Six

The imaginary water fell into the cup Portia had given Luna.

They had finished gathering every feather in the room, and then Portia had found the perfect place to hide the bag; under her bed.

James still hadn't shown up, Rose hadn't either, although sooner or later she would have to talk to her.

"Would you like something with your tea, Luna?" she said in some kind of British accent. Quite original.

"Sugar, please." she asked politely.

"Well, here you are." she said handing over a small white cup.

Luna poured herself some sugar I would imagine and tasted her tea.

"It's delicious!" Lun exclaimed, smiling. Portia mimicked her.

"I made it myself." she confessed proudly.

"Well, you make wonderful tea."

"Yes, thank you." she smiled. "Are you a friend of Dad's?"

"Yes, I am."

"He doesn't usually have many people over, unless it's Uncle Peter. He doesn't usually spend much time with me."

"Oh, doesn't he? Well, I'm sure he'll spend a little more time with you now."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to be my friend?" Luna sighed.

"I'd love to be your friend, beautiful." she said smiling. The girl imitated her.

"Great. Then you'll come with me today."

She celebrated with joy.

"Where do you want to go?"

"There's a movie at the cinema. My friends already went, but I want to go."

"Well, if it's okay with your father, I'll go with you."

Portia seemed to be a very friendly child. Although from what James had told her during the trip, she wasn't friendly with everyone. She was thankful that she liked him so much, because if she wasn't, getting on with the job would be a little more difficult.

She looked carefully at the little girl; she was quite adorable. Her blonde hair was tied delicately by a pink ribbon, and her tutu was, like the ribbon, the same color. She had big brown eyes, and a beautiful smile.

Luna smiled unconsciously.

"May I come in?" It was James at the door.

"Yes, come in."

He entered the room slowly, saw his daughter with a look of tenderness and doubt, then turned serious again.

"Are we going to the movies today?" the little girl asked. The illusion showed in her big brown eyes.

"I can't, baby, I'm not..."

"You promised it, daddy." She exclaimed seriously. Wow, she had gotten that from James.

"I know, but..."

"But Luna will go with me. She said she would do it." She explained trying to convince her father.

James looked at the young woman for a few seconds and then put on a smile. A bit fake.

"So you've arranged that...good."

"I'm sorry." Luna quickly defended herself.

"Yeah, although I think I've perfectly said, and repeated the rule about consulting me first, haven't I?" he whispered.

"I didn't know you hadn't said anything yet. I explained her that I should consult you first." she said in a whisper.

"Well." He said coldly, "I'll be right back."

He left the room.

Luna didn't want to get in trouble with James, she barely knew him but from what she had seen, he was a fucked up. She would try not to go along with any of Portia's plans without his permission. I mean, it was the logical thing to do.

Within five minutes, he appeared through the door. Quickly, he spoke,

"Portia, we're having lunch and going to the movies."

"With Luna?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, with Luna."

The little girl put on her best smile, stood up and hugged her father, who quickly put on his most sincere smile.

"Okay, but you have to get dressed. I'll call Rose. You, um, Luna...you come with me."

She stood and began to walk after him. Portia gave a little shout goodbye and they walked on.

The silence was awkward, and I could hear James's breathing just yards away. He was angry, I knew it.

"What did I tell you?" he said suddenly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you hadn't allowed her to go to the movies. I told her i wasn't going to do anything without asking you first".

"Well, i was going to take her to the movies but my agenda has been full since forever. I had to call my work to let them know I wasn't going. Do you know how late i'm for work? No, you don't." he complained angrily.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." she said apologetically. "I didn't say yes at any point."

"What did you talk to her about?" he asked evading Luna's comment as she walked into her office. He gestured for her to come in beside him. As he entered, he sat down at his desk and Luna across from him. "What did they talk about?" he repeated.

"We played tea for a while, then she asked me to be her friend. She smiled for a few seconds, and then she said she wanted me to go to the movies with her. That's all, then you came in."

"Well, she has asked you to be her friend, so that's good. If this keeps up, maybe in less than a week we'll have an answer. Do you like her?"

"Yes, she's a lovely girl."

"That's great. Listen, I want to offer you something."

"Yeah?"

"If this week goes well, there are a few things I'd like to talk to you about. Nothing too serious, just some things you need to know." he said trying to find the right words.