"Hey, Po- Dad," Reese teased him "Want to come see some China? I think we
can dig up Japan somewhere too."
NM:
She had gone downstairs a little ahead of Milo and into the room Sam had
been working in, spotting the China in question.
Picking it up and looking at it from all angles Reese had to admit it was
pretty. Tea Rose had always been her favorite design. She looked up at the
clock still sitting on the mantle and blinked. She hadn't realized how long
they had been there already. No wonder her stomach was growling.
She looked back at a sound in the hallway, thinking it was Milo, missing the
quick sparkle of the china's edge as she ran her finger along the side of
the plate and suddenly gasped in sharp pain.
"Ow!" she jumped in reaction, looking down to see she had cut herself. She
put the plate down and walked back toward the hallway and looked up at Milo,
sucking her finger to stop the bleeding "You wouldn't by any chance have
Band-Aid would you?"
Julia looked up suddenly and started to stand, leaving the box where it was
and heading out into the hallway and looking down over the rail at Reese.
The sound Reese had made hadn't been loud enough to be heard; Julia had Felt
the sharp pain.
"You okay?" she asked, frowning in concern.
"I'm fine, just thinking I need to wear a accident-prone sign around my neck
or something. Would anyone mind if we called it a day today? I... I would
just rather get something to eat and give me and my finger the day to
recoup."
That wasn't the whole truth, she admitted to herself. She just didn't want
to be there right now. With an apologetic look at Milo she offered "Why
don't we grab some lunch and then go to the mall or something? Or we can go
digging around in my attic and find some old albums or something."
***
>From the shadows, the woman smiled. She could leave if she wanted but Reese
would be hers.
Without anyone noticing it, the plate with Reese's blood vanished.
