Diana sat a plate of halved sandwiches in the center of the table, picked up the bowl sitting in front of Hannah and turned to the stove to ladle soup into it. Mara and Sam sat on either side of her, and the seat directly across the table from her was empty for the moment.
Mara’s gaze tracked her mother, moving around the table serving everyone, and said, “Mom, why didn’t you and Hannah stop in to visit with Ping?”
Diana paused. “I thought it would be a good idea not to overwhelm him, while he’s still recovering,” she said. Her expression clearly indicated she wanted to drop the subject.
“She’s afraid he was going to turn into the dragon again,” Sam said, as if quoting the weather forecast. He loudly slurped his soup.
“I’m not afraid. I’m just being prudent. There’s no point in temptin
