..”“Honey, she’s alone. You have me, but she doesn’t have anyone else. You know that can be just as hard on us oldsters as it can on you kids....��“I’m NOT a kid and ... yeah, I guess so. But what could I do about that?”“So, you are not a kid, but I am an oldster?”She giggled, then looked at him, “You’re not that old...”Her eyes hazed dreamily as she thought again about that kiss.He reached over and wiped a bit of chocolate sauce from the edge of her mouth. Then he nonchalantly stuck the finger. A heartbeat after that, she saw a flare of stars before her eyes, and then remembered nothing.Wendy awoke with a throbbing headache and the smell of incense in her nose. Her eyes pried themselves open painfully and she regarded a ornately-painted ceiling over her head. The light was very dim, almost not enough to allow vision."Don't try to move," said a mild, masculine voice from the direction of her feet. Naturally, she tried to lift her head to look that direction. She was rewarded for this. " Yea, Intel screwed up and we got dropped right on top of a heavy roller Division. It was practically a reenactment of the battle of Arnheim from Earth-That-Was. Zoë and I were part of the rear guard in the operation that got us out of the city for extraction. When the rollers came out onto that plain after us, our bombers suddenly showed up and pounded them into the landscape. That's when we started calling them our angels." Mal paused and looked around. "I'm glad to see the city rebuilt. Black pumps with a classic design and heels thatweren't too high. For thirty-nine Euros I could buy them right away. Andthat's exactly what I did. I was giving myself these shoes as a Christmaspresent. I hoped that they would still arrive in time.I heard Mom in the kitchen and went to her. She looked at me and smiled."Hi, Darling. You look sweet."In fact I felt a little good about the compliment. Even if I liked Mrs.Weber's compliments about my outfits better."Mom?" Yes?" But I'm your little.