Blood Lily Company - Afghanistan - Year 2

XV

That evening, Alpha crawled to the giant's feet and begged for his forgiveness. And Erk always forgives. So he accepted the dog's apologies, stroked his belly then his head, scratched him behind his ears.

- Do I smell better now, Alpha?

The wolfdog whined and stuck his nose in Erk's crotch. He stilled, long enough to let him sniff. Alpha backed up, stared at the giant, and sneezed.

- Thank you, mate, the Viking replied ironically. It's always nice to be appreciated.

- Here is one who is insensitive to your charm, Viking.

- Very funny, Archer. Do you like doing laundry that much?

- You'll have to renew yourself, Erk.

- I will think about it, indeed. Just you wait, he added with a predatory smile.

I knew I'd probably be the first to test Erk's new punishment, but I was glad to see him smile, even if it was at my expense.

The next day was pleasantly spent, cleaning the mess hall, helping Cook, his wife and our little baker... At the end of the afternoon, Cook having decided to make Bolognese sauce for dinner, we finished covered with tenacious red. Because Erk tried to lift a big pot and with just two fingers it slipped out of his hands and... the sauce shot up when the bowl hit the ground. Cook, Ketchup and Mustard were in the room, having coffee with Baby Jane and Kitty while us men tried to prove that men can cook too. Which is stupid, since our cook was a man. But we had something to prove, or the need to exert ourselves, or to... I don't really know, but we were pains in the ass and we took risks. Especially Erk, lifting that pot. He had the strength to carry it, even with two fingers. But despite his big hands, he couldn't hold it properly and it slipped.

- Skítt, he said when it slipped.

- Merde, I said when it hit the ground.

- Skítt, Kris said as the sauce squirted upwards, spraying us and the ceiling.

- Shit, Cook said when he poked his head through the door to see the damage.

- Double shit, Ketchup said, right behind him. Mops, bucket, soaps, brooms are in the closet. Go, scat. And when it's so clean you can eat off the floor, you'll be going to see Lin to get your just desserts.

We all looked very sheepish and quickly got to work. At one point, Ketchup stuck her head out the door.

- And remember to clean under the tables, cupboards and everything.

We all stared at the giant unkindly. He replied with one of his big smiles and we couldn't help but smile back. Lil' shit.

Well, we were all a little guilty, because none of us had had the sense to offer help to the Viking.

After a good hour of cleaning, we asked Tito to tell us if the underside of the furniture, the tables, was clean. It was, so we called Ketchup for inspection. And since she had decided to make fun of us, she took white gloves and put them on with an ironic smile. But her inspection found nothing, and she sent us to Lin to get our non-existent suspenders pulled up – it's a French expression that means to get yelled at.

She looked at us, stained with red like victims of an accident.

- I imagine you cleaned up your bullshit.

We nodded, all together, as if we had rehearsed.

- I don't know what got into you, but don't do it again. And I will think about a punishment. I'll tell you which one tomorrow. Now to the shower.