Dorothy had two older brothers and a younger sister. Shade had once visited Professor Louisa's home. Although he had not met this particular brother of Dorothy's at the time—he had already started his own family and no longer lived with their parents—Shade had seen a family photograph of the Louisas in Dorothy's apartment, and that middle-aged man looked very much like Professor Louisa.
Since Leisha had noticed him, Dorothy naturally had as well. Dorothy and Leisha were both wearing light-colored spring dresses, one blue and the other pale yellow. Dorothy was reaching for a veal-and-ham pie, but she did not turn to look in that direction:
"That's my eldest brother. He's more than ten years older than I am. He moved out when I was seven, but every time he came home to visit our parents, he brought gifts for us younger siblings."
"Should we go say hello?"
Leisha asked proactively:
"I can hide for a while, so it'll look like you and Shade are on a date alone. Don't feel bad about it. When Shade went to meet my parents, didn't you refrain from saying anything too?"
But Dorothy disagreed:
"My brother's family seems to be here only for a picnic as well. There's no need to disturb them. My niece has a congenital heart condition, and she was only just allowed to come out. As her aunt, I shouldn't spoil her fun.
"They probably can't see me from this far away. Let's not go over."
Shade and Leisha said nothing more, and the three of them continued their picnic amid laughter and conversation.
On a whim, Shade tried to draw out the lazy cat's potential by tempting her with, "Little Mia, if you show us a backflip right now, I'll give you anything you want to eat from