Chapter 177 Twelve: Mufasa

• I use my fork to cut into the pancake and force myself to stare at it. I only last about three seconds before I look across the table and watch her eat. I gave her a stack of pancakes and sausage, and she's almost cleared her plate, but the part that's driving me crazy is she keeps sucking the syrup off her thumb.
• The whole time I cooked we talked and moved around the kitchen like we'd been doing it forever. Something about being with her here feels strangely familiar. The space she occupies in this cabin was a shape carved out for her by something bigger than us. Now that she's here I can't imagine her anywhere else.
• "Mmmm." She closes her eyes and moans as she sucks on her thumb. Again.