See Dick And Jane - akablonded

"Now, you be very, very quiet. And I'll read to you. Okay?"

The one-eyed toy panther sat mute, staring intently at the small child who sat cross-legged on a threadbare rug. A riot of curls danced helter-skelter around the boy's head catching the muted sunlight that filtered through the motel's unwashed window.

An old-fashioned clock on the dresser told the boy that his mother would be home any minute, bringing him his dinner. Blair hoped she remembered the orange he'd wanted.

If Naomi didn't forget again.

But the boy never blamed his mom. It wasn't her fault she had to work so hard so that they could have this place he'd called home for the last month.

Maybe next year - when he would be going to school "for real" - they would live in a house, like other people did. He and Kitty would have a backyard and some toys and lots of books.

And friends.

The boy's oversized, ill-fitting glasses slid down his nose as he opened the second-hand primer, worn around the edges by constant use. "See Dick and Jane ... here, Kitty, look at the picture ..." The lad pushed a clump of hair away from his forehead, then turned the page. "See Dick run. Run, Dick, run." He stopped for a moment, hearing footsteps approaching the room. "Maybe it's mommy, Kitty ..."

But whoever it was moved past the door to Room #14. Biting his bottom lip to stop it from trembling, Blair Sandburg pulled the panther closer and hugged it tightly. "Someday, we'll live in a nice place and have somebody who will always take care of us. And we'll never be lonely again."

As the sun set, the reedy little voice was lost in the tumult of another night at the nameless motel on Interstate 75. "See Jane run. Run, Jane, run ..."

The End.

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Author's Acknowledgements: Thanks to all the usual suspects: the Mongoosian editors, writers, betas, and artists. Thanks for your encouragement, and all your hard work.