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Chapter 19
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Mary and Kyra didn’t have a dining room table. They barely had any sitting furniture. When it came to dining of any sort, they had eating-ware that could be flung off the bed at a moment’s notice. They had made plans to buy more at some point, but it wasn’t a priority for the two of them.

Today, they enjoyed breakfast in bed. The dirty dishes were on a tray at the foot end of the mattress. The only clothes Mary and Kyra had on was their underwear.

A rarity in these parts.

Not What We Expected by Tiffany B. Quinn If I thought that living with a pregnant woman was a challenge during Sandra’s first pregnancy, I soon found out that dealing with a couple of hundred girls going through puberty all in one place was probably worse, if not its equal. Throw in approximately the same number of boys going through their own puberty and you have a real hotbed of hormonal emotional turmoil. I don’t know how my mother had dealt with kids in this state of being for her whole career. I NEVER want to be a middle school teacher.

Chapter 19

It was time to get in touch with my sister Chloe, we had always got on well and she deserved to know that at least I was still alive and well. I had completely disappeared and no doubt Josie had given her all the details, or her own version of it. Since her marriage to Robert, we had drifted apart, I never really got on with him or he with me, so we had all kept our distance.

The kitchen in the Walha’s household smelled of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger. The kitchen counter was a little bit of a mess. There was some flour, spices and sugar on it. Renee just finished mixing the batter and was pouring the batter in the cake pan. As she was handing the pan to her dad, the first-time baker could not be prouder of herself. Renee was going to be able to say she made the cake when she gave it to Luke.

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Interlude part II
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Mortar Mage let one of his gadgets take the lead as he and his allies entered the temple to fend off invaders. Dozens of fighters came at them with barely any sign of life or willpower in their eyes.

As he fought, Mortar saw Dexios use contraptions of his own that were designed to contain their foes. Most of the actual fighting was left to Mortar and Toyenna.

Chapter Four – Mommy’s Home

We get an insight into the serial killer's past and what made him what he is. Penelope and Bradley's relationship deepens.

In this chapter, Myra discovers an old letter that gives her a new and dismaying view of her family's past. Should she try to understand the true nature of her heritage, or make herself forget about it? Either way, things may never be the same again. But the surprising discovery gives her an excuse to go to the Christmas party, come what may....

Author's Note: We are halfway through the story. I'm sure many of you have questions, but here is the interlude that tells Warren/Mortar's tale from a few years prior.

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Interlude part I
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A traveling bard sat in one of the few relatively safe corners of the universe. Various beings drank and gambled away their troubles. Some knew the universe could end at any moment, some truly didn’t care.

He stroked against his string instrument, and chimed away:

CHAPTER 21 - The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'

Not What We Expected by Tiffany B. Quinn We were home in Wisconsin in time to go out on the town for a celebratory dinner. Being in the role of a twelve-year-old, I had to settle for a Pepsi for the toast to our new beginning. The fact that Sandra couldn’t indulge in alcohol either, due to her pregnancy, made me feel a little better. I officially took up permanent residence in my princess suite that night. It would take some time for it to feel like home.

Chapter 18

     
How do the friends get along?