"Now this one here's got herself a fine appetite, hooowheee!" Louis cheered as he watched Jenny devour a plateful of fresh blueberry pancakes.
The little girl finished off her second plate and let out an enormous burp. "Mister Louis, these are the best pancakes in the whole world, can I have some more?"
The massive chef laughed. "You most certainly can little miss!" And with that, he was off to whip up another batch of his famous Blueberry Hill pancakes.
It had been two weeks since Henry had taken the girls as his adoptive daughters. He showed them his apartment and they had settled in just fine. There was more than enough room for the two girls to have their own bedrooms but they decided to share one room. Jenny was enrolled in school starting tomorrow. She was ecstatic to start her first days of real school. Teaching in the orphanage was fine on it's own but it never really gave her a full experience of learning and meeting new people.
Elizabeth, on the other hand, was at the age of employment in Rapture, and she needed a job soon. One day when Henry had come home from work, he had found his bedroom door open, and the secret entrance to his invention area was revealed. Inside he found Elizabeth tinkering with the old radio she had recieved from Henry way back on The Odyssey. She apologized for entering the room without permission, granted she didn't even know it existed just a few hours before.
Elizabeth explained to Henry that the radio was broken and she wanted to fix it. To Henry's amazement, not only had she repaired the radio, the teenage girl had improved on many of the aspects. Longer range, clearer transmission and so forth. He asked her if she would like to work with him in Hephaestus. She spared no hesitation in answering, she wanted to be an engineer, just like Henry.
With the help of Kyburz and Pablo, the three men were able to pull some strings and find a spot for Elizabeth in Hephaestus' crew. She began immediately as an assistant for a man named Bartley down on the lower floors. Only time would tell if she had the will to secure a place for herself in Ryan Industries.
Louis had taken the winnings he had earned from Henry's fight and put it all into his diner. With that money he hired the best team of renovators in Rapture. Construction was already under way, massive expansions were being put into the small building. However, the renovations didn't stop him from still turning a profit, he continued to keep the diner open as long as he could while the workers dealt with other areas. Within the month Louis would finally have the restaurant he always deserved.
Fontaine was nowhere to be found. Henry had not heard from him since the night of the fight. He even went to see Peach but the old dockmaster had no idea of the mysterious man's whereabouts.
As for Annabelle, she had been keeping a low profile as well. Henry hadn't seen her since the fight, but he'd recieved a number of letters telling him everything was alright, and that she was clearing up a few loose ends. She asked if they could meet tonight at his apartment, she wanted to meet the girls.
After a dozen more pancakes they said goodbye to Louis and made their way back home.
Henry and the girls walked along the coobled stone roads, their shoes clacked in unison. He cleared his throat. "So...we've a guest coming over for dinner tonight."
Elizabeth looked at him curiously. "Who?"
Jenny chimed in. "Yay, new people to meet!" She broke the foot step rythm and started skipping.
"Oh, nobody special. Just a lady friend."
"Just a lady friend huh?" Elizabeth nudged him in the side.
"Hank has a girlfriend, Hank has a girlfriend!" Jenny chanted.
The girls proceeded to prod poor Henry for information all the way home. He didn't give them a single detail.
Later that night there was a knock at the door. To the girls slight surprise it was Louis. Henry had invited him a couple days earlier. It was a little strange seeing him in something other than his chef attire. He'd brought a huge pot of gumbo. For half an hour they sat in comfort. Enjoying each others company. Louis told a plethora of old southern jokes. The adult humor was subtle but not quite descrete enough to keep Jenny from asking akward questions.
Another knock of the door echoed through the apartment. Henry went to answer it. Standing on the front steps, a gorgeous woman waited. She wore a dark blue dress from the early fifties. The high-heeled shoes were the same colour. Her lips were a dark red and her hair was black as the Rapture night.
Henry could only stare, his eyes glazed over and his mouth fell open a little.
"Allo Monsieur Walker." she smiled.
He snapped out of his stupor and returned the gesture. "Annabelle, it's great to see you, won't you come in?"
She nodded thanking him and walked through the doorway. They heard Louis' voice down the hallway.
"Slow down girl, you're gonna trip an' fall on somethin'!"
"Oh, but Louis, I just wanna see the pretty lady!"
A little girl bounded around the corner. She wore a small pink dress.
Annabelle gave her a wave. "Allo." she said.
The girls eyes were wide with delight. "Wow, you really are pretty!"
The woman knelt down to meet the little girls gaze. "You must be Jennifer, yes?"
"Mhmm, and you're Hank's lady friend, right?"
"Vrai...er...yes." she said, looking a little sheepish.
Jenny titled her head and giggled. "You talk funny."
"Forgive my accent, I am french."
"Oh it's okay I like it, can you teach me to sound like that?"
They laughed.
"My name is Annabelle."
"Oh, that's a pretty name, I like that name!"
"Alright you two let's move to the other room." Henry said, leading them to the lounge.
"Louis!" Annabelle cried. "I did not know you were going to be 'ere tonight!"
"It looks like nobody does!" the big man chuckled. They gave each other a small hug.
Annabelle turned to look at a beautiful adolescent girl. She had the same black hair as her own but it was long and straight, going past her shoulders.
"Oh mon dieu, and you must be Elizabeth."
The older girl blushed a little. "Yes, and you must be Annabelle, I overheard you talking with Jenny."
"Oh yes, your sister is quite zee energetic youngling."
Elizabeth smirked "We try and keep her under control when there are guests."
"Hey, I'm not a dog you know!" the little girl jumped in.
Annabelle patted her on the head. "No, of course not, you are a...oh what is zee word...spry and playful, full of life!"
Jenny grinned and stuck her tongue at Elizabeth."
For the rest of the night the shared stories and enjoyed a fine dinner including huge heaps of gumbo.
As the night grew late Annabelle rose from her seat. "I would just like to say zis' 'as been a wonderful night, I 'ave been blessed to meet such amazing people. I 'ave an announcement to make."
The room grew silent.
"After a few twists and turns, I have been offered a position as zee' new elementary teacher for Apollo School."
Henry coughed as his drink went down the wrong windpipe. "Beg pardon, did you say teacher!?"
She nodded with a smile. "Yes, as of tomorrow I will be teaching zee' new youth of Rapture. I am more zen' qualified and my knowledge of ze' world will make my teachings much more...exciting."
Jenny jumped around. "Does this mean you're gonna be my teacher?"
Annabelle nodded.
Jenny threw herself onto the young woman and hugged her. She returned the hug with just as much effort.
"Well ain't that somethin'!" Louis slapped his knee and laughed.
An hour later when the girls had said their goodbyes, given enough hugs and gone to bed, the three adults stood on the front steps of the apartment. Henry and Annabelle took long draws of their cigarettes while Louis sucked on a fat cigar.
"Well Hank, that was a great night, but I best be headin' back, got a busy day tomorrow."
Henry flicked his cigarette away and shook the big black man's hand. "Always a pleasure Louis, come back anytime."
Annabelle gave the chef another hug. "I wish you all zee' best on your new restaurant Louis!"
He chuckled. "When it's all done you'll be the first to know, reserved seating and free meals!"
"Very kind of you sir."
"Oh anything for the Alabama Bruiser." Louis winked. With the tip of his hat, the big man walked off while whistling an old southern tune.
Annabelle and Henry were left standing side by side. They faced each other.
"So, teacher huh?"
She blew a breeze of smoke and nodded.
"Smoking is a bad influence."
She rolled her eyes at him. "You are such a hypocrisy."
He laughed. "You mean hypocrite."
She punched him in the shoulder.
"Ouch. Violence now? Not sure you should be hanging around children!"
"I will quit...eventually." She let her cigarette drop to the stone step below.
There was silence for some time.
They looked into each others eyes. Henry said. "It's all turning out for us. For everyone. Things are finally good."
Annabelle drew closer to him. He put his arms around her and pulled her in. She smiled mischievously.
"And it will only get better." she whispered.
They kissed under the soft glow of the front step light. Everything was uphill from here Henry thought. Life in Rapture made sense, it gave him a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. Purpose. He had a job, he had friends and a lover, but most importantly he had a family.