close, Calliope spoke again without looking up, “Cin… Is Milo dangerous?”

“Dangerous?” said Hyacinth.

Calliope nodded.

Hyacinth sat forward and put her chin in her hands. She was reflexively smiling. This wasn’t too bad. “Well, I don’t know. He gets these ideas, you know?”

Calliope nodded.

“And he’s not always really careful about what he decides to build. You kinda have to keep an eye on him. But I don’t think he means anything by it.”

Calliope shook her head. “No, Cin, I don’t mean like when he put the glowy watch stuff in the toaster…”

“What did Milo put in the toaster?”

“…I mean like when he almost strangled my brother right now.”

Hyacinth blinked at her. She had quite forgotten the glowy watch stuff. “Calliope, your brother did just hit you in the face. I think Milo was just trying to get him to stop.” She probably would’ve tackled Euterpe if she’d had a second more to process what happened, but Milo was fast.

“No, Cin.” She sighed. “It’s way more than that. Milo doesn’t like anyone to be hurt, I know that, but he gets really, really mad at people when they hurt other people. It was okay about wanting to kill all the nurses, but this is my brother. He could’ve really done it.”

“I’m sorry, what nurses did Milo want to kill?”

“Oh, at the hospital. They weren’t letting me have Lucy. Ann wanted to fix it, but Milo wanted to hurt them for doing that. I wanted to hurt them too. I thought it was okay.” She shook her head again. “But this wasn’t. He should know that’s my brother and it’s not okay to kill him for punching me.”

“I don’t think Milo would’ve killed anyone, Calliope,” Hyacinth said.

“If I didn’t say not to,” Calliope said. She twined her fingers in her hair and rocked back in her seat like a nervous kid. “Or maybe just if I said it was okay, but I don’t know if that’s any better.”

I don’t know if Milo could really do anything like that, Hyacinth thought. But it doesn’t matter about me. Calliope is damn sure of it.

“Calliope, I think…” This subject was painful and she didn’t like to bring it up but there wasn’t any way around it. “I think there are a lot of reasons Milo would be especially mad someone hurt you. He wouldn’t like anyone to hurt anyone, but especially not you. You know?”

“Maybe not really great reasons,” Calliope muttered.

There was a lot on that paper he had thrown in the trash. Really great stuff, about how she made him happy and did nice things. She went back over it sometimes, and thought about it.

But there was also that part where he thought she couldn’t take care of Lucy, and he thought she needed someone to protect her so badly she wouldn’t care if she or that person were ever happy again. There were some really bad thoughts in Milo’s head. He did get ideas.

“Well, I’m not sure,” said Hyacinth, a bit defensively. Isn’t it enough that the guy is completely besotted with you? she thought. What else do you want? “I know that he cares about you a great deal,” she said. “I don’t think he would shove Ann over like that and run to help anyone else. I didn’t know he could do that.”

“Getting so mad he’d kill someone is not okay just because he’d only do it for me,” Calliope said. “I don’t like being special that way.”

“Well, geez, if you’re going to put it like that…”

“How else is there to put it?” Calliope asked, with apparent honesty.

“Well… Well… That he cares so much about you, he’d break all the rules for you, even the big ones. Girls like that.”

“Then I guess I’m not a girl.”

Hyacinth rolled her eyes heavenward. Gods, if she is being viciously sarcastic at me, please give me a sign! I honestly cannot tell!

“Calliope, Euterpe hurt you,” she said. “I know it wasn’t on purpose, and I know you knew that right from the start, but Milo didn’t. He saw something bad happen and he protected you from it. Wouldn’t you do that if you saw someone hurt Lucy? Even if it meant killing that person? Would you honestly stop for a minute and remember who they were?”

Calliope blinked. “So it’s like when Euterpe can’t wake up and he doesn’t see me?”

Hyacinth looked pained. “Yes, Calliope. When you love someone very much and someone might hurt that person very badly, it is exactly like being menaced by a giant chicken you need to escape from on pain of death.” Oh, hell, now she wasn’t even sure if she was being sarcastic!

“It wasn’t his fault,” Calliope said slowly. “He was just trying to be safe. Except it wasn’t him, it was me, so he couldn’t run away like always. Okay. I guess I understand.”

“Would you mind explaining it to me?” said Hyacinth.

“It’s not a part of him,” Calliope said, “or what he is. It’s just because of what happened. It’s like when you tap someone’s knee and their leg kicks. Milo kicks extra hard because of how he feels about me, but he doesn’t just go around kicking people. It’s dangerous, but caring about someone is always dangerous that way.” She snickered. “I guess some girls are really dumb and they don’t notice someone likes them until they kick somebody about it.”

“You do know Milo likes you,” Hyacinth said.

Calliope shrugged. “I thought I knew that before. I think there’s some other stuff I don’t know that’s more important than liking me. He and Ann don’t want to tell me, so I hafta figure it out on my own.” She sighed. “It’s hard, but I’m trying. I guess the part where he wanted to kill my brother doesn’t matter too much. That’s good.”

“Oh,” said Hyacinth. “Okay then.” She wouldn’t have known what opinion to express if not for that last little bit at the end there. “Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah. You can go back to bed if you want. I might stay up a little.” Calliope took down her ice bag and felt her face. “How do I look? Abused?” She made a broad grin. It came out noticeably lopsided and swollen. “I ran into a door. He hits me because he loves me.”

Hyacinth had occasionally dealt with women who gave her these sorts of excuses unironically, but that didn’t make it unfunny. Not to her. She snickered. “He hits you because you look like a giant chicken.”

“I should know not to wear that hat with the feathers,” Calliope said. “It’s my fault, really.”

Hyacinth laughed. It was particularly ridiculous to have Calliope, the single mother who broke up with her boyfriend while pregnant and didn’t even consider running back to him when she lost her home and her job, burlesquing an abusive relationship.

Hyacinth didn’t know where this thing with Milo was going to go, or why it was taking so damn long, but this dark-haired lady with the freckles certainly wouldn’t hesitate to rescue herself from an intolerable situation.

“Okay, Calliope. I’ll check on you in the morning. Don’t worry about the dishes. I’m sure Mordecai will happily do them and then wait on you hand and foot.”

“My hands and feet are okay,” Calliope said, examining one palm and flexing the fingers.

Hyacinth didn’t think that was even worth commenting on.

Calliope ended up doing some dishes anyway. It was boring just sitting around waiting for Milo to get up, even with an ice bag to occupy her. She tried doing a few sketches of a giant chicken, but it didn’t exactly capture her imagination, not even if she put some tiny buildings around it.

I mean, what does a giant chicken even want? It’s not going to kidnap a lady and climb up a skyscraper. Don’t they like corn?

Milo knocked on the door frame and interrupted her in the middle of a screaming corncob. He cringed when she looked up, and then waved uncertainly.

“Hi, Milo.” She waved back. “I’m doing okay, I just look a little funny. The aspirin didn’t wear off yet. Did you get any sleep?”

Milo hesitated a moment and then shook his head.

“Do you have to go to work?”

Milo nodded, but he lifted one finger for a moment’s pause. He took a card out of his pocket and drew on the back, leaning against the kitchen wall for support. He approached the table and showed Calliope a sketch of a watch face with the hands pointing to nine o’clock.

Calliope nodded and stood. “I guess I’ll make coffee. Do you want some cereal?”

Milo dropped the card. As it wafted to the floor, he was already shaking his head and crossing both hands in front of him. I will make coffee and cereal! A man punched you in the face! He picked up the ice bag and tried to hand it to her.

She laughed softly. “I’m really okay. Cin said I’m not supposed to have ice the whole time, or my face is gonna fall off or something…”

Milo dropped the ice bag and staggered a step back.

“…I want to talk, and I know you don’t like me to stare at you, so I might as well do coffee.” She took two bowls down from the cabinet above. “You can do cereal.”

Milo nodded. He knocked on the door frame again to make sure Calliope was looking and pointed down towards the basement. I’m going to get milk, don’t talk to me yet.

“Okay.” She waited until she heard him set the milk bottle down on the counter before she spoke again, “I love my brother a whole lot, Milo, you know?”

Milo winced. He nodded, but cautiously. Yes, but I don’t get why…

“He’s been like that since we were little,” Calliope said. “It’s hard for him. Sometimes he doesn’t understand stuff and sometimes people don’t understand him. He gets nightmares… or whatever Cin wants to call them. Super-nightmares, I guess. He gets really scared and he can’t wake up, he can’t even hear anyone trying to tell him it’s okay.

“I used to get scared like that, so I know how it is, but it doesn’t happen to me anymore. I wish it would quit happening to him, but I guess it won’t.

“Sometimes he hurts himself, and sometimes he hurts people, but it’s not because he likes to.” She glanced over at Milo. He was holding a cereal box and not doing anything else about cereal, just listening. “I know that because I know him. I know how it is to be scared like that, and about hurting people even when I don’t mean it, just because I’m scared.

“Or hurt,” she added. She didn’t really mean to hit Milo that one time, either. “So if he hurts me, I know it’s just on accident, and later he’ll be better and be sorry. And that’s almost always how it is.”

She snickered. “I mean, he’s my brother. We used to get mad and push each other around sometimes, too, but we didn’t ever stop loving each other.”

It’s like when I remember the workhouse, Milo thought. Not like nightmares. When I’m awake but I can’t remember bad stuff isn’t happening. That happens just when he goes to sleep? Oh, that’s too bad…

Could I hurt Calliope if that happened to me and she was around?

That already happened. Ann knew, but Milo didn’t. In the basement, after the brownies with drugs in them. Calliope had been trying to stop him from hitting his head on the wall, but he did it anyway — and smashed her fingers against the bricks.

Would she know right away it was an accident if I did?

Milo… I think she would.

No. I’m not her brother. She doesn’t know me like that. I have to be careful. Extra careful.

“Could you try to remember I still love him, Milo?” she said. “Even if he just hit me and it’s really scary?”

Milo nodded firmly. He put both hands over his heart too.

“Thanks.” Calliope swiped a hand under her eyes. She smiled, though. “It doesn’t hurt or anything. I just don’t talk to him about stuff like that. He knows I love him, but he doesn’t understand things like other people.”

Milo put the tissue box in front of her. It was a lot easier to give people things than to make the right faces or talk.

“Oh, hey, thanks.” She took a couple and wiped her face. “My nose feels weird.”

Milo ignored the cereal and the crying person. He picked up the kitchen pad and drew. He drew the house, from the front. He circled the sign on the front by the window, with the familiar words represented as faint scribbles. He drew a sharp line and wrote 204?

Room 204 was empty. Well, not empty, but there wasn’t a human being in it.

Calliope took the pad from him and had a look at the drawing. “Oh. I’d like that, but I don’t think he will. He doesn’t really have a problem with getting arrested and sleeping in alleys sometimes. Even if I could get him to hang around for a few days, he’d probably just wander off. I don’t think he has a real good grasp of ‘renting a room.’ He always gets thrown out of places, he wouldn’t understand Cin would like to keep him.”

Milo nodded, but he put his hands on the pad and pushed it towards her. He glanced into her eyes and nodded again, more firmly.

Calliope nodded. “Oh. Yeah. I’ll ask him.”

They ate cereal without talking or looking at each other, but not in an unfriendly way.

◈◈◈

Milo returned home at four and tapped on Calliope’s door. He found her dancing with Lucy and the Lu-ambulator to the record player. “Hi, Milo!” She picked up Lucy and waved the baby’s hand at him. The Lu-ambulator auto-collapsed and made itself small, as if exhausted.

Wincing, Milo mimed turning the volume down. No wonder no one else was around. Lucy didn’t seem to mind it, though. She was grinning and laughing. Maybe babies just liked weird noises.

Or maybe babies related to Calliope and Euterpe did.

Calliope turned the record player off. “Aah!” Lucy complained. Calliope lifted her to eye-level and waggled her playfully, “You always slug the one you love!” She gave her best imitation of a slide-whistle.

Lucy giggled.

“If Mama goes outside looking like this, she’s gonna hafta do the whole number and they still won’t believe her!” Calliope added. “Mama’s gonna get kidnapped by a women’s shelter, yay! …Unless Milo and Ann can help her out with the makeup like they hid that bruise they had before.” She grinned.

“A-maah!” Lucy agreed. She reached for Milo. Milo obligingly gave her a card, one of the usual kind, which she crumpled and stuffed in her mouth. He also gave Calliope a card, which had a drawing of a paper crane and a question mark on it.

Calliope juggled Lucy, reading glasses and card, but couldn’t quite manage all three. “Babe, can you hold her a second? You mind?”

Mordecai had sat her down and explained about not just handing babies to people after Milo fell over and got glass in his leg. Talk about hurting the one that you love.

Milo had never held Lucy before, not as Milo, but he only hesitated an instant (I should’ve waited before I gave her the card. I forgot about the glasses. I’m stupid.) before opening his arms and taking her. Ann knew how to hold babies, so technically he did too. Lucy was pretty occupied with mangling his card, but she smiled at him around it and babbled an opinion. Apparently a positive one.

Calliope got her glasses situated and had a look at what Milo was saying. “Oh.” She didn’t stop smiling, but it looked a bit sadder. “Yeah. He wanted to go back to Antoinette. He was just visiting, for the pancakes. We poured a lot of coffee into him and put him on the bus this morning. If he gets kicked off the train, he can call Mom and Dad, they have a phone.” She frowned. “If he thinks of it. Or cares.”

Milo nodded. He spared a hesitant hand from Lucy and patted Calliope’s shoulder, once exactly.

“Thanks.” She smiled at him. “I guess he’ll be okay. He usually is.” She pocketed her glasses and the card and took Lucy back, which Lucy also seemed fairly happy about. Hooray, I’m getting attention!

“Do you mind posing for me for a little?” Calliope asked him. “I’d like a man for it, but Em is kinda tiny and nonthreatening, you know?”

Milo nodded slowly. He guessed he knew that. Mordecai seemed pretty scary to him, Mordecai could be really mean, but it would be hard to draw sarcasm. He took off his coat and hung it on the back of the rocking chair. Calliope deposited Lucy in the bassinet (And now I have a soup can mobile to look at! Awesomesauce!) and picked up a sketchpad.

“Thanks, babe. You’re a big help. Could you kinda put your hands up like you’re scary and you’re gonna grab me and eat me?”

Milo did his best to approximate this, although he certainly didn’t look sincere about it. Calliope had learned to work around his lack of expression.

“Yeah.” She looked up from the pad. “Oh, and could you try to look like you have wasps in your head?”

Milo’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in confusion.

Calliope considered him. “Yeah, I can work with that,” she said, sketching.