Lauren lumbered after him with her own."What? I can't hear, my ears went pop!"She craned her neck upwards and nodded, straining with her luggage betwe...n the two desks that made up passport control. The officer waved her though on production of her passport and they continued deeper into the airport, finding themselves in a large shed that already contained some bags. However, on closer inspection, Lauren discovered that they were not from their flight."Over here, this is where they come out!". His hair was pulled into a ponytail, and bound withsilver cloth. "Indeed, my queen," Loriston said as he stepped forward."Though I would obviously like to express my joy at your daughter'srecovery, I bring news of a received shipment from the court of stars. Iwould have waited until you were finished, but an immediate response isrequested," he said, handing a scroll to the queen.Baineth glanced at it for a moment, before handing it back to him. "Tellthem I will accept, and they may proceed,". It was getting close to Christmas, and I wonder what Tina was going to do on Christmas day. So I gave her a call on her cell phone.“What are you doing on Christmas Day?” I asked her with an inquiring sound in my voice.“I am sure that you have family to see, so I will probably be here all alone,” She replied with some sadness in her voice. “No, I celebrated with the kids on Christmas Eve, why don’t you come over and have Christmas Day dinner with me?” I asked her. “I would love to, who else. But I can't accept them as a portion of my love life — regardless of whether you're with me."I thought I detected a little bit of relief in Bailey's eyes but I wasn't certain. Then I was sure I saw concern."I'm not so sure it isn't too late after this morning," she said. "But you're right, you and I need to spend some time together — alone — to see if the spark is still there. I, for one, hope it is. I've thought of you a lot over the years."When it came time for good luck kisses that morning,.