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“We can,” Emilia told her. “But we’ll try to choose plants that don’t need as much sunlight.”
Mimi nodded wisely.
“If we’re allowed to use this land,” Emilia said. “That’s the next step. You found a great spot. Now we need permission.”
“Mr. Grinks,” Mimi whispered.
“Who’s that?” Emilia asked.
“He takes care of the house,” Mimi said. “He’s mean.”
Interesting.
“What do you mean?” Emilia asked.
“He doesn’t like me to ask him questions,” Mimi said. “He doesn’t like when we play in the maze.”
“I’ll bet he’s just busy,” Emilia said. “This is a big house on a big piece of property. He’s probably worried he can’t get everything done.”
She meant it, too. One groundskeeper for this behemoth property wasn’t enough. Even with droids, it would be a challenge.
Mimi frowned, but didn’t argue.
“Can we just ask Daddy?” she asked after a moment.
“We should talk to Mr. Grinks first,” Emilia said. “That’s the respectful thing to do.”
Mimi fidgeted and Emilia felt sorry for the little girl.
“Hey,” she said. “Are you ready for a snack? I’ll bet you could run to the kitchen and tell Cook about our cupcakes while I talk to the groundskeeper.”
“Yes,” Mimi yelled, and took off.
Once again, Emilia found herself jogging after her. By the time they reached the kitchen, they were both out of breath.
“Is that Mimi Drayven?” a deep female voice demanded from inside the wooden door.
“Yes,” Mimi yelled, bursting through it to wrap her arms around the waist of a gigantic Bergalian woman with a colorful scarf holding her hair out of the way of her cooking.
The big furry woman smiled and tousled Mimi’s hair.
“I’m Emilia,” Emilia said with a little wave.
“Pleased to meet you,” the woman said. “Ayrann.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Ayrann,” Emilia said sincerely. It was clear the woman was fond of Mimi. And that said a lot about her as a person.
“We made cupcakes for dinner,” Mimi yelled.
“You did?” Ayrann asked.
“Look,” Mimi squeaked, dashing over to the refrigerator to pull out the plate of cakes. “You can eat one for your lunch.”
“Oh, my no, I can’t eat too many sweets, love,” Ayrann said.
“It’s not too sweet,” Mimi told her. “We put vegetables and special ingredients in it. Emilia says it’s just as nutritionimal as your goop.”
Emilia winced. But the good-natured cook didn’t seem to mind. It made sense. Those tubs of “food” had probably been Mr. Drayven’s idea, after all.
