“storytext”> 

After a day of
traveling the two sidekicks stopped in front of a small cottage
that had been left vacant for many years. The house itself was
rather small but about the same size as Hercules’s new house.
It looked as though it needed attention, but the real spectacle was
the garden. It was flowing from the very front door of the house
all the way to the road with wildflowers everywhere. There was a
river that ran alongside it which also reached behind the house to
where the fields were.

“storytext”>“Oh!” Gabrielle breathed, “it’s
perfect!”

Iolaus
couldn’t keep from looking at her in surprise. Her reaction
was genuine, her eyes were wide and her face excited. He looked
back at the old place with skepticism. “You think so?”
He looked again. The fence was falling down, the roof partly caved
in on one side and the garden completely overgrown. What did she
see in it?

“Yes!
It’s charming! Look at this place! Oh, I can definately see
you here. With some animals over in the pen there, and fishing over
at the river…”

“Well,
it’s home alright," he smiled at her optimism. All he
could see was hours and days and weeks of work that had to be done
to make the place liveable again. But he was still pleased that she
could see how comfortable the house could be once it was in shape
again. "Come on," he said, "let’s see if the
door’s still locked.”

To his own
amazement, the inside was really nowhere near as bad as he'd
been expecting. It had been locked up for some 3 or 4 years, but
everything seemed to still be in its place, and he wasn't
embarrased to show it to his friend. It was dusty, sure, but apart
from that, and the roof falling in over the kitchen area – the
whole house was in very good shape. He took Gabrielle for the grand
tour, and showed her the living area, the bedroom, the kitchen
(with skylight), and the spare room. Gabrielle found the whole
house perfect. She truly thought it was the cutest, most
comfortable place she'd ever been in, and was now very happy
that she had agreed to come. She also was enjoying the little hints
of pride that Iolaus had when showing her the house he'd built
years ago.

They spent the
rest of the day putting the place back in order. Iolaus was amazed
at how ready Gabrielle was to roll up her sleeves, put her hair up,
and start work. He was up on the roof patching the holes, and was
surprised when he looked and saw her out in the yard, pulling weeds
and organizing the beds. She was really happy and he was very
impressed, especially since he had never asked her to help; she had
just automatically decided to join in. After a few hours she had
the garden in remarkable shape. She called up to his spot on the
roof and asked him to come down. Iolaus smiled to himself. She was
completely unaware that he'd been watching her the whole time.
She was proud of her work, and like a child she wanted him to come
admire.