His eyes met mine and he didn’t look away. “Yes. I think the same thing. With any object of a significant age. Who made it, the hands which held it, shaped it, built it, or paintedit.”
“And the Ming dynasty,” I said, still struggling to believe it. “And how it ended up in England all these centuries later. In a thrift shop, of all places.”
Deacon made a face. “Items of significance like that should be given back to their country of origin. The experts will quite often say things like that may have been bought or traded back in the fifteenth century, but it’s more likely they were stolen or looted. A vase from 1410, imperial at that, should rightly be in a museum in China.”
Wow. I hadn’t really thought of that... but he was right. “Agreed,” I said. “That’s so true. Culturally significant objects shouldn’t be for sale.”
The fact he thought like that made me like him just that little bit more. Which, at this point, was quite the feat. I was beginning to wonder if it was possible to like him more than I already did.
“I mean,” I said with my hand to my heart. “If it was a first editionCatcher in the RyeorFahrenheit 451, I could see myself wanting to keep it. Maybe. But if it was a first edition Shakespeare, it should be in a museum.”
Deacon nodded, giving me a timid smile, but then a smell began to waft...
A pungent, sour, rotten smell.
“Oh, Mildred,” Deacon said. “No.”
Oh, sweet merciful gods.
Mildred had the audacity to smile at us. Deacon took my sleeve again and pulled me up off the couch, and the last thing I saw was Wayne, with his shirt pulled up over his nose, ushering Mildred to the back door.
Vicky evacuated to the kitchen with us. “Sorry about that,” she said.
All I could do was laugh. And laugh.
“It’s fine,” Isaid.
“No it’s not,” Deacon said. “What did she eat this afternoon? Did she get into the trash again?”
Vicky laughed, and Deacon turned to me. “I’m very sorry.”
I was still chuckling. “It’s fine. I should get going though. I better get home and save Ro from my two little monsters.” I turned to Vicky. “Thank you for having me over for dinner. I had a lovely time.” Wayne was still supervising Mildred, giving her a stern talking to. “Please tell Wayne I said thank you, and I’ll brush up on my knowledge of antiques and put up a better fight next time.”
“I will,” she said gently. “We’ll see you again.”
“Yes, you will,” I said surely. Then I turned to Deacon. “Walk me out?”
He gave a nod and held my coat for me while I pulled on my shoes, then he helped me into it. “You still use the scarf I gave you,” he said when I pulled it out of my coat pocket.
“Of course I do. I love it.” I put the scarf on and gave him a smile. “I had a lovely time tonight. Thank you for inviting me.”
His cheeks went pink. “You’re welcome. I’m sorry about Mildred.”
I laughed again and put my hand on the door handle but didn’t open it yet. “I’d love to do this again. I really enjoy spending time with you.”
“I enjoy spending time with you too,” he whispered, his eyes more gray than blue tonight.
“Next time you can come to my place, if you want. No pressure. Or we could try the diner? Whatever you want.”
His brow furrowed for a second before he nodded. “Dinner with your friends,” he murmured. “This week sometime? You invited me.”
“I did.”
“I’d like to go with you.”
I was waiting for thebut...There wasn’t one.
“You will?” I tried not to act so surprised, but I hadn’t expected that at all. “Awesome. I’ll ask Gunter if they’ve made any final plans and let you know.”
