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“MAMORYLLIS? Are you still here?” Sophie called into the quiet salon.
“Yes-yes. Mamoryllis still here, pretty lady.”
Squeak, squeak. Mamoryllis scampered out into the open.
“Ohh? Pretty lady,” Mamoryllis said, squinting up at her.
“What is it?”
“Have you been crying?”
“…No.”
“No? Ah, then forget Mamoryllis. Ooooh. That look tasty.”
Sophie handed over the sugar candy. Mamoryllis took it reverently with its now-healed little paws and began to nibble with great ceremony. Sophie watched, silent, as it stuck candy after candy into its cheek pouches.
Then—it paused. Nose twitching. Ears rising.
“Pretty lady getting married,” it said.
“Yes,” Sophie murmured. “I’m engaged.”
“Mmm. Can tell. Mamoryllis can always tell. About-to-get-married people have special smell. Sadness, excitement, joy, loneliness—all at once. Smell like soup.”
Sophie gave a small, tired smile. “I’m sure they do.”
Mamoryllis popped another candy into its cheek. It buzzed softly from the fizz. “Mamoryllis was going to stay here. But maybe Mamoryllis go with you instead. To your new home. Make it warm. Happy and warm.”
Sophie’s smile faltered.
“Mamoryllis…” she said.
“Yes-yes?” it chirped, blinking.
She reached out. Her fingers brushed gently over its soft head. Mamoryllis didn’t flinch—just leaned in, melting a little into her palm.
Unable to help herself, Sophie bent down and pressed her cheek against the top of its fuzzy little body. Mamoryllis froze, trembled all over like a tea kettle about to boil over, then gave a very tiny, very happy squeak. “This embarrassing, pretty lady!”
“Would you consider staying here, Mamoryllis?” Sophie asked gently.
“Why? You hate Mamoryllis?”
“No, not at all,” she said, tears slipping down her cheeks. “It’s just… There are so many people dear to me in this house. People who’ve cared for me, who’ve been by my side. And now I’m leaving them all to start a new life. I want to believe they’ll be all right without me. That even when I’m gone, this house will stay warm.”
She paused, brushing at her eyes. “I’ll do my best to bring that warmth to my new home. But here…this place still needs someone. So, Mamoryllis—will you stay? Will you watch over it in my place?”
A few of Sophie’s tears plopped onto Mamoryllis’s face, soaking its tiny snout. It twitched its whiskers, then blinked up at her.
“What about round-hurty?” it asked. “Still place around house?”
“No. No, of course not. I’ll speak to the servants. There’ll be no more round-hurty. Only sweets. Only things meant to make you happy.”
“Then that okay, Mamoryllis guess. Mamoryllis stay here.”
“Thank you,” Sophie whispered.
She took a small jewelry box and pulled out a red velvet ribbon. She tied it carefully around Mamoryllis’s tail.
“Too tight?” she asked.
“Is perfect. Honor, in fact!” Mamoryllis’s eyes bugged in delight.
“I’ll tell everyone in the house that the tiny creature with the ribbon is a friend. If you ever lose it, go to the large bedroom on the second floor. The woman there is my mother.”
“Ah, yes-yes, the other pretty lady.”
“Indeed.”
“Yes-yes. Mamoryllis understand.”
It hopped, then it stood up as tall as its little body allowed and gave a deep bow.
“Mamoryllis is now the Mamoryllis of this house! Until next time, pretty lady!”
With a flick of its tail, the smallest guest in the salon scampered off into the distance.
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SHORTLY after: “Ms. Sophie, I hope I’m not intruding.”
The usually squarish man entered with his usually squarish words. Sophie stepped forward and pressed herself into his chest, crying without restraint.
Immediately, she felt Kurt wrap his arms around her. What she felt in that embrace—those arms that held her without asking why, that offered nothing but unconditional comfort—was love. Pure, uncomplicated love.
In the now half-empty, half-tidied salon, there lingered a scent. Of sadness, excitement, joy, and loneliness.
All at once.
Not unlike a soup.