Page 26 of Out of Sight

Ted started to swat at the spot where Lucia’s head should be. “Only if I can shave your head.”

Find it, I dare you.

Ted laughed and sighed, leaning back on her couch. “I have missed you.”

I have missed me, too. I know where your braided magnificence is, and I hang out here when I am missing family.

“Here? With me?”

Who do you think does your toenails? You never spring for it at the salon.

“How do you do that?”

I dunno, it came with the lack of physical presence.

Ted looked down at her sparkly silver toes. “How much should I tip?”

I will present you with a bill.

Ted sighed and smiled at the spot where her cousin should be. “Great. I will see you tomorrow.”

Bring me something to wear. I lost my clothes a while ago.

“So, you are sitting naked on my couch.”

Yup.

“You owe me a new couch.”

The laughing emoji spilled out all over the screen. A line of text followed. Not just your couch.

“Oh, ew!” Ted swatted at the spot with a throw pillow and had a one-woman pillow fight while the computer showed giggles.

The rest of the night was a sleepover with Lucia holding her hand. Ted was glad that Lucia was there; she was terrified that if she closed her eyes, she would be back where she started the day before. Lucia’s crackling energy on her hand kept her hoping that tomorrow there would be a hug.

Only a few hours to go.

Ted held Lucia’s hand near the pond behind the new palace. Nyla showed up in a burst of glitter, and Mik was close behind, wearing an outfit worthy of a shrink.

Mik asked, “Where is she?”

Ted lifted her hand up. “On the end of me.”

“How long has she been cursed?”

Mik’s phone pinged, and she read, “Ten years and a bit.”

Mik asked, “Do you have a band around your neck?”

There was a ping. Nyla looked at her phone. “Collarbone, shoulders, and back.”

There was another ping, and Mik nodded. “Six inches taller than Ted, so don’t grope you.”

Nyla smiled. “I am just going to run a test.”

She walked in close, put her hand high, and slowly lowered it.

She smiled. “I think I have it.”