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 Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:55 pm
He gave her a sympathetic and apologetic look. "I'm sorry."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:58 pm
"Thank you." The words were soft. Defeated. It had been weeks since she'd let herself remember her sister- to think on that sweet, unassuming face. "Her name was Mizzie."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:00 pm
"Mizzie? Is that short for something?" He'd never heard a name like that before.
"I never had any siblings of my own. It was just me and my dad."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:05 pm
She smiled. "No. Short for nothing. Emelyn and Mizzie. My parents must have had a strange sense of name aesthetics. ...It's too bad you didn't have any siblings. Was it lonely, growing up?" Emelyn couldn't imagine the family dynamic without her sister- without that constant companion, another version of yourself that mirrored all your best qualities and ignored all your worst.
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:11 pm
"Sometimes it was lonely. My dad worked a lot and Nonie had to work to maintain the building, so she couldn't be around all the time. But my childhood was still a happy one."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:12 pm
"Well... now you've got a great big family. After you've met more people, I can guarantee someone is going to 'adopt' you. We've got surrogat brothers and sisters... mothers, aunts... fathers- it's a whole Disney family reunion."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:16 pm
Lucas chuckled. "Adopt me, huh? Has someone adopted you?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:17 pm
A soft smile crossed the girl's face. It was either acutely happy... or somewhat sad. The expression would be puzzling.
"Not in name, no. But I think I'm everyone's sister. Or their distant aunt, out living on a mountain. ...It's more the younger crowd that has glommed together."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:21 pm
"I'll be the crazy uncle that pinches everyone's cheeks and brings green bean casserole to everything," he laughed.
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:22 pm
Emelyn laughed- genuinely- in return, at the lovably weird response. "It takes a crazy uncle. Mine were all a little crazy. ...All the good extended family should be, y'know."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:30 pm
"I didn't have much of an extended family, actually. So no uncles of my own. But Nonie had a crazy brother. He was a fun guy." Family was not really a topic he enjoyed discussing. He wasn't sure why he hadn't changed the subject yet. Maybe because it seemed to cheer Emelyn up?
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:32 pm
Emelyn paused in her response, to watch Reuben stand, stretch his legs, then wander around to sniff at the foliage.
"So it was just you, your dad, and ...Nonie? ...That sounds a little lonely. What did you do to keep yourself occupied when they were away?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:39 pm
"It was fine. When I was little I'd play with a few of the other kids in the building. The rest of the time I'd watch tv, read, or play with toys." He stretched. He'd been sitting in the same position for a while. "My father got me interested in science fiction and fantasy stories. I'm a bit of a nut for the paranormal."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:41 pm
Em noticed the shift in his posture and his position, and she took the half-cue to stand, and call Reuben back over to her.
"Well," she said, using the opportunity to stretch, herself, "not to try and play Pollyanna... but you'll get plenty of the supernatural here."
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Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:47 pm
"Indeed."
He pulled himself to his feet and stretched some more. "I'm sorry to bring this to an end, but it's getting late. I try to get back my room before dark. I'm still getting used to this place and I don't want to get lost out here."
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