Fettered

A Black Christmas with the Bakers

Winter break started out promisingly. Most days, Persephone and Lucas would send each other good morning texts, as they'd done this morning as well. It was almost Christmas eve and she sat at the dinner table, excitedly texting back-and-forth with Lucas about coming over soon and the prospect of her having Christmas dinner with his family.

"So are you ready f'r Christmas, hon?" Terry asked sweetly, glass of wine in hand.
Persephone glanced to each of her parents, then stared down at her dinner plate. "Yeah, I was going to spend it with Lucas."
"But we always do Christmas together."
"No, Mom, I always do Christmas," Persephone said with a small sneer.
"Persephone," Ronald said sternly. "Be nice to your mother."

Persephone wanted to bring up how Terry always fell asleep before the meal started, even drunker than normal because of the holidays, and how Ronald was never any better. Nothing she cooked was good enough for him, but if she let him have the choice, the only things she'd get to eat for Christmas would be steamed vegetables. She felt tired of busting her ass for them. Indeed, she planned to prepare food for Christmas, but she'd be taking it straight to the Bakers. If nothing else, they would at least act like they enjoyed her food instead of rolling their eyes at her or passing out on the couch.

The dinner table drowned in silence. Between her and Ronald, silence was expected, but Terry's presence and their previous topic engulfed the table in an unusual tenseness. Persephone's phone rang, unique notification — a riff from the song Sacrifice by The Sewer Gatorz — decimating the quiet and telling her Lucas was calling. Good, she'd have an excuse to get up and leave.

"Look," she said, "I'm going to the Bakers for Christmas and that's that. You two can have Christmas together but I gotta take this call." As she left the kitchen, Terry called to her.
"That Luke? Ask 'im if we can join you!"
Right before the threshold to the living room, Persephone stopped dead in her tracks.
"That yer mom?" Lucas asked.
She looked disbelievingly over her shoulder at Terry.
Terry said, "Please? I'd sure like to meet his parents..."

She had to be kidding, right?

With a deep breath to lower her rising blood pressure, Persephone fast-walked out through the front door. On her porch, she sat on the steps to talk to Lucas.

She asked, "What's up?"
"Did I hear right? Did yer mom just try n' get invited t' do somethin' with us?"
"Oh, god." She put her face in her hand. "Can we just not? I want this to be the first Christmas where I don't have to deal with my parents."
"All right, all right," he said quickly. "Don' worry, I'm not here t' try n' convince ya. Just callin' 'cuz Momma wants t' know what all yer bringin'."
"Convince her of what?" Marguerite's voice sounded farther away.
"Nothin', Ma," he called. Then he talked back into the phone. "Got a pen and paper right here, so if ya know what yer makin', lemme know."

She sighed, then gave him the list of food she was bringing — stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, handmade veggie sausages, and apple and pumpkin pie. During her listing, the front door opened and stopped her mid-sentence. Terry came outside.

"Heeyy, hon. Lemme talk t' his mother."
"I'd really rather you not," she replied curtly, protecting her phone against her chest.
"C'mon, Persy, I really wanna t' talk t' his mother."

Terry squeezed her fingers into Persephone's protective grip and yanked the phone. Rather than pulling it away and risk knocking her dumb-drunk-ass down the steps, Persephone reluctantly let the phone go. Smiling like a moron, Terry put it up to her ear.

"Hiiii! Luke, right?"
"Lucas."
"Lewis, lemme talk t' your mother."

Persephone crossed her arms, listening to the chat between Marguerite and Terry. Not only was her mother embarrassing her by slurring half of her words, but she wound up weaseling her way into their Christmas dinner. Judging by the irritating way she clapped and bounced, Terry had successfully infiltrated dinner with the Bakers.

"Here, baby." She thrust the phone out to Persephone again, nearly hitting her in the face with the damn thing.
"Gee, thanks..."

She glared at Terry who returned to the house all giddily. When the door shut, she put her ear up to the phone.

"Pers?"
"Yeah," she returned roughly.
"Sorry 'bout that."
"Yeah. Gotta go."
"Okay."

After hanging up with Lucas, Persephone stomped to her room. She couldn't believe that Terry and Ronald had somehow forced their way into her life again, when she'd once been so excited for dinner at the Bakers. Now that her hope had disappeared, just like that and within only a few agonizing minutes, all she wanted to do was be alone. Once she flung her bedroom door shut behind her, she flopped onto her bed, groaned deeply into her pillow, and wished for death.


The overcast day was indicative of how this Christmas would end up. She knew Ronald was white-knuckled against the steering wheel and glaring at the road, probably pissy for having to drive several miles on Christmas to a place he'd never been before. Terry had popped an extra happy pill that morning because of Ronald's grumpiness and had a couple of drinks before they left the house, so she wavered in the front seat and smiled like a complete tool. When they pulled up to the main gate, her parents gaped at the massive estate.

"It's so beautiful!" Terry gushed.
"They rich?" Ronald leaned over the steering wheel to get a good look.
"Nah. Ancestral house and all," she replied, texting Lucas to let him know they were there.

Lucas met their car at the gate soon after and opened it for them. Ronald pulled in, waited for Lucas to close the gate, then let him lead the way to the garage and carport. He stood outside of Persephone's door and opened his arms wide for her when she got out, but she gave him a look that made him put his arms back down. She and her parents emptied the trunk, pulling out the dishes she had made for the occasion. Lucas tried to take two from her hands. She sneered and held them tight.

"I can carry it myself."
"I just wanna help ya."
She glared.
"Fine." He took his hands away, tossing them in the air defeatedly.
Terry pushed her dishes into Lucas's chest. "Here, hon, carry these f'r me."

They piled into the garage and headed up the stairs. Persephone glared at the steps the whole way up, avoiding everyone's eyes, wishing it had only been her, Lucas, and his family.

Upon his request at the top of the steps, everyone removed their shoes and put them on the shoe rack before stepping through the threshold, and into Christmas heaven. If she hadn't been so damn irritated, Persephone could've fully appreciated the festive decorations. The hallway was decorated with tinsel and fake snow, and directly across from her were the double doors, opened, frame full of wreaths, candy canes, angel wall hangings, and a green and red 'MERRY CHRISTMAS' between the frame and the ceiling. Her home never even had a Christmas tree.

Inside of the dining room, the table was replaced with a much longer one, making it somewhat cramped inside. A spread of food covered the table atop the flamboyant Christmas tablecloth. Their coats and scarves littered the coat rack in the hall.

Jack approached, talking to Lucas first. "Go on n' put this food right there on the table." He pointed, letting Lucas walk by and put down what he was carrying.
Terry smiled crookedly, shaking Jack's hand. "Hi, you must be Jack. Terry Black. Oh," she giggled, "that rhymes."

Introductions. Good. Persephone took the chance to sneak past, set the food down in the limited free space, then head to the living room. At the back, a Christmas movie played on the television, overshadowed by the gorgeous tree in the corner. Presents waited to be unwrapped underneath the lit and colorful evergreen — quite a lot of them at that, for how old Marguerite and Jack's kids were. There were childish decorations on the tree, religious decorations, candy canes, beads, tinsel, and fake snow. She once again wished she'd come alone, to fully admire the decorations and the lengths the Bakers went to adorn their home so festively.

Lucas came in with the presents she'd brought over — three modest boxes he'd taken from Ronald.

"Ya didn' hafta get us anythin', ya know," he said, crouching to put them away.
"Yeah, I know," she replied stuffily, arms crossed and a dead glare at the wall.
"Are you mad at me?"
Persephone tried to relax as she looked at him. "No, no I'm not mad at you, Lucas. I'm just... Mad in general. We got forced into inviting my parents and I... I'm not looking forward to dinner, we'll leave it at that."
"Figured I'd find you two somewhere together," Zoe said as she entered the living room, Santa hat atop her short hair.
"Hey, Zoe," Persephone said. "Almost forgot about you — you're pretty much never here."
Zoe smiled. "Sorry 'bout that, Judith and I prefer ta hang out rather than go home."
Lucas mocked her in one of those classic dopey sibling voices. "That's because you love her."
He made a kissing face and Zoe rolled her eyes, laughing. "Oh, shut it."
"Wait, is she your girlfriend?" Persephone asked.
"Shh!" Zoe put a finger to her lips, speaking quietly. "C'mon, you two, don' let Momma n' Daddy find out."
"Since they're so religious," Lucas added.
"You think they wouldn't approve?"
Zoe shrugged. "Dunno. But I'm kinda nervous ta find out. Luckily, no one knows—"
"Actually," Lucas interrupted, "the whole school knows."
With a jubilant laugh, Zoe said, "Well, when your brother's the school celebrity, privacy goes out the window. But our parents don't know and that's good enough fer me."

"Lucas, Zoe!" Jack called earnestly from the dining room. "Time ta eat!"
"You, too, young lady," Ronald said.


Persephone took her seat between Zoe and Lucas on one side of the table with her parents on the other. Marguerite and Jack sat at the ends and the entire family held hands to say grace. This time, Persephone knew when the Amen was coming, so after Marguerite finished, she was able to say it in unison. Ronald didn't try.

Everyone piled food onto their plates, arms everywhere, hands grabbing for everything. Persephone watched the slight chaos — she wasn't used to it since her dinners typically only involved her and Ronald — and took the foods closest to her until everyone else was mostly finished.

Jack said, "You're not gonna eat any a' this ham here, Lucas?"
"Umm..." Lucas hesitated.
"I, for one," Ronald said as he cut himself some ham, "am glad that my holidays finally involve some meat."
Persephone held onto her irritated sigh and instead glared down at her food.
Lucas refused the ham when Jack tried to hand him the plate. "No thanks, Dad."
Ronald harrumphed rather loudly.

Meanwhile, on her other side, Zoe and Marguerite conversed.
"How are things with Judith?" Marguerite asked.
Zoe took a particularly long drink of her water, then replied, "Good. Real good, we been studyin' a lot, both our grades 'r up. Can't wait 'til you see my report card."
Terry sighed longingly. "Been so long since I had a girlfriend of my own."
Zoe froze, losing control of her fork and frantically trying to get it back before it clinked to the floor.
Marguerite then offered a bright smile. "Maybe you and I can go out with a couple of my girlfriends sometime, Terry."
Ronald interjected coldly, "Maybe you would have girlfriends if you got out of the house more, honey."
Terry glared at him. "And maybe you wouldn't have so many if you stayed home more, dear."
"We're not doing this now," Ronald replied, voice calm, but Persephone noticed the grip on his fork tightened.
Persephone put her face in her hand, fingers rubbing her eyes. "Mom, Dad, can we please change the subject?"
"This doesn't involve you, young lady."

Then there was silence. That worked, too. At least if they stayed quiet for the rest of dinner, Persephone could avoid further embarrassment in front of Lucas. When she looked up from her palm, she saw her father scooping some of her homemade stuffing onto his plate. Weird. With all of the 'normal' food upon the table, she figured he would've avoided hers. She observed him as he took a few bites.

"Stuffing's kind of dry," he muttered.
Fuck you. Persephone took a big bite of what she'd put on her plate — too big for her to even snap back with a compliment to her food.
"Tastes great to me," Lucas said.
Saved. She'd have to thank him later.

Conversations from there went on fairly normally. The Bakers did most of the talking and Persephone found herself envying their relationships. Jack was quite like her own father in all the ways that mattered — stern, hard-working, not afraid to speak his mind — but he had qualities that balanced him, like his fairness, willingness to listen, and compassion. Marguerite was exactly what her mother always tried to be but could never quite get down — she was much gentler, with smiles less fake; one of the most thoughtful people Persephone had ever met. Not Terry, on her third glass of wine and getting less and less coherent as time went on.

Lucas had still not put anything aside from Persephone's dishes, the sauerkraut, and an assortment of vegetables on his plate, and Zoe was constantly dodging questions about Judith (which Marguerite seemed really insistent on asking). Once everyone was too full to eat anymore, the Bakers got up and started clearing the table to make room for the desserts. Persephone helped as well, embarrassedly watching her parents argue quietly in their seats.

Some of the desserts were being kept warm in the oven, like Persephone's apple pie and Marguerite's cookies. The pumpkin pie and cake were brought out of the fridge, along with the two different kinds of whipped cream. By the time she returned to the table, her parents were sitting in silence, Terry with arms crossed tightly and Ronald, now sitting nearer the edge of his seat with feet flat on the floor, seemed ready to leave.

Once again, Ronald avoided all of Persephone's food, but Lucas ate them exclusively. She'd have to thank him for that later. All of the Bakers and her mother tried her pies, especially the crust-free apple pie, which consisted of caramelized apples with peanut butter flavored oats, cinnamon, and caramel sauce. She'd made one for everybody but one lay left behind on the tray...

Jack then said, "I see you haven't eaten your daughter's apple pie."
She wanted to speak up and tell Jack to just drop it, but she wasn't sure how to without sounding rude.
Ronald replied, "Yes, I suppose you're right."

Still, he picked it up and unexpectedly set it on his plate, then grabbed not for Persephone's whipped cream but for the Bakers'. The 'normal' whipped cream, he'd call it. The whole table leaned a bit closer, everyone's eating halted. She guessed that, much like herself, everyone waited for someone to say something or for Ronald to take a bite, whichever came first. With a stone-faced expression, Ronald tried a piece.

He simply said, "I prefer it with the crust."
She noted Lucas's right hand clench hard on his spoon but before he could say anything, Jack beat him to it.
"You know, Ronald, you done nothin' but criticize your daughter all night. Least you could do as her father is compliment what she made fer ya."
Ronald's harsh gaze shot toward him. "And who are you to tell me how I should and shouldn't raise my own daughter?"
"I'm a father a' two with a lovely daughter of my own. I don't think the constant criticism is good for either of my kids and I would especially never do that to my Zoe."
"So you think you're a better father than me?" Ronald asked, still as calm as Jack, though his glare was far deadlier. "My daughter is always top of the class, in academics and martial arts. I didn't train her to get this way by babying her for her entire life."
"Top 'f th' class!" Terry slurred, raising her glass exuberantly into the air. She'd had her fourth or fifth or sixth glass of wine, leaving her face red.

Marguerite and Zoe whispered about his use of the word 'train'. Persephone had her face in her hands, elbows on the table though she knew full well there was a strict no-elbows rule. She didn't care about that. She just wanted everyone to shut up. But it wouldn't be so simple.

"I think that says a lot about you," Jack responded, face and voice equally as collected. "How you parent, how you see your daughter."
"Jack, please," Marguerite said softly.
"I'm sorry, Marguerite, but I can't just sit here and watch Ronald belittle his daughter. It ain't right."
Ronald spat back, "It's also not right to lecture your guests about how they parent. I should've known people who live in a swamp can't have very good manners."
"Dad!" Persephone shot to her feet. "That's so incredibly rude!"
"Sit down, young lady."
"I'm not gonna sit here and let you talk to these nice people like that!"
"Young lady, I demand that you sit down."
"Oh yeah? Well, I demand that you apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Baker for being so completely nasty and rude."
Ronald also stood, silverware clanking to his plate. "You're out of line, Persephone."
"I'm out of line?" She jabbed her finger his way, talking with aggressive hand motions. "I'm not the one insulting people just because they give a crap about the way you talk to me. This is why I didn't want to spend Christmas with you and Mom, and why I didn't want to invite you out here in the first place."
He scrutinized her, eyes squinted, nostrils flared, then he shook his head. "We're leaving, right now. Terry."

Ronald grabbed Terry's arm and tugged her stumbling to her feet. He whipped around with her, stormed out of the dining room, and snatched their jackets and scarves off the rack. But with Persephone's footsteps not behind him, Ronald stopped.

"Persephone. I said we're leaving."
She defiantly crossed her arms.
Ronald turned to her. "Now, young lady."
"No."
"What did you just say to me?"
"I said no. I'm not leaving."
"Persy," Terry said softly. "C'mon, hon, le's jus' go."
"I'm not leaving. I wanna be here for Christmas."
"Persephone Mildred Black," Ronald demanded, his voice raised. "You are coming home with us this instant."

Her body shook. She tried to stay calm but her body and mind were betraying her. She wanted to tell Ronald to fuck off and even though she knew it would be rude to do in front of Marguerite and Jack, the battle to hold back quickly unraveled. Lucas stood and put his arms around her.

"She said she's not leavin'."

Ronald glared at Lucas, a look Persephone knew all too well — he'd done it to plenty of people before. And those people didn't get second chances.

"Thanks for the food," he said forcefully. Then they left without another word.

After a few moments of silence, aside from the garage door opening and closing, Persephone excused herself and left the room, heading down the hallway.

She walked blindly, aimless in her path, just wanting to disappear from the embarrassment and humiliation. Her Christmas ruined, her mood ruined, the entire dinner ruined; she could've crawled into a hole and died there. The dinner played in her mind over and over and a propulsive need to retreat moved her legs.

Persephone stopped at the end tables before the double doors. Lucas smiled back, his picture prominent among the others. She couldn't look at him. She had to turn away, walking through the open doors and into the foyer. Still unsure of her destination, mind boiling with thoughts of her parents fucking up everything for her, she paced.

Soon, she found herself sitting on the balcony overlooking the foyer, not really remembering how or why she'd come up there. She stuck her legs through the banister's railings, her forehead pressed against one as she tried to clear her head. If she let it all get to her, there would be no way of preserving her evening.

From her vantage point, she saw Lucas come into the room and search around. She didn't want to talk about dinner but, at the same time, she hoped he'd spot her, comfort her. After looking up the stairs, he did indeed see her and come up. He sat beside her.

"Sorry 'bout yer mom n' dad."
"No, I'm glad they're gone," she said, hands on the bars. "I'm just sorry that I ruined dinner."
"You kiddin'? This was the most excitin' Christmas dinner I've ever had. Usually, it's all quiet n' sucky."
"Dude, shut up," Persephone said with a solemn laugh. She reached over and hugged him.
"Yer dad's a real asshole."
She slowly moved away, hand still touching his knee. "Yeah... He's always been like that."
"And I thought my dad could be an asshole."
"Yeah, well, Jack probably wants to be a dad. I don't think my dad does."
"Why d'ya say that?"
"Well..." Memories resurfaced as she thought of the best one to choose. "Quite a few reasons. One time, when I was little, I heard them arguing — apparently my mom lied to him about being on birth control and he said I'd been an accident waiting to happen. Then another — when they were arguing, of course — he said he got 'roped into all of this'. I was too young to get it then, but as I got older I knew what he meant. Because my mom wasn't on birth control, he got roped into having me."

There was a pause before Lucas said, "Wow."
"Not much more to say other than that."
He put his arm around her shoulders. "So that's why yer family's so fucked up."
"Yep. Welcome to my Christmas every year."
"Not this year." He tugged her closer. "Yer still here n' they're long gone. We can fin'lly get this Christmas a-rollin'."
She laughed through her nose. "Check out Mr. Optimist all of a sudden."
"Yeah, ya make me say weird shit, Pers. C'mon, let's go back n' enjoy the rest of yer fuckin' awesome dessert."

When they returned, the family was waiting for them, and the conversation became much more lively. Marguerite asked her for recipes and Jack and Zoe laughed away at a joke Zoe made. The men of the table had seconds and thirds but all Persephone managed was an extra plate of her whipped cream. Now that things were light and fun, Persephone complimented the decorations and gushed over the food. She finished writing down the recipes for Marguerite and everyone migrated into the living room to open presents.

Persephone fondly regarded the family from her spot on the couch as they exchanged gifts from under the tree; Marguerite and Jack to their children, the kids to their parents. There were a few from cousins, uncles, and aunts that had their own dinners to attend but had still been thoughtful enough to send gifts. When was the last time Persephone had gotten a present that wasn't a new textbook or an article of clothing she'd been needing? When was the last time she'd gotten a gift that was personal and meant something? Even Zoe and Lucas had bought each other presents, though they were cheap shirts trying to one-up the other. His was a black shirt with white text that read 'World's Okayest Brother' — hers had a 'Sister For Sale' sign, with sale crossed out and free scribbled over top it. Persephone laughed at those — they were her favorites.

Soon, only a few presents remained, and she noticed that not only were hers to the family still left, but there were extras. When Lucas reached under the tree and handed them to her, she realized they were gifts the family had gotten for her. She looked disbelievingly at the two wrapped presents.

"Weren't expectin' that, were ya?" Lucas teased, returning to his seat beside her.

Not at all. They let her open the presents — one from Jack and Marguerite, and one from Zoe, both modest, wrapped with cutesy reindeer and Christmas tree paper, topped with small pastel ribbons tied into bows. She opened Zoe's first. Inside of the light pink tissue paper was a dark, bat-shaped brooch. Persephone picked it up and examined it. The fake jewels shimmered greens and purples in certain kinds of light.

"Thought it would be cute for your li'l backpack," said Zoe, standing behind her.
"It's adorable, Zoe, thank you," she said, somewhat awkwardly.

It was the first time in a long time that she felt awkward. She'd at first thought it strange that she'd brought them presents, but was glad she did, otherwise she'd feel like an asshole. She put the brooch away and enclosed it in the box, set it next to her, then opened the present from Jack and Marguerite. Its pastel yellow and green tissue paper enveloped a pair of lavender colored socks, obviously hand-stitched but high quality. A pink P was sewn into the sides. Great. More awkwardness. Should she put them on? God, the colors, though... But they really did that — or Marguerite, most likely — just for her? She felt her eyes burn, threatening to tear up as she talked.

"Wow, thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Baker. This is really cool," she said, a hint of shock in her voice.

In that split second, she decided to swap out her old black socks and try on the new ones. They were much softer and didn't have any holes, unlike her other ones where the heels were destroyed. She wanted to say something else but too desperately held onto her emotions to risk trying. Just when she didn't think she could take anymore, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lucas holding up a small gift in the palm of his hand. His cheeks were pink as he waited for her to take it. She did and opened it, repeatedly telling herself not to cry. The wrapping paper from his was more her style — black and white stripes, nothing else on it.

She opened this one carefully to ensure the paper didn't get ripped. A small grey box under the wrappings; when she opened it, she saw a circular charm representing a miniature Ouija board. The charm was attached to a silver chain. He really got her a present? A necklace. And a Ouija board, too — because she likes horror movies and creepy things? God, what a dork. What an absolutely beautiful dork. She giggled at the gift, from disbelief and her rising emotions.

"This is so—" she had to stop herself from cursing (and crying), "—so cute, Lucas. I love it." She reached around behind her neck, struggling briefly to clasp it. Lucas helped fasten the necklace. Persephone flicked her hair back and looked down to observe the gorgeous gift he'd gotten her. And her lovely new socks. "And you know what?" she said, grabbing Zoe's gift again and pinning the brooch to her shirt. "There we go."

The family laughed pleasantly with her. Laughter. On Christmas eve. She couldn't believe it and couldn't wait for the family to see her presents now. Jack opened his and Marguerite's soon after, and Zoe opened hers. She'd gotten Jack and Marguerite a set of antique keys sewn into a rustic-looking seafoam green fabric; wall decor. Zoe got a small plush toy, a skeleton dressed as a black cat.

"This is feeling less like Christmas and more like Halloween," Zoe said as she examined her new toy.
Persephone proudly declared, "Happy Halloween, everyone."

The family had another good laugh at that. When everyone quieted down, they waited for Lucas to open his present from her. He'd gotten the paper off and underneath was a wooden rectangular box. A puzzle box, about the size of his phone but much deeper. The top had three revolvable circles, unreachable behind a plastic coating, with a 12 on the top and a 6 on the bottom. One side had a metal handle that he could use to move the lid up and down only a bit to see some more metal on the inside but nothing else. Below the handle were four different dominoes carved into the wood.

"Well, how do ya solve it?" Zoe asked.
"I just got the thing, gimme a minute," he grumbled.

She watched him fiddle with it, examining the bottom and sides, but it was just wood. Something rolled around inside, though — a subtle movement he wouldn't have heard if the room wasn't dead quiet.

Marguerite was the first to break the silence. "I'm gonna give him privacy and clean up the kitchen."

Persephone followed the family to help clean up, with Lucas staying behind to work on the puzzle. She checked in on him every now and again, seeing his progress — she'd seen how it was solved by the seller so the anticipation was killing her. He'd open it at some point that night, though. He was too smart to be stumped for very long.

Once everything had calmed and the home had been cleaned, the family turned out the lights and watched a Christmas movie that played that evening. Lucas still hadn't figured out the puzzle but Persephone kept an eye on him. It wasn't anything grand or special inside of that box; more simple, straight-forward. As they sat on the floor beside the couch, he rocked the box back and forth, rolling the ball around inside, which was the final step now that he'd gotten it to the last layer.

She heard the unmistakable click of him finding the solution. He opened it to reveal the mechanisms inside and another section of the box, plain and easy to open. Pillowed in grey tissue paper lay a tiny, black, plush heart. She put her hand on his knee, leaning closer to him. He carefully shut the box, then whispered in her ear.

"My room. Now."

_______

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