Dionisia's reentry into the home was a long and silent one as she listened into the conversation between her husband and sister-in-law. Finally she came into the room, picking up her speed as though she'd walked at a normal pace through the entire hallway, and smiled at Zelda. She carried a glass jar with an slimy green concoction inside.
"This will do," she said, smiling. "It stings when it comes in contact with the skin, so it's best to do it yourself than have someone else put it on, preferably in front of your mirror," she explained. In truth, there was nothing stopping Dionisia from doing it here and now other than Ari's prescence—but not for reasons one might assume. "I've found that scraping it off the inside of the lid gets you the perfect amount," she added, as if an afterthought.
But it wasn't. Wedged inside the lid of a jar was a piece of folded parchment. It read:
Meet me in my bedchamber tomorrow night a half hour before midnight. Ari will be working. If you need to, do not worry about letting your family know. I have excuses planned for Ari if he asks.
It was at that moment that Elliott stirred from his sleep and rolled onto his back, letting out a wail. Her smile left her face, as did her attention on Zelda and Ari. "Let me see if he'll go back to sleep in his crib," she said as a way of excusing herself. She scooped the fair-haired tot off the floor, and, with one last smile at her sister, scurried out of the room.
"This will do," she said, smiling. "It stings when it comes in contact with the skin, so it's best to do it yourself than have someone else put it on, preferably in front of your mirror," she explained. In truth, there was nothing stopping Dionisia from doing it here and now other than Ari's prescence—but not for reasons one might assume. "I've found that scraping it off the inside of the lid gets you the perfect amount," she added, as if an afterthought.
But it wasn't. Wedged inside the lid of a jar was a piece of folded parchment. It read:
It was at that moment that Elliott stirred from his sleep and rolled onto his back, letting out a wail. Her smile left her face, as did her attention on Zelda and Ari. "Let me see if he'll go back to sleep in his crib," she said as a way of excusing herself. She scooped the fair-haired tot off the floor, and, with one last smile at her sister, scurried out of the room.
