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"Oh, Clark, just stuff a scone in it and get in here" I sighed, holding the door open He set his scones and briefcase down, then inspected the offending piece of ood, this’ll be a simple repair You really must be more careful when you--"

"Oh, please, it caainst it when I was on the phone the other day, and--"

"I’d say you don’t know your own strength, but based on this"--he pointed at his nose--"I know that’s not entirely true"

He wore his glasses today, in spite of the fact that they rip, Viv

"Would you care for so some speech about turn-of-the-century architecture Which always confused me, frankly, because the century had turned twice since people started saying that phraseso which century? A question that would not be posed at thisopen in midrant I leaned in, pushed his chin up and closed his mouth, then turned for the kitchen "Follow "

He , but followed me And for the record? What he murmured?

"Like you wouldn’t believe"

So Caroline was here to back ree with me, to be on my side and to ht?

Not so much what happened

What did happen is the two of them bonded over a bottle cap, a ballrooreed that the roof was a no-brainer, especially when I begancontinued daree, only noting that as long as the original sight lines of the roof were retained, and the copper gutters were replaced, that a new roof was reat strides toward a continued state of détente e progressed to the front porch, alh the floorboards when Caroline pressed a little too hard in her heels Once again, Clark surprised and impressed me with his ability to coh, which couldn’t have happened at a betterand the cornice thingies were a little too fussy for h I loved this house I wanted to put my own staan to estion that was period-specific but slightly less Victorian And in the end, he agreed the changes would look nice on the new front porch

Things began to unravel ent upstairs When Clark leaned on a cabinet in the hallway that I’d been unable to pry open, so and a push and a pull later, the panel slid upward

The house had a dumbwaiter, like an elevator for food Or laundry Or dolls When we pulled it up there were several dolls sitting there in suspended psychotic silence And sitting a the dolls was an old bottle cap