Sweet Revenge

1
\"LucY? Come on， swe~tie. Come out from under the
bed，9
Tess Ryan bent down and peered beneath the dust ruffle
into the darkness. Though she couldn t see Lucy， she
could hoar her soft snuffling and slow， even breathing.
She held out the bowl of ice cream， hoping to lure Lucy
from her hiding #ace. Ice cream always did the trick.
The house had been dark when Tess arrived home from
work. Lucy was usually there to greet her， but tonight，
when Tess walked in， she d been met with silence. She d
i kicked off her shoes and begun the search， ending up on
the floor next to the high four-poster bed in her bedroom.
\"You don t have to hide，\" she murmured in a soothing
: voice. \"Come on， honey. Come on out. We ll have ice
! cream. We ll lie on the bed and watch some television.
rll brush your hair.\"
Whenever Lucy was scared or upset， she retreated to
that dark underworld usually reserved for dust b~esn
ditty socks and discarded magazines. And had Lucy
a dog or a cat， perhaps Tess might not have been so per-
turbed. But Lucy was Tess s little sister--her twenty-nine-
year-old little sister， to be perfectly precise---and Tess had
come to the conclusion that retreating beneath th~ -ua~
a childhood habit that needed to be broken olr
all.
\"This is ridiculous，\" Tess said， pushing r .~~
i