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 Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 2:10 pm
“Your mother sounds like she was a wonderful person,” Lissie smiled. “My nanny taught me a few songs, when I was young.” Nothing as pleasing to the ear as Michael’s playing.
“Tea?” She suggested.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 2:14 pm
The table which the lamp and hyacinth blooms sat on became larger, a tea table, and a chair appeared on either side. Michael held out a hand, palm-up and high, for Lissie to lay her hand atop in proper fashion.
"She was quite a lovely person. My parents lost so many children before me, they chose to raise me mostly by themselves. I had a nanny, but there were no 'visiting hours.'"
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Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 10:50 am
Lissie laid her hand atop Michael’s and smiled. “You were precious to them. My parents taught me to read, but they believed a child should be seen, not heard.” She looked to the table then.
“My nanny didn’t always approve of my reading all the time. She and mother conspired to teach me to garden.”
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 7:27 pm
Michael walked with Lissie, and only let her hand go when they had arrived at the table to pull out her chair for her.
"At least they wanted you seen," he said, and then quickly changed the subject: "I enjoyed gardening. When my mother brought me out, my father would say, 'is gardening a task for well-rounded gentlemen too?' I wish that I had been more appreciative as I grew into adolescence. When I began truly discovering science, I more or less let gardening go. Ah, speaking of, when do you want to go see Toby's house to plan a garden? I'm sure he'd like to schedule something."
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 7:47 pm
Lissie looked like she wanted to respond, to ponder whether she’d been more than a decoration for her mother’s parties, but Michael changed the topic. “Science is fascinating,” she said. “I’ve always loved science. I’m looking forward to learning all the world has to offer.”
She paused. She almost stared. “I didn’t think that plain would come to fruition,” she admitted. “I love you, Michael.”
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Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 8:21 pm
"In the past fifty years, there have been so many technological advancements that our friends' great-grandchildren no longer understand the devices that their own children use. In medicine, the discoveries-- there are so many treatments and cures now, and surgical equipment-- Pardon me. That's an inappropriate conversation for tea, I think."
A teapot appeared in Michael's hand mid-pour, into one of two saucers decorated with dainty flowers of ambrose, arbutus, jonquil, and daisies. It was quite an odd choice aesthetically, but Michael had again chosen more meaningful flowers to conjure on his conjured tea pot.
Michael smiled. "Elise, I love you too." The statement was so sincere, so important, that it seemed most appropriate to use her whole name.
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:47 am
So were sicknesses easily cured now? Some had been a death sentence. "Fascinating," she said. Surgical equipment? "Perhaps," she agreed, with a small smile. He was precious!
Michael's words had Lissie meeting his eyes. She gave him a smile, the brightest she'd had so far that evening. "When is most convenient for Toby?" she asked. "Would Friday work for him?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:51 am
Michael made Lissie's tea just the way she liked it with conjured sugar cubes and conjured cream. He could have just waved his hand over it and done the same, but the physical act of cobbling together a cup of tea was comforting to him.
"He and a few others are in Ireland right now, but when he returns we can ask him personally. I'm sure he won't mind us coming to do his landscaping." He began to make his own tea. "So how have you found your time at Headquarters so far?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 12:03 pm
Oh? Ireland. She thought she'd heard something about that. "Is it true that there aren't any snakes in Ireland?" she asked.
She waited for Michael to have his tea before sipping at hers. "It's... Different," she admitted. "Being around people after being alone for such a long time is a feeling I can't quite explain." She felt almost alive--but she had a tendency to shy away out of habit. "I like the library."
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 12:08 pm
"Ah, no," Michael said, "There aren't nay native species, but they can be kept as pets and have been released from ownership and live in the wild." He took a sip of his tea, still maintaining proper tea-drinking decorum.
"A bad feeling, or a good feeling? Or perhaps just a feeling? The redheaded man that works in the library is Lorien's husband."
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 12:53 pm
"Just a feeling," Lissie said, taking a sip of her tea. "Is he? He's very kind," she said, and gave Michael a smile. "He's been very patient with me, with all my questions. He seems to know a lot about where to find books, he's explained computers to me, too."
She took a sip of her tea. "I still know nothing about computers," she confessed. "He tried so hard. I felt bad."
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 3:29 pm
"I don't think that I've ever used a computer properly. Don't feel too bad," Michael said with a smile. There was a silence then, not an uncomfortable one, as he gathered the will to say what he had to say next. He looked down at the table, then back up to Lissie with a smile.
"I have two things to ask you, and the answer to the first will dictate my behavior regarding the second. Is that alright?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 3:39 pm
"Your young friend seems to like suggesting that I possess his games, but he didn't like when I made the system make awful buzzing noises. He said I was breaking it."
She looked up. "Of course," she said.
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 3:41 pm
Michael nodded and reached out a palm for Lissie to place hers atop.
"First, may I ask officially if we are courting?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 3:52 pm
Lissie put her hand on Michael's and paused at the question. She seemed surprised. Weren't they? They'd exchanged I love yous and spent time together like a courting pair. "I think we are," she said.
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