"I don't know much about reading tea leaves," Mishka responded with a giggle.
"You're talking about social media," Rose commented with a patient nod of her head.
"Do you think that something like reading tea leaves would have been more beneficial?" Mishka asked. Her lips quivered as she attempted a smile.
"It will be safe to pretend that I don't suspect her of fortune-telling, or witchcraft," Mishka thought to herself.
"Well, I did try everything in my power to find my son," Rose responded with the corners of her mouth turned down grimly again. Her gaze did not meet Mishka's eyes. She looked at her scone instead.
"I would love to at least try because one does not lose anything if one decides to hope a little bit again," Mishka responded in a softer, gentle tone of voice.
"Wow, you're really special! Imagine that," Rose responded with a loud laugh which lit up her eyes again.
"It's really long since anyone tried to make me believe that I would see him again. You're so sweet," she added.
Mishka was startled at Rose's immediate change of mood.
"Maybe, if I had more time and was less tense, I could have a drink with her while we talk. That would make everything much less stressful," Mishka told herself.
"I'm so glad that we could meet and I promise that I will look into this issue by using social media," Mishka announced with a broad smile.
"Oh, well don't forget to come again. His name was Jeremy and he was from this area. A captain in the navy," Rose responded.
"Which year was it that Jeremy disappeared?" Mishka asked, holding her head to the side in a considerate way.
"It was many years ago. About thirty, I think," Rose responded with her eyes closed in focus.
"Oh, my! That's very long ago. There was no social media back then, but I can still try," Mishka responded as she began to rise from her chair.
"Time does not really matter, does it?" Rose remarked with a smile as she stared out the windows as if she expected to see someone.
"Good day ma'am," Mishka suddenly heard behind her. She spun around in surprise to see an elderly man in overalls standing behind her with a tattered hat in his hands.
"Good afternoon, Sir," Mishka responded with a quick smile. She had not expected to see anyone else there since she and Rose had been speaking for such a long time without any disturbances.
"Oh, there you are Steven," Rose responded, turning to look in the man's direction. "Did you get to prune the roses now?" she asked in a loud tone of voice.
"Yes, ma'am," the man responded as he turned his hat around in his hands.
"Wonderful! I will go and check them later," Rose responded in the same loud voice.
"He doesn't hear so well," she remarked as she looked at Mishka.
"It doesn't sound as if he could be her husband," Mishka told herself. "He sounds like the gardener," she thought.
"Oh, I see," Mishka responded, smiling at Steven in a friendly way.
"Well, thank you so much for the wonderful tea and scones," she continued as she smiled at Rose.
"Strange, I didn't even expect a surprise today," Rose remarked with a pondering look in her eyes as she smiled at Mishka. She then also rose from her chair.
"Let me walk you out," she continued as she waved her hand at Mishka indicating that she should precede her through the hallway again.
"It was nice meeting you, Steven," Mishka responded in a louder tone of voice.
"Likewise here," Steven responded with a smile which warmed up his hazel eyes.
"You can help yourself to some scones and tea," Rose called out as she followed Mishka.
***
"Who was that who seemed to be following me?" Mishka asked herself as she brushed out her hair in front of her bedroom mirror.
"She was blonde and I swear that she was following me. Could it be one of Bruce's models?" she asked again as she walked out of her bedroom.
She was on her way to the back porch to sing in front of the garden there. The opening tune was still in her head and she was busy learning the words of the song. She had practiced after driving home alone after parting ways with Gillian when she turned off into the road which led to her home.
"It's a shame that Gillian was so afraid to go in. She missed the wonderful scones and all Rose's mood changes," Mishka told herself with an amused smile on her face.
"Are you not going to have dinner tonight?" Milla asked with a curious frown when she saw Mishka go to the porch instead of the dining room.
"No, I had enough scones to make up for dinner," Mishka responded with a contented smile on her face as she walked onto the porch.
"Oh, that's interesting. I would never have thought that you could be that interested in scones," Milla responded, still frowning.
"It's the one who offered me the scones that I am interested in," Mishka responded. She took out her cell-phone to check the words of her song.
"You went on a date?" Milla asked, putting her hand in front of her mouth in a shy gesture. It was a while since Mishka had been out on a date. She was too busy for that lately.
"No, I went to visit my grandmother's friend," Mishka responded.
"Oh, why didn't you tell me? I should have prayed for you before you went," Milla stated with her eyes large from fear.
"Oh, no. She wasn't so scary and Gillian went with me," Mishka responded.
"Oh, that's a relief," Milla responded with a deep sigh.
"Yes, she was very strange, though," Mishka added in a lower tone of voice.
"Your grandma knows that we're making a movie, so, she might ask you about it," Milla remarked in a soft voice as she stepped closer to Mishka.
"Oh, how did that happen?" Mishka asked with her brows raised high in surprise.
"I was on the phone discussing it with Gillian, so she overheard me," Milla replied nervously.
"So, did she ask you about it?" Mishka asked in an urgent tone.
"She heard me mention witches and charms, so she asked what I knew about it," Milla responded just above a whisper.
"She thought that a young girl like you were into that sort of thing?" Mishka asked with a frown. She shook her head in disbelief.
"I tried not to mention that you were a part of the movie because she really seems to believe that I'm not who she thought I was," Milla whispered.
"She thinks you know about witchraft and charms?" Mishka asked looking at Milla's face in the soft light of the moon.
"She seems to think that I know a lot about it if I want to write a movie script about it. She even thinks that I might know about werewolves, would you believe?" Milla asked with a strained look in her eyes.
"Werewolves? Why would she think that?" Mishka asked with a deep frown on her brow. "What does she know about werewolves? Is she so well informed about everything?" she asked, shaking her head in confusion.