Have A Nice Cup of Tea and A Sit Down

"Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!
Din, dan, don. Din, dan, don."

There's silence, then a few light, bright giggles of the four year old sort. "Again? But I don't like this song." Astrid identifies the voice of her younger daughter Kairos. She moves silently closer to the half-closed door, leans in, and listens.

"Please, Mister! Let's have a nice cup of tea. You promised. Kal won't, she thinks it's babyish to have a nice tea party." Astrid listens hard, almost half expecting to hear a man respond to her. Kairos never seemed to grow out of her invisible friend phase, even though Kalyca had months ago .. but she thought Kai's little friend was a mermaid named Lissa.

No male voice came.
But Kairos obviously was listening to someone, because she sang the old French nursery song again, slightly faster, slightly more annoyed. And then came the sound of two chairs being pulled out, and the sudden sharp scent of freshly brewed tea. "My mommy makes the best cakes! Won't you have some, Mister?"

Another pause. Then, suddenly, Astrid nearly falls over as her Persian cat, Boris, screeches and runs out of the room past her. She thought he'd had on some of Kai's doll clothes.

"No! Bad Mister! You can't eat Boris!"

Astrid runs into the room, prepared to fight.
Alone in the room sat her tiny blonde daughter looking confused at her mother.

"Mister's gone," she says plaintively. "He wouldn't stay for a nice sit down, Mommy."