Byzantium

Stage 4

Elise woke up early and dressed in clothes she didn't mind getting dirty. She was going to start repairs that day. She jogged into the kitchen and found the note on the fridge, though now it had Ivy's writing scrawled across it. There were specifications for the color of the house, type of wood for the porch, type of light bulbs to buy, and a place to get new fencing for the lawn. Elise hadn't anticipated putting up a new fence but she was up for the work. She grew up in a home that required absolute independence and she knew how to do simple things like that. Her father had built their home from scratch and had passed on such wisdom to Elise.

Stuffing the note in her pocket, Elise left the house to head to the store. She bought all of the necessary items from a hardware store, including a few tools that she knew Ivy didn't have, then stopped at the grocery store to buy tons of candies and little things she liked to have around the house for snacks. By the time she was ready to head home, Elise's arms were full and she carried more bags than was humanly possible. Luckily, she was not human.

Elise could barely fit through the door when she got home and ended up leaving the things needed outside, outside. When she made her way into the kitchen to put her frozen treats in the freezer, she spotted Ivy sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch and reading a book.

Ivy cocked her head slightly, turning just enough to look at Elise and her haul. "What kind of ice cream did you buy?"

Elise opened her grocery bag excitedly. "Vanilla, rocky road, sherbet, strawberry, Heath english toffee, cookies and cream, and fudge brownie. Oh, and I got some cones."

Placing down her book, Ivy gave Elise a worried look. "That's a lot of ice cream."

"It's ice cream. There's no such thing as too much." Elise begun to fill the freezer with her new sweets. "Besides, I like variety."

"Yes, there is such thing as too much ice cream." Ivy turned in her seat to face Elise. She crossed her legs and hung an elbow over the back of her chair. "Are you really going to fix up the house?"

Elise bundled the grocery bags and put them under the sink. Then she put away the multiple boxes of cones and all the candies she bought. "Yeah, sure. I have nothing better to do. Might as well."

"You really don't have to do that. I would have called someone eventually."

"Well, now you don't have to do that. I just saved you a bundle."

Ivy played with her tongue piercing for a minute. "I'm assuming you bought some things to repair the house with while you were out?"

Elise nodded. "They're outside waiting for me."

"Well... let me at least pay you back."

Elise held up her hand. "Don't worry about it. My friend Riley's a Leprechaun. Kind of have unlimited funds here." She noticed that Ivy didn't look placated. "All right. Just let me have my own garden in the backyard and let me plant a few things in the front yard, and we'll be even. Sound good?"

Ivy hummed to herself, thinking, then she nodded. "Okay. It's a deal." She put her dishes in the sink. "Let me know if you need help."

Elise watched Ivy retreat to her room. She wouldn't be asking Ivy for help. Not because she didn't think Ivy could work, but because she didn't want Ivy to work. It wasn't much of a healing gift if Elise made Ivy work for it.

Elise made herself an ice cream cone, sherbet, then went out to the front yard. She replaced the porch light then measured the porch steps since they were the things she could do without having to put down her cone. The porch itself was actually in good shape, it was only the steps that needed to be replaced. With her cone finished, Elise really got started. She sawed the wood she bought at the hardware store down to size, measuring again to make sure every step was the appropriate size, then demolished the old steps to make room for the new. It was easy for Elise. She enjoyed feeling useful and it reminded her of the first time she had done something similar with her father. Elise had accidently hammered her thumb and her father laughed and laughed. He had pat his daughter on the back and told her to be more careful next time, then took her out for donuts.