Kofi arrives at the same sidewalk block heading towards the castle. While thunder quietly rumbles, he pulls Nia the rat out of her carrier when the taxi drives off.

Nia happily nuzzles Kofi’s cheek.

Nia stops when Kofi’s hand quickly puts her back in her carrier.

A taxi arrives and stops on the same sidewalk block. A tall black man with a bristly mustache exits and heads toward the trunk with two large suitcases in tow.

That might be another visitor. There’s no harm in asking him if he is.

Bernard gets his bag with some of his cooking equipment while trying to carry a large French cookbook underneath his right arm. After thanking and tipping his driver, he sees Kofi on the sidewalk.

“Bonjour.” Bernard says to Kofi.

“Hello there,” Kofi says, “is Cash Castle your destination too?” He notices a slight change in Bernard’s demeanor.

Bernard freezes, then quickly regains his composure and responds, “Um, yes, but only for a position as the castle chef, nothing more.”

Kofi smiles and says, “Well, we must hurry to the castle. A storm is approaching.”

Bernard looks at the sky to see dark clouds gathering towards the direction of the ocean. He then turns to Kofi, “Yes, let’s hurry.”

The men walk underneath a canopy of palm trees. Kofi makes sure that Nia stays hidden so as not to spook Bernard.

I know, that except for the movie, Ratatouille, rats and cooks do NOT mix, especially ones for fancy places.

“Mon Dieu, where are my manners? My name is Bernard. What’s yours?”

“It’s Kofi. Nice to meet you. Your accent is French. I presume your journey has been short?”

“Yes,” Bernard chuckles, “I live in Marseille, cooking at a local restaurant. It’s hard resisting the urge to cook even with appointments, so I left right after making breakfast. I hope my wait staff is not angry with me for abandoning them.”

“I’m sure they are fine with it. Otherwise, they will not let you leave in the first place. Besides, they’re glad not to be drenched in this storm.” Kofi says.

Kofi then notices a tall man wiping away sweat with a handkerchief from the castle’s direction on their path. He recalls Mr. Cash’s letter and photograph of Flip, and his body becomes rigid. Kofi becomes very alert.

Flip almost walks past Kofi and Bernard but sees them at the last minute. Regaining his composure, he strides towards them like an overconfident chihuahua among Dobermans. “Greetings, gentlemen,” He says in the sweetest way possible (which isn’t that much), “Pardon me, but I’m wondering if you two are heading to the castle up ahead?”

“Oui,” Bernard says, “Now if you’ll excuse us, we shall be heading inside.”

Still persistent, Flip says, “I will accompany you to the castle, then we can continue our conversation there.” Bernard almost pushes past, but Flip blocks him, smirking.

Kofi puts himself in between the two men and speaks to Flip. “If you please, sir, we have had a long day after our journey, and we cannot, nor even want to, continue this conversation with leeches like yourself. We will be going alone, and you are not coming with us. Now, please be careful in the weather that’s about to come.”

Flip steps aside and leaves while Kofi and Bernard head faster down the path toward the castle.

“Magnifique Kofi!” Bernard says in amazement, “You are quite the master of putting one in their place.”

Kofi blushes and says, “Well, I have practice dealing with people like that. I only do it to protect those who do nothing wrong. You, my friend, are one of them.”

Bernard blushes. Kofi does the same.

He’s cute when he does that.

Together, the two men, and the rat, walk along the path.