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“Come on, kids,” Emilia said, turning on her heel.
They marched for the house in silence.
Stay calm, Emilia, she coached herself. Tenet ninety-nine said, Model calm, polite behavior.
When they reached the kitchen, Mimi let go of Emilia’s hand.
“Why did she say that, Emilia?” Mimi asked, a plaintive note in her normal joyful voice.
“Say what, love?” Emilia asked.
“Why did she say you have your hands full?” Mimi asked. “And then she looked at Dyrk. Is he in trouble?”
“Of course he’s not,” Emilia said, glancing over at Dyrk.
He was leaning against the counter with his hands shoved in his pockets and his too-long hair falling over his eyes.
She figured he was a few seconds away from just disappearing into his room for the rest of the night.
It was important to make him feel better, but he was smart enough to instantly sniff out a lie.
“She said it because she didn’t know what else to say, and she wanted to say something,” Emilia told Mimi honestly. “And because she was more interested in hearing herself speak than in being polite and kind. Some people can only make themselves feel big by making others feel small. Which is sad. But she doesn’t know your brother at all, does she?”
Mimi shook her head.
“And I do, right?” Emilia went on.
“Yeah,” Mimi said.
“Well, I think your brother is amazing,” Emilia said. “And if he helps me with this dinner, I’m going to challenge him to a game of Space Race on his gamepad tonight.”
“You play Space Race?” Dyrk asked, stepping forward with interest, all his anger forgotten.
“No,” Emilia admitted. “But I’ve always wanted to.”
“I can teach you,” he offered. “If you want.”
“That sounds amazing,” she told him. “For now though, we’ve got to hurry if we want to have everything ready at the same time.”
They jumped into action, and she was happy to see Dyrk was back to himself again, darting around the kitchen to grab ingredients and smiling when she praised his efforts.
