“So can I ask you about mom?” Mj asked quietly and Jay smiled at her “I would love nothing more than to share my memories of her with you” he said and Mj returned his smile, Jay put his arm over Mj’s shoulder and led her toward the packhouse. Along the way they talked about what few memories Jay had with her in them “you were named after our grandmother on mom’s side&rd
Mj closed her eyes and began to breathe deeply “help me remember” she asked the wolf and waited patiently for him to comply, unfortunately all Mj was feeling was a sense of loss as she tried to remember anything and she grunted “now” she pressed the wolf even further “it’s the least you can do” she added and it wasn't until she felt Jay’s hand on the top of her head she realized she had said the last part out loud.
Mj and Jay neared the outside door to the kitchen with equal intrigue, they could hear muffled sounds of clattering cookware and loud voices, Mj reached for the door and Jay stopped her “tell me how many are inside first” he said and Mj dropped her hand to her side with a slap “Jay I don’t want to be a hunter ok I just want to-” Jay clapped his hand lazily over her mouth “your mouth says no but your body is screaming YES” he said the word with such a high pitch of sensual emotion it had Mj both blushing and giggling like a little girl, he rolled his eyes
Mj didn't speak Chinese but she could assume by Mao’s body language that Lou’s brass way of speaking had not sat well with the fiery woman. Mj started to laugh and leaned on the large knife for support “It means you should probably watch your mouth around a lady you old fart,” Mj yelled over the top of Lou and the older woman stopped mid rant to laugh so hard she grab
The large seasoned butcher folded his arms across his chest at the sight in front of him, “well that’s just great, now you’re a cackling hen like the rest of em” Lou grumbled and Mj rolled her eyes “you are such a drama queen” she said and Mao laughed even louder “you are a queen” she cackled and slapped Mj’s shoulder a few times before heading for the door “you are his assistant once more, keep him out of trouble” she mumbled as she made her way back into the more populated parts of the kitchen.
Suddenly the tin alarm of a telephone rang off the walls and Mj noticed for the first time that there was a phone hung by the door. Lou excused himself and answered the phone, Mj noticed that the blonde man kept stealing small glances at her. “My name is Mj” she said matter of factly and the blonde shook his head “you are the assistant” the blonde said to Mj, not offering up his own name
Mj opened her mouth to speak, she watched as Dante’s eyes darted behind her and she turned her head to see three very slender very fit females walking toward them with pitchers of what looked like lemonade, they marched past Mj without greeting and one of the girls even bumped into her before shooting her a sideways look. They walked up to Dante and offered him a pitcher, Mj watched as Dante gave them an appreciative smile and snatched one of t
It was silent as they continued to eat but the two kept stealing glances at one another and every now and again Dante would take a spoonful of macaroni salad and feed to Mj, who would roll her eyes but accept the bite every time. “You know I could make us lunch tomorrow if you want” Mj offered through the bite in her mouth, breaking their silence. Dante looked up at her and smiled “you gonna spoil me like that every day?” he asked and she laughed, shaking her head and swallowing her food “it’s just lunch Dante, if you want me to make it for you I will.”
Mj was out of breath from running and laughing, and as she rounded yet another tree she watched closely as Dante scooped Adler off the ground and planted the boy on his shoulders, “you better just give up Mj, you know we are gonna catch you” Adler squealed joyfully from atop Dante’s back and Mj leaned up against the tree, breathing heavy. She put her hands up in surrender “Ok I give up, you win just don'