. oh god, is it really her? Laura wondered. It was Charise.She was hunched back in the shadows, wearing her big blue parka. She was scanning the sidew...lks almost mournfully and did not see Laura approach."Charise," Laura murmured above the traffic noise, trying not to startle her. "Inky... is that you?"Charise's head spun around. Instead of her usual stiffish little Dutch flip, she had her shiny black hair all pulled back round her head and knotted behind. Her eyes were luminous, her smile. Then I walked downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a large black trash bag. I carried it up to the bedroom and stuffed it full of the pile of cloth and paper. Tying the bag shut I carried it (well, dragged it as it was a bit heavier than I expected) down to the kitchen. Opening the backdoor, I dragged the bag out to the trash can in the backyard. My task complete, i walked back in the house and plopped down on the couch. Flipping on the TV, I mindlessly watched some random thing as my mind. ” He seemed to be dismissing her as he went back around his desk and took his seat.At the door she bowed to him, “Yes, Sir,” and started to leave.“Oh, Silk,” she turned to look at him, “That is a collar, not a choker. Shut the door behind you,” dismissing her just like that.She went on her way to the flight deck, pondering what he had just said. A collar, but didn’t that mean? Was she his pet? Could she do that, and could he? Vaguely remembering something she had read in a book once about a. She leaned in closer to me, and stayed that way until the end of the film. We were still feeling a little tentative, however, which made us sit up a little straighter than we would have otherwise. My arm started to tingle and fall asleep. but I was not going to remove it, no matter how uncomfortable I got.At the end of the movie, just before the house lights came up, I painfully lifted my arm off her shoulder and started rubbing it, trying to get some feeling back into it. Missy glanced at me.