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Elinor had let her own tears fall unbidden as she held her brother. It seemed like ages before his sobs finally eased and he gave out a heavy sigh. Good, she thought to herself. He's let most of it out at last.

When he asked what was for dinner, she feigned shock and let him go like a hot potato, pinching his arm hard. It certainly had broken the tension if nothing else. "Alpo is too good for a dog the likes of you!" she scolded. "Now go wash your face while I take a look to see what you've got."

All week they'd been eating casseroles, cold cuts, salads and other dishes provided by the neighbor ladies. She didn't know about James, but she was simply not in the mood for any of that. Elinor didn't normally eat red meat much anymore, but today she was going to.

Taking two neatly labelled (in what was obviously Joyce's flowery handwriting) Porterhouse steaks from the freezer, she tore off the wrapping and quickly disposed of it while setting them on a plate to defrost. It wasn't that she was trying to throw her sister in law away with the freezer wrap, but she wanted James to eat and enjoy his meal and didn't want anything to dampen it. There would be enough reminders of his wife that would pop up unexpectedly without adding this one.

"Steak?" James asked incredulously.

Elinor turned at the sound of her brother's voice and stuck her tongue out. "Yes, steak. I eat red meat once in a while you know."

"Oh yeah? When did you have it last?"

"Erm... " Elinor chuckled and James laughed. They both knew it had probably been years no matter what she said in protest.

"If you don't want steak, I can probably get some sprouts and Tofu at the market in town and... "

James grabbed up the dishtowel and waved it at his sister in a sign of surrender then gave it a spin and flicked her ass with it.

"Ow! Why you!" Elinor looked around for something to retaliate with. Perfect! She turned on the water and grabbed the spray nozzle from its nesting place on the sink. Turning it on James, she squirted him full in the face. "Take that, you cad!"

"No fair! I'm telling... " he whined, just like he used to do when they were kids, the memory of it making them both laugh. "Hey, Rigby?"

"Yeah, Jimmy John?"

"Race you to the swimming hole."

James didn't wait to see if Elinor would follow. He was out the door and running before she could say yea or nay, the grin on his face growing bigger and bigger as he ran -- especially when he heard the slam of the screen door and his sister's voice calling from behind as he knew she would.

"Get back here you rat. No fair! You had a head start!"