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After twoto doubt that the bear was actually in the attic Jacqui studied the boxes and then snapped her fingers She dug around in a corner, and then pushed a dusty book shelf to the side

“Here, let’s try this one”

Khizar helped her pull out the larger box and wrangle it open He could see stuffed aniht box He didn’t want to appear overeager, so he stood back and let Jacqui carefully unpack the box

She finally held up a large, brown bear wearing a dapper vest

Jacqui smiled at it and quietly said, “Hello, Alexander Bear”

Jacqui handed the bear to Khizar, who noted how heavy it felt Poking at the middle of the stuffed animal, he felt a solid lump

“I think this ,” he said and handed the bear back to Jacqui

“Let’s go downstairs where the light is better,” she said

Khizar wanted to protest and tell her to tear open the bear right then and there, but held himself in check

Jacqui closed the box and they carefully made their way out of the attic and back downstairs She found a pair of scissors and set the stuffed aniht on

Carefully, she clipped a few threads on the bear’s back and pulled theain, Khizar wanted to ask her to hurry, but then he remembered that the bear was all that Jacqui had of her fareeted it in the attic, and could understand her wanting to preserve it as much as possible

Once she had a large enough hole in the bear, Jacqui cautiously reached in and pulled out soe bulk of so Jacqui set the scissors down and pulled the cotton off of whatever it was cushioning

Left in her hand was a diae, clear diaht across the dining table Jacqui took in a long, deep breath

“Oh, it’s beautiful Williaht? This must be one of his”

Khizar carefully, reverently reached for the diaht for so long was in his hands Truly, this was a et

Except that the second the dia Khizar turned it over and over, trying to decipher what his brain was telling him

Jacqui must have picked up on his puzzlement, because she asked, “Khizar, what is it?”