Those were apparently important for a normal face.
“Hi!” Roger sat down across from Rowena, obviously much more comfortable with children. “It’s nice to meet you, Rowena. I like your shark.”
Rowena regarded Roger suspiciously, but she wiggled the shark’s fin at him to mimic it waving.
“Does he have a name?”
“Her name is Princess Snaggletooth, and she’s a Great White.” Rowena narrowed her eyes. “They can have up to three hundred rows of teeth and eat sixty-six pounds of meat in one sitting.”
“Wow. That’s a lot of meat. There’s no way I could eat that much!”
Mickey valiantly resisted the urge to comment.
“It’s totally real! It’s in one of my books!” she said excitedly. “It has pictures too! I can show you after breakfast!”
“After breakfast, you are going to get ready for your tutor. You will be very busy studying,” Cold said, taking a leisurely drink of his coffee.
“Lame!” she groaned.
Cold ignored her. “We’ll conduct our business then, Gentlemen. Please keep the conversation… appropriate.”
“You got it, Boss,” Roger agreed. He smiled at Rowena. “Any other cool sharks in your book?”
“Like, so many!” Rowena dropped her voice to a whisper. “I can show you later when Roddy isn’t here. He doesn’t like sharks or anything fun. He’s dumb.”
Cold nudged her. “Eat.”
Jerry brought Mickey and Roger plates packed with crispy bacon and wet-looking scrambled eggs. “Coffee?”
“Please,” Roger replied, “and bring me all the sugar and creamer ever.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Mickey immediately dug in. The scrambled eggs were more goopy than what he preferred, but he ate them anyway.
“Any, uh, good news?” Roger asked hopefully. It was obvious he was inquiring about Crybaby.
“No.” Cold frowned. “Nothing.”
“What about Duncan?” Mickey asked. “Have we heard anything at all?”
“No.”
Mickey’s heart sank, and Roger’s hand took his beneath the table. He was grateful for the comfort, though he didn’t allow it for long.
Jerry handed them each a cup of coffee, and he set down a small pitcher of cream and a sugar dispenser.
“Who’s Duncan?” Rowena asked loudly. “Is he a Gentleman? Or he is a bad guy?”
“Since you suddenly have all of this time to talk, you must be done with your breakfast,” Cold scolded Rowena. “Go on.”
“But I wanna hear more about all the gangster stuff!” she argued.
“No.”
Rowena stuck out her lower lip defiantly.
“Now.”
Rowena lifted up Princess Snaggletooth and made several loud growling sounds upon her haughty exit from the table. Head held high, she stomped as loudly as possible back upstairs.
