Page 50 of Damian & Jun: Episodes 5-8
Dana gazed up at Jun. Some might have said she had old eyes, but they weren’t old. They were those of a child wrestling with something beyond them. It was like looking in a mirror. Except Dana wasn’t waiting. She knew.
Dana took his hand. “Aunt Linda says we collect people who need collecting. One, and two, and three. We collect people we need.”
“Who have you collected?”
“Maribel, Aunt Linda, Alice, Auncle Ellisandre, Uncle Richard. Uncle Émeric, Uncle Collin, Ash, Uncle Damian. My teacher Ms. Riley. Have you started collecting?”
Jun looked around the room. The only person he could think of collecting who wasn’t present at that very moment was Gigi. She was somewhere in New York dancing a show. “Yes, I have.” He pointed out his bandmates and Damian and paused, looking at Richard.
“I think I’m collecting your Uncle Richard.”
“That’s good.”
“Why?”
“Because he already collected you.”
“He did?”
Dana nodded sagely. “That’s why he left all of a sudden with Uncle Damian to go get you!” She looked at him like he was seriously being slow.
Jun smiled, his cheeks tingling. “You’re right. They did come to collect me. Is it okay if I collect your other uncles, too?”
She looked over at Collin and Émeric very carefully. “I think so. They like you.”
“How do you know?”
She grinned. “I just know.” She bounced off the bench, leaving her plate behind, and ran toward her Aunt Linda. Maribel woofed softly and got up, trailing her human across the room.
Jun picked up his plate and drifted through the party. Geun and Émeric were discussing places they had both been in Japan. Geun’s English was weaker than his Japanese. He switched as Jun approached, and Émeric followed him effortlessly. The fact that someone had drawn Geun out of his silence was a true feat. Jun left the Frenchman to it.
Ellisandre, the enigma, was sitting alone, looking out the window, one leg crossed over the other. Jun approached. “May I join you?”
Ellisandre flashed him a smile and waved toward the nearest seat. “If Yohei returns, you can fight him for it.”
Jun shook his head. He looked back toward the buffet table. Sure enough, Yohei had gotten distracted by something on his phone while on a hunt for more food. “We don’t fight.”
“But you’ll fight with someone else.” Ellisandre looked him up and down.
Jun shrugged.
“I make you uncomfortable.”
Jun looked at them straight on. “You do. I don’t know the rules.”
“The rules are simple. Don’t drink the last of the eggnog before I’ve had a glass.”
“Noted.”
Ellisandre grinned. “I’m told you look edible in a skirt.”
Jun blushed. “So do you.”
Ellisandre smirked. “I look good in everything.”
Jun laughed. The ego on this person. He took a second look, noting the carefulness around Ellisandre’s eyes, the way they sat so they could see the entire room. They reminded him of someone. Someone without a name.
He took a bite of his food and chewed slowly. By the time he’d swallowed, he’d figured out something to say. “Is your accent British?”
