Page 107
The conversation moves on, and somewhere between one question and the next, I realize she’s genuinely interested in my answers.
It makes talking to her surprisingly easy.
I reach for my dinner roll and come up with an empty plate.
Sprout trots through the dining room with the roll hanging triumphantly from his mouth while Babs points after him.
“He stole Emma’s bread!”
“I noticed.”
Bane pushes back his chair. “Drop it.”
Sprout’s tail starts wagging harder.
“I’ll trade you for chicken.”
The dog gives him a look before heading for the couch.
“You’re bargaining from a losing position,” Mara says, taking another bite of dinner.
“I’ve gathered that.”
The twins immediately choose the wrong side.
“Run, Sprout!” Babs cheers.
“Hide under the couch!” Biddy adds.
“I’m surrounded by traitors,” Bane says as he follows the dog into the living room.
A bark answers him, followed by his laugh, and he returns a minute later empty-handed. “The bread’s gone.”
“I had complete confidence in Sprout,” Mara says.
The conversation carries on through the rest of dinner, and by the time the last plates disappear into the dishwasher, Babs is already bouncing beside her chair. “Movie night?”
Babs is already halfway to the living room before anyone answers. “I’m picking.”
“You picked last time,” Biddy says as she gathers the empty glasses. “Then had a nap.”
“You were snoring,” Mara says, carrying the serving bowls into the kitchen.
I stack the dessert plates and Bane slides the first rack into the dishwasher and reaches for the next dish I hand him.
“You don’t have to help,” he says.
“I’d feel guilty sitting down while everyone else worked.”
We clear the last of the dishes between us until Mara hangs the towel over her shoulder and waves us out of the kitchen.
“Go on,” she says. “The rest can wait.”
Bane pauses beside the girls long enough to brush a smear of chocolate from Babs’ cheek with his thumb before steering both of them toward the living room.
Neither of them even notices he did it.
He notices everything anyway.
