[Sims] Tecza Round Robin Generation Yellow Part One

[iceraptoress]

First of all, my apologies for taking so long with this. Round Robins tend to come to a screeching halt when they get to me, simply because I get so involved with the stories and the characters. That being said, my second apology is for the extreme length of my part. It's probably far longer than it needs to be, but again - I got involved. ^^;;

Thanks for being patient with me, everyone. Mild warnings for brief pixel nudity, and my usual sort of angst. Hope you enjoy!





I thought I’d done everything the way that I was supposed to. And I thought doing it that way would make me happy. But, I wasn’t happy.



Through her relative absence while I was growing up, my Mother had taught me that drive and hard work were the most important things in a Sim’s life. So, I followed her example. I’d left home as soon as I was old enough, and went to college. I met a nice ambitious girl. I got a degree in Education. After graduation, we moved to Sim City to pursue our careers. Saffron was in law, and she did very well. She looked forward to going to work every day, to making her mark and bringing in the simoleons.



I didn’t make as much as she did, but I worked hard, like I was supposed to. We didn’t want for anything. Saffron was able to shop in the trendiest boutiques in Sim City.



We spent our weekends in fine art galleries.



Dining in the most upscale restaurants.



And Saffron knew all the most important people to socialize with.



These were all the things that I was supposed to want, right? Success. Influence. Financial security. Well, I had all of it.

But I wasn’t happy. In spite of all the nice things, all the pretty trappings… my world felt colorless and silent.



I was missing something, I could feel it. And I spent long lonely nights, while Saffron was out socializing, trying to figure out what it was.



I wondered if I had ever been happy? Certainly, my childhood had not been an unpleasant one. I was cared for, if not loved. My sister and I were taken on fun vacations, and we had friends. But somewhere along the line I felt like I had missed a connection, and if only I could figure out what that was, maybe I could find a way to feel better.

Saffron did not understand my melancholy. She thought that I lacked drive and ambition to begin with, since I was satisfied with being “only” a teacher. Her advice was that I change careers, find something more dynamic to do.



But what she didn’t know was that only when I was with my students did I experience any sort of connection with anyone beyond myself. Only while teaching did I even come close to feeling what I might call happiness. I felt very little with her, though I almost desperately wished otherwise.

I had everything a man could want. But I could not help the yearning that there had to be something… more. If only I searched in the right places.



I knew that I missed my family, and that was probably a large part of how disconnected I felt. My sister was now far away with a family and life of her own. My otherworldly cousins could be anywhere in the galaxy. My father emailed now and then, but my mother and I had never been close. She had spent most of my life working, driven to provide the best that she could for all of us. An admirable goal, admittedly, but I felt as if I didn’t even know her. She hadn’t talked about her own family very much, aside from offering some names and places; all I knew was that something had happened when she was young that compelled her to leave home. So there was almost no history beyond her for me to feel connected to.

It was on a whim that I started trying to research my ancestors. Saffron was out and I had been drinking, feeling lonely and sorry for myself. I was looking up history information online to use as part of a lesson for my class, when I got the wild idea to put the family name - Tecza - into the search engine and see what came up.



I was quite surprised. There had been an actor in my family, long ago, and apparently he was quite famous and popular in his time. He’d starred in a series of films about, absurdly enough, a vampire secret agent. There were claims that he had singlehandedly revived the genre, but at the height of his popularity, he’d disappeared from the public eye. I found a movie rag obituary for him dated many years later, which said he’d been married and had three sons. I recognized the name of one of them - Seville. That had been the name of my… let me think now… great grandfather? I believe that’s right.

I found links to download some of Obsidian Tecza’s old movies, which were now in the public domain. The special effects were so primitive that they were laughable, but that was how things had been way back then. And the storylines… wow, so cheesy! But the acting was good, and Obsidian Tecza had undeniable dangerous sexuality. All the reviews said one could almost believe that he really was a vampire.

It was pretty amazing to think that I had an ancestor who was so famous in his own time. What had he been like? And why had he stopped working when he was so successful and popular? I’ll admit that I spent more than a few nights researching information about him. Even though Obsidian Tecza was long dead, I found I was more interested in his darkly colorful life than I was in my own.



I found out some fascinating things. Rumors of moodiness and wildly fluctuating depression. Third and fourth hand reports that Obsidian invested his money in strange places, usually in long term commitments. Something sketchy about an invalid sister that he determinedly kept out of the public eye. There was so much interesting mystery!

One of my searches led to the discovery that Obsidian was still the legal owner of a house and some property in a small town called Ascalon. That was quite a fair distance from Sim City, but on a whim I decided to take a weekend to go out and see if I could find it. After all, my sister and I are descendents, so the property would rightfully be ours. I thought, depending on the condition of the house, perhaps it would be sellable.

Plus, I just wanted to see something that had belonged to the late great Obsidian Tecza and maybe feel a connection to him, however nebulous.

Saffron wasn’t thrilled with my decision to travel out to the middle of nowhere to look at an old house that was probably decrepit at best. She pointed out that the place was generations old now, probably not worth my time or the expense of taking a bus cross country. But I’d made my mind up to go.



Admittedly, it was a very long trip. Like most city people, I didn’t own a car, and didn’t really want to drive that far anyway. The nearest I could get to Ascalon by bus was the city of Arbor Bay, from which Ascalon was about another hour taxi ride. I cringed at how Saffron was likely going to react when she found out I spent that much money on a taxi.

Ascalon was a dead little place, though through my research I’d read that it had once been quite a thriving farming town on the railroad. But at least a generation ago, the rail had been diverted, and now Ascalon was aging and decaying.

So, apparently, was the house owned by the late Obsidian Tecza.



But I was surprised, because I had expected the house to be empty. It was owned by a dead man, after all, who could possibly want to live there, in an ancient house in a dying town? But, graveyard notwithstanding, there were signs of life to the place.

A graveyard… that was sort of discomforting, as was the number of graves. It had obviously been here for a long time. I’d heard that some families keep generational cemeteries on their land, was that what this was?



As I went to knock on the door, for the first time it occurred to me to wonder - were there actually still Teczas living in this house? Distant relatives, several times removed, that I hadn’t even known existed?

Well, if there were, they certainly weren’t keeping the place up very well. It was quite overgrown and weathered. Still, my heart was pounding with excitement.



The elderly lady who answered the door didn’t really look like anyone in the family. And suddenly I had no idea what to even say to her. How to explain that I was a descendant of the owner of the house, and I’d come here on a complete whim? “Hello…” I stammered. “This is going to sound crazy, but my name is Butter Tecza, and - - “

“A Tecza?” she replied with a gentle smile. “After all these years. How nice! Won’t you please come in?”



The front room of the house was shabby and worn-looking, from the furnishings to the carpet and windows. It felt old. But it was all very clean and neat, even if dingy. I was invited to sit down and the woman introduced herself as Lucy Prout.

I explained that I was Obsidian Tecza’s great great grandson, and that I had been researching his life when I turned up information about the house.

“I see,” she nodded. “Well, you’ve every right to come and see to the place, since you’re a descendent, and maybe rightfully own it. I wouldn’t know much about the legalities of all that, though. But, you’ve probably come to see Ebony too, haven’t you?”



Of course, I had no idea what she was talking about. “Ebony?” I asked. “Who is that?”

“Ebony was Obsidian’s sister, from what I understand. Mind now, I’m not too familiar with the family history. I’ve only been here a handful of years myself, but that’s what I’ve been told.”

Ah, the invalid sister I’d read about. It made sense to me, then. Obsidian had obviously kept up this house for his sister to live in, far from the public eye. It was strange, though, that Lucy would ask me if I’d come to see someone who had to be long dead. “I would imagine she’s interred in the family cemetery next to the house?”



“Well, there is a grave marker for her,” Lucy admitted. “But no. Likely, she is upstairs tending to her plants or reading.” The elderly lady smiled at me as if she had just said the most normal thing in the world, and not that a person who had to be hundreds of years old was still alive. “Would you like me to call her down, so you can meet her?”



“Wait a moment, how can that be?” I know I sounded both shocked and disbelieving. “If Ebony was Obsidian Tecza’s sister, then she would have died a long time ago!”

“Yes, she did,” Lucy agreed, and with a nod to acknowledge my stunned expression, she continued. “As I said, I don’t know all of the history, but the stories have been part of town lore for quite a long time, and I have gotten some information from Ebony herself. From what I understand, Ebony actually did die when she was very young. But her father, who was a Dark Witch, was so distraught that he brought her back to life. His magic has kept her alive all these many long years, as a zombie.”



A zombie? I was thunderstruck. Of course, like all Sims, I’d heard stories of magic and witches, vampires and zombies. But I’ll admit that I never put much stock in them, even though I was well aware that fantastical things did indeed exist. My own half-alien cousins are living proof of that. Plus there’s heroes, of course.

But aliens are fact. Every Sim can probably say that they know, or know of, someone with alien contribution to their genetic background. Heroes are fact. Magical beings are more farfetched. In every town there are stories about locals who might have strange abilities based on magic. In more populated areas, rumors of vampires always persist. But I have personally never known anyone who seemed to be a magical being. And I don’t know anyone else who can claim to either.

However, now this woman was telling me that there was a Witch in my very own family tree? That my great great grandaunt was a zombie?

I had to take a moment to breathe. It really was a lot to try to wrap my head around. I got up and moved to the window, focused on the golden autumn trees in the woods across the street.

“I just… well, I find this very difficult to believe, Ms. Proust,” I admitted, troubled by the very thought. Imagine, a young woman, kept alive for centuries as her home decayed around her and… all the people she knew died while the rest of the family forgot she existed. How horrible. A shiver ran through me.



“I understand,” Lucy said kindly. “When I first applied for this position - as caretaker of the house and young lady in question - and I came here for my interview, I thought it was utter nonsense. After all, who believes in such things, in this day and age? But I assure you, it is true. In fact,” she paused for a moment, and in that heavy silence I heard a shuffling sound on the carpet behind me. “The proof is right here now. Hello Ebony, dear. You have a visitor.”

I didn’t know if I was ready to face such a terrible reality, but I put on the best face I could and turned around anyway.



The girl I saw before me was little more than a child. Wearing black, with long disheveled hair, she was looking at me with frank curiosity, obviously wondering who I was, and what I was doing there. Her skin had a blue grey pallor, unnatural and lifeless looking. But she was not, thankfully, the grisly horror that I had imagined when I first heard the word “zombie.”

“Ebony, this is Butter Tecza,” Lucy explained with a smile. “He’s your great… oh goodness, how many greats was it?”



I smiled a bit at Lucy, because all those generations were indeed hard to keep track of. Then I moved closer to Ebony, because Lucy had reminded me that, whatever else this girl was, she was family. And that was more important than anything else at the moment.

“Hello Ebony. Your brother’s son was my great grandfather, so I’m your great great grandnephew. I’m very pleased to meet you.” And now that my shock was dissolving, that wasn’t a lie. She may have been dead, and she didn’t say anything, but I could see something in Ebony’s expression, and in her bright eyes, that told me she was far more than what was immediately apparent on the surface.



Lucy invited me to stay for dinner, and then for the night, since it was a very long way back to Arbor Bay and the bus station. “I feel silly inviting you, since it is your house,” she pointed out good-naturedly. She went to get started on dinner, leaving me alone with Ebony.

It was awkward, I’ll admit. Ebony was so silent, just looking at me. As if she was trying to see into me, to what I really was. I started talking, mostly out of nervousness, telling her about my life in Sim City and what I did for a living. That seemed to help cull the awkwardness. I knew she understood me and was interested, even if she didn’t respond.



When Lucy called us for dinner, Ebony took a book from one of the shelves in the living room, and paged through it as she followed me into the kitchen.



Seeing I was curious about this, Lucy explained, “Ebony’s reading level isn’t very high, but she likes to read and to learn. She’s very curious. She used to go to school, but she hasn’t for awhile. I think because she gets frustrated over not being able to keep up with the learning rate of other students. I don’t see a point in making her miserable and forcing her to go, not when she’s as old as she technically is.”



“Can she speak?” I asked, feeling odd talking about Ebony, as if she wasn’t there.

“From what I understand, in her early years she couldn’t. But she’s learned quite a bit in all this time and while she doesn’t have a full vocabulary, she can talk when she wants to. You’ll find, Mr. Tecza, that Ebony is a very stubborn young lady. She only does what she wants, when she wants.”

As if to prove her caretaker’s point, Ebony set her jaw with an obstinate expression and shot that look across the table at Lucy.



The kitchen was as shabby and worn as the living room, but the food was very good, and I felt almost comfortable as I talked with Lucy about Ebony’s level of development. Being an educator, this was naturally of great interest to me, and I wondered if I might be able to help her learn and grow more with some individual attention. Lucy had to admit that the little zombie hadn’t gained much improvement in her abilities since Lucy had assumed her position as caretaker. Ebony was stagnating, making no progress.

But apparently, she loved plants. The house was filled with them, Lucy said, and there was a ongoing vegetable garden in the greenhouse addition. All of the ivy on the house, the flower beds in the cemetery, everything, Ebony tended to all of it. If she had a passion for anything, it was horticulture.

As far as Lucy knew, no other Tecza had visited the house since Ebony’s parents passed away, generations ago. Obsidian had seen to his sister’s welfare monetarily, but hadn’t returned to Ascalon even once in his later years. The simoleons he’d put in trust paid for the series of caretakers she’d had. It was their grave markers that primarily filled the cemetery.

“When you finish eating, dear, why don’t you take Mr. Tecza upstairs? Show him your family pictures?” Lucy suggested.



Naturally, I was quite interested, and when dinner was finished, I followed the shambling girl upstairs to a dark and dreary second level.

At the top of the stairs, I was surprised to find a matched set of photos so old that they were cracked and damaged, just from the effects of time. So faded that almost no color remained on them. A young perky looking girl, and a handsome dark haired man. The girl was wearing a costume… like heroes often did.



Who were these two? Were they family? Some long distant ancestors? I was thrilled to think we might have had a hero in the family at some point. I vowed to research this further once I got back home to my computer, to see if I could find out.

Then, further up the hallway, Ebony pointed to another pair of pictures. These not quite as damaged or faded, but still obviously old. The first showed a young couple, happily sharing an embrace. The second picture seemed to be of the same two people, in their elder years. The emotional distance between them and the depression on the man’s face could be felt through the picture, even over the span of so many years.

The man was wearing an outfit that was stereotypical of every fanciful depiction of Witches I’d ever seen.



Were these, then, Ebony’s parents? I could definitely see shades of my own features in both their faces, particularly the woman’s.

I could not help but wonder what had caused the rift between them that had so obviously stripped away their happy closeness. Had it been Ebony’s death?



I had not expected to find all of this when I’d first acted on the whim to leave the city and locate this house. This was my family history, all the things that had gone before that culminated to produce my sister and I. It was sad that so much had been lost in the passage of generations. I had some answers, and I thought I could almost feel that connection I’d so longed for, but now there were also so many more questions than I had before coming. This was a house filled with the secrets of the past.



Ebony had proceeded into an open parlor that was cluttered with flowers and plants. I watched her as she tended to some, marveled at the tender and practiced touch she used, which seemed utterly at odds with the shambling gait I had thus far seen her utilize. Caring and careful, she hummed a little under her breath, as if singing to her charges.



I smiled and could not help but love her, my lost grandaunt. She was kin, and in spite of living for countless years relatively alone, forgotten by the entire family, she had survived. I could only imagine how depressing that had been, how lonely. And yet, here she was, working every day to cultivate and nourish life, when she herself had none.



As we headed back downstairs, I noticed a small room I hadn’t seen before. “What’s in here?” I asked.



It proved to be a storage room, filled with a multitude of old clutter and obvious antiques. The shabby remains of lives long passed. I could definitely feel something here, some connection to these old things, perhaps. My family had used them, touched them. There was also what appeared to be magical paraphernalia, which I presumed had belonged to Ebony’s father. I was surprised that it was still around after so long. That any of this was.



It occurred to me that perhaps these things were still here, stored away safely, dusted and well tended, because Ebony was clinging to them. The possessions of people she had known and cared about, who were now long gone.

The biggest surprise in the room, however, was one that sent chills down my spine. A coffin!



I couldn’t imagine why there would be a coffin here. Had it been Ebony’s? From when she’d died? That didn’t seem to fit, the thing looked pristine. I was mystified and a little unnerved by this additional mystery in my family’s home until Ebony surprised me by speaking up for the first time since I’d met her.

“It was Obsidian’s,” she said simply, looking up at me. Her voice was quiet, that of a little girl’s, but I could detect a slight growling quality to the sound. Perhaps growling isn’t accurate. More… a gravely tone. Like her throat was sore.



At the moment I was more concerned over what she had said, rather than how she’d said it. The coffin was Obsidian’s? “Obsidian’s? Why would you have - -” I started to question, and then stopped, remembering something. I’d read a lot about Obsidian Tecza’s career, and praise for his acting had repeatedly insisted that he played the part of the vampiric secret agent as if he truly understood the angst and tribulations of the character. As if he actually was…

“Obsidian Tecza really was a vampire?” I concluded weakly. A simple nod from Ebony confirmed it, before she turned and shuffled out of the room.

Back downstairs, I was still reeling from this stunning revelation, when Lucy decided to hit me with a more serious concern.

“Now that you know about Ebony, what are your plans regarding her?” she asked.



I didn’t think the question was entirely fair, considering I’d hardly had time to give any of this due consideration. “Well, naturally I’d like to do whatever I can to help her. But, I don’t see any reason to disrupt what she’s used to. She can continue to live here.” I would have to look into taking legal possession of the house, and I silently thought it would be a wise idea to dip into Obsidian’s trust and use some of those simoleons to fix the place up, since it obviously hadn’t been tended to in quite some time. “And if you could continue to look after her - - “

“That’s where the problems lie, Mr. Tecza,” Lucy interrupted me. “Honestly, I don’t know how much longer she can live here. The house needs so much work. Obsidian provided for her very well, but he is long gone, and from what I understand, most of his investments have expired. The money to maintain the house, to take care of Ebony’s needs, is nearly depleted.”

This was extremely unwelcome news, but it certainly explained why the house was in such a sorry state, if Ebony’s current caretaker was down to carefully budgeting what remained of Obsidian’s funds.

“That is a problem,” I agreed. “I’m an educator, so I don’t make a lot of extra simoleons, but I would gladly arrange to forward what funds I can for expenses and maintenance of the house. Finances may be tight, but I’ll do the best I can.”



“I’m sure you will, Mr. Tecza. But there is another problem.” She sighed heavily, obviously not wanting to say what she felt she had to. “I’ve been here with Ebony for many years, and I care a great deal for her. But, I’m an elderly woman now, and I’d like to spend my remaining time with my own family.”



I couldn’t blame her at all for that, but it was a very serious complication. One that weighed on me heavily as I laid down to sleep in the little used, musty smelling guest room that night.



I now had a crumbling house and a undead grandaunt to care for. How was I going to handle this?

On the long bus ride back to Sim City the next day, I had plenty of time to think about everything. And I came up with what was, I hoped, a good solution for everyone involved. It would be completely accurate to say that I was even excited about my idea and what it might mean for the future.

After resting up, and once Saffron got home that evening, I told her all about my adventure in that far flung country town. The decaying house. Ebony and the hints of family secrets I had discovered there. The more I talked, the more enthusiastic I felt about it all. I had family that I hadn’t even known existed, and I was eager to share that with the woman in my life.



I didn’t even notice that she didn’t seem to share my excitement. More accurately, I think that I just didn’t want to notice.



Now that she knew all about Ebony and the situation, I sat down and explained my idea to her. “Clearly what Ebony needs is more personalized help and individual attention. Also, she needs the positive influence of a family. And she won’t receive those things living in that shabby house in the middle of nowhere. So, what I think I would like to do is sell the property and bring Ebony here to live with us.”

I thought this was the most practical strategy. I would be able to help Ebony learn and grow, and she and I would both be with family. She would no longer be alone, and I could cultivate that oh so important connection I felt I was missing, with her.



“Of course we’ll have to find a bigger apartment,” I continued. “Maybe even a house - - “

“Wait a minute,” Saffron interrupted in a tone so cold and harsh that it startled me. “Are you telling me that you want to bring that girl… that zombie… here? Here to live with us?”



I could feel my heart already starting to sink, but I had to keep going, had to push this. It was important. Ebony was family, and she needed me. “Yes,” I replied, shamed that my own tone of voice came out sounding a little more desperate than I would have liked. “It would be the best thing for her, Saffron. She needs a better environment.”



“A better environment? Frammit all, Butter, it sounds to me like she’s right where she should be! She’s a zombie. Disgusting and dead and… I can’t even imagine it! Do you know what would happen to our social standing, our reputations, if you brought her here?” Saffron’s cold anger had turned heated. “They wouldn’t let you teach with a horrible thing like that living in your house! I wouldn’t get another client when it was found out, my career would be ruined!”



Her venom wounded me, but I still tried to convince her otherwise. And I had to defend Ebony against such prejudiced slander. “She isn’t a horrible thing, Saffron. She’s a little girl and she has no one else to take care of her.”

“She’s been doing just fine with babysitters all these years. If you feel so obligated toward her, just keep hiring other people to look after her and leave her where she is. We don’t need her messing up our lives.”

“But, she’s my family!” I protested in desperation. I didn’t want to leave Ebony to others, I wanted to take care of her myself.

“She’s barely related to you!” Saffron countered angrily. “You’re four generations removed from her!”



I didn’t know what else to say, because of course Saffron was right about that, at least. Technically, I was so distantly related to Ebony that it really didn’t matter any more. I had no legal obligation, and if I wanted to assume responsibility for her, I could easily do as Saffron said and provide for her from afar. Keep her hidden away, secret and forgotten. Because to do otherwise would mean disrupting the perfect life that Saffron and I had together.

The perfect life that I didn’t want anyway.

“I’m sorry, Saffron,” I finally said, breaking the very painful silence that had fallen between us. “But I won’t abandon her. She’s been alone for too long and she deserves to be part of a family again.”



It was a difficult thing to say, because I knew in that moment I was exchanging my old life for a new uncertain one, trading Saffron for Ebony in my heart. But… I had never felt so strongly about anything ever before. I had never been so sure that what I was doing was right.

Saffron pushed herself quickly to her feet, a stony expression on her face. “If that’s how you feel,” she snapped in my direction, before striding out of the room. I heard her mutter “Disgusting…” to herself as she left.



I had to make revised plans, but I did so with a new sense of purpose and even… relief. This wasn’t going to be easy, but it was what I wanted. I felt the city breeze on my face, stifling even in the autumn night, and knew that I had made the right decision. I had only to finalize the details.



Living with Saffron from that point on was extremely awkward and uncomfortable. We barely spoke to one another, except for when it was necessary. But, I have to admit, that her anger didn’t feel nearly as bad as I might have imagined it would. And I had no regrets over leaving her, especially not after she had revealed her exact opinion of my grandaunt. But I knew, Saffron was never what I wanted. She was what I thought was expected.



To be honest, I don’t think she shed any tears over my departure either. I was like last season’s shoes to her, easily disposed of now that I was no longer fashionable or serving her needs. Her social schedule and networking didn’t suffer in the least.



Thanks to her contacts in law circles, however, I knew friends who were able to get the ball rolling on the legalities of my ownership of the house in Ascalon. I tried to be as discreet about Ebony’s existence as possible, but a couple people found out by necessity, so I could assume guardianship. Though their reactions weren’t as extreme as Saffron had predicted, there was apparently no love for even the idea of zombies among anyone who knew. They made sure my business was wrapped up quickly so that I no longer had to be a concern to them.

I had to quit my teaching job in Sim City, and applied for a new position in Arbor Bay. It would be a long commute, but there was no school in Ascalon for me to teach at. I kept in close touch with Lucy Prout, who agreed to stay on at the house with Ebony and I until I was more familiar with my grandaunt and how things were done from day to day.

All these arrangements seemed to take forever, but that was perhaps just an illusion created by my excitement and anticipation. In due time, I had shipped all my things ahead and soon found myself waiting for the bus that would take me away from Sim City, for once and for all.

I felt almost giddy.



Nearly a day later, when the taxi from Arbor Bay dropped me at the house, Lucy and Ebony were both waiting for me. The little zombie looked like she couldn’t quite believe that I was there.



“She was depressed when you left,” Lucy explained to me. “I told her that you’d be back, but I don’t think she wanted to believe me. She’s been left behind by so many people…”

Ebony leveled an expression at me that I was hard pressed to describe. Sad, accusing, pouting, a touch of anger. I understood. As Lucy had said, she’d been left behind so often, thanks to the march of time.



I was about to reassure her that I was moving in for good, that she wouldn’t be without family anymore, but she spoke first.

“Are you going to stay with me?” she demanded, in petulant little girl tones.

I nodded. “Yes. Yes, Ebony. I’m your grandnephew. Your family. I’m staying here with you.”

She seemed to consider it for a long moment, as if not sure whether or not to believe me. She shifted position around me, observing me from several critical angles. She seemed to make up her mind about something. And then she smiled. Just a little, with acceptance and hope.



If she hadn’t already won my heart, that small smile would have done it, without a doubt.



To Part Two