Her ankles were also shackled, legs spread wide as the chains from the shackles ran to rings set in the flooring, in the background a dragon sat watch...ng, a look of contemplation on its face. Walking back to the kitchen, Elizabeth poured herself another cup of tea, leaning on the counter she looked at the canvas, hmmmmming to herself, she nibbled on a charcoal covered finger, she looked at it from one angle, then from another. "What do you think? Taipei, it needs something else, not sure what. She stumbled across the park and approached a darkened section near a bunch of bushes. "You did a marvellous job. It's a great party and we have you to thank," Dave said to the drunken hostess. "I know Jeff, Cory and I are just teenagers, but we wondered if you would have a drink with us ... sort of a toast to Independence Day."Denise would have no memory of talking to the teenager or that she accepted a drink from him. The area was fairly secluded, but she seemed willing once Dave's two. “Michael….YOU relax. We all think you’re perfect and you touch us really well.” The other two, feeling better because of my expression of doubts, nodded in agreement with Lorelei.“Ok. I muttered. “Are we all ok now?”Jane and Sandy looked at each other and nodded to me. I knew Lorelei was fine. Then, throwing caution to the wind, I asked “Do you guys think we could maybe talk about stuff?”“What do you mean” said Sandy“Well, I mean…you know…how we feel about stuff we did…did we like anything or. ‘Mom,’ Abigail laughed. ‘I am not plucking that bird this year. Let Dad do it.’ Her laughter danced alive around her. ‘Better yet, let Jake do it. It will give him a Christmas memory to take with him.’ ‘Hmm,’ Kiley considered. ‘It certainly has merit. It would mean neither of us has to do it. But, have you considered how the feathers will tickle going down? Because you know he’ll never get them all.’ They were standing in the kitchen giggling, flour up to their elbows when the front door burst.