Dancing in the Baron's Shadow by Fabienne Josaphat

poised, methodical. Raymond himself chose to forgo the knife, stabbing at his food and simply pressing down on the crustacean’s shell until it gave.
    The baby sat on her mother’s lap and Eve attempted to feed her a mouthful of rice. She squinted at Raymond. “Aren’t you hungry?”
    He’d been picking at his food, his appetite dulled with the first cold blow from his brother. “I’ll take some of it home, if you don’t mind,” he answered. “For the kids. Yvonne struggles terribly with the cost of food these days.”
    â€œIt is outrageous,” Eve said, and nodded. “How can they expect the malheureux to afford a single cup of rice with this inflation? I’ll fix you a plate for them, of course. How are the kids, anyway? Do they have what they need for school?”
    Eve bounced the baby on her knee and Raymond nodded politely.
    â€œThey’re fine,” he said.
    â€œGood, because I told Yvonne last time I saw her that my friend owns a shoe store downtown. All she has to do is tell the staff that I sent her and they’ll give her a great discount.”
    â€œThe man says they’re fine!” Nicolas’s voice cut through the room and Eve lowered her eyes once more.
    â€œLeave him alone and mind your own business,” Nicolas added.
    Eve waited for him to begin eating again and glanced at Raymond.
    â€œAre you sure you’re feeling all right?”
    â€œYes,” Raymond answered. “I’m just a little preoccupied. I have a little problem with my car. I’m going to have to get it fixed up.”
    Raymond watched his brother spear a large chunk of beef with his fork and chew it slowly, saw the veins in his temples dance.Finally, he cleared his throat softly, still staring at his plate.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with it?” Nicolas asked.
    â€œThe car?” Raymond said. “Could be the transmission.”
    â€œCould be?”
    â€œI can fix it myself, but I’m going to need to buy the part,” Raymond said. “Could run me about five hundred.”
    â€œFive hundred?”
    Nicolas finally looked up and stopped chewing. It was Raymond who avoided eye contact this time. Asking for money was bad enough, but lying wasn’t something that came easily to him. He decided to tell the truth.
    â€œAlso, I need to get it repainted. I ran into some trouble with the Tonton Macoutes yesterday.”
    Nicolas nearly dropped his knife and fork, and Eve froze. Even the baby stopped fidgeting. Raymond had never seen his brother like this, his black eyes staring at him so fixedly. He’d seen him afraid before, like when he panicked when they got lost together in the fields, or when their father passed away, or when Eve was in labor. But never quite like this.
    â€œWhat are you saying?” Nicolas said.
    â€œThis family asked me for help yesterday evening,” he said. “They were banging on my window. The Macoutes were after them, so I had to do something.”
    Amélie banged a spoon on the edge of her mother’s plate, jolting the tense adults.
    â€œTurns out it was Milot Sauveur and his family,” Raymond added, as if this fact would somehow alleviate the gravity of the situation. He looked at them, but Eve and Nicolas were still staring back like a pair of stunned birds.
    â€œCome on, you know—Milot Sauveur?” he repeated. “The journalist from Radio Lakay who went missing?”
    Raymond fought the urge to get up and walk out. He hoped his brother might still be reasonable and come through for him. He’d been on edge all morning, looking over his shoulder, praying he wouldn’t be pulled over. He had removed the red ribbonfrom his rearview mirror so he wouldn’t be pegged as a taxi driver, but the problem with that, of course, was that no one hailed him for a ride. The whole thing was a disaster.
    â€œThey had a baby,” Raymond said. “What was I