"Just ten more minutes..." Tattered mumbled as she was shaken vigorously.
"Come on sis, you told me to make sure you were awake. Get up, it's your own fault for staying up late," she could hear Alex say from somewhere nearby.
"Mmmhhbl," Tattered mumbled sleepily as she tightened her wings around her head.
"Fine, hard way then," Alex said with a sigh and could be heard walking away.
A few moments later the hoof steps returned to the room and then water was unceremoniously dumped on her. Tattered jumped up and unfurled her wings as she took a defensive stance and water dripped from her wings and tail. "What the hell, Alex!"
The colt smiled at her as he set down a coffee mug that he had found somewhere and had presumably filled with water. "You said make absolutely sure you're awake. Don't blame me if I had to do something extreme to wake you up."
She relaxed herself a bit, folding her stiff wings back to her side after giving herself a shake to clear off some dampness. "You're right, I did say that. Was just more comfortable sleeping than I had been in a while, and I was enjoying it."
Alex looked at her wings at her sides. "I definitely noticed you had a different sleeping position and the lack of bandages on your wings. Does that mean your wings are all better?"
Tattered stretched them out again to put on display and smiled happily. "I need to get them back into shape since I haven't been using them, but no more shreds. Doc says that I can fly again in a few days once they're less stiff."
"I've only ever seen you with them bandaged up. They look a little odd. What's with all the pink and purple?" Alex asked as he visually looked them over.
"My name was very literal. Those spots are where the wings were ripped. The Equestrians are miracle workers to have gotten them together again. For the first time since the night that happened I feel whole," Tattered said as lifted them up high, despite the stiffness.
Alex took on a slightly paled complexion as he looked at the spots again. "I'm sorry, Mand...Tat, I hadn't realized how bad it actually was."
"It's okay, you had other stuff you were worried about," Tattered forgave him. She then grimaced as she continued. "I’m angrier at everyone else in the family who didn't even bother to care at all how badly I was hurt."
"Well, I could only hear what was going on in the house since I was locked in my room so I wouldn't contaminate the rest of the family, but I heard Megan plead to go see you. Mom and Dad shot her down and grounded her for it," Alex said with an angry flick of his tail.
"Megan got herself grounded?" Tattered said with wide-eyed shock. "I think that is probably more unbelievable than a quarter of the country turning into ponies. I didn't think she had it in her to try to buck Mom and Dad."
"She's our sister, Tat, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise that she cares," Alex said as he lowered his ears slightly.
"Well, Mom and Dad are our mom and dad and we should've expected them to care too. You see how well that worked out," Tattered said as she laid her ears flat.
"We shouldn't be mad at Megan for what Mom and Dad did. She doesn't have much choice but follow along until she can move out on her own. Ponies are supposed to forgive and be understanding," Alex insisted.
Tattered stopped and considered it. Maybe she was being too harsh on her little sister. She had a habit of being too harsh with others in general and she frowned as she wondered if that was how her parents had rubbed off on her. If Megan really cared she didn't deserve Tattered's wrath.
"Is your phone charged?" she asked her brother as she made a decision.
Alex looked shocked. "Um, yeah. You want to call her? I didn't think you wanted us to have anything to do with them or I'd have tried to reach out to her already."
Tattered shook her head. "I appreciate you trying to respect my wishes, but if she still actually cares about us I'd like to try. Not right now though. I want you to take a selfie of the two of us and send it to her with a message letting her know we will call her in the morning around eleven; only if she can find somewhere private to talk to us on the phone without Mom and Dad finding out."
"Eleven? Are you sure you don't want to do it earlier?" Alex asked.
"Job gets in the way," Tattered said with another shake of her head. "I have to attend a big meeting about crystal ponies in the morning with all the other ponies' leaders in town, the government rep, and town council rep that will last a few hours. I figure it should be done by eleven and you can come by my office and we can make the call then."
"Let me go get the phone. It will be just a second," Alex said as he hurried out of the room.
Tattered got up and stretched her legs and back and began doing a few of the wing stretches she was instructed to do. By the time that Alex returned she had been able to go through a solid two minutes of stretching.
"What're you doing with your wings?" Alex said with a bemused expression as he came in with the cell phone floating behind him in his green magic aura.
"Wing stretches, doc wants me to stretch them like this every day, several times a day, until they aren't stiff anymore. I'm done for the moment," Tattered said as she folded them back up to her sides.
Alex floated the phone and a stylus in front of him and started doing something with it as Tattered waited. He then walked over next to her and floated the phone out a few feet in front of them in the air.
"Smile for the camera," Alex said as he put a cheesy grin on his face. Tattered rolled her eyes and then blinked as the phone flashed.
"Urgh, Alex, please no flashes in the future," she said as she shook her head as if that would help clear her vision. "I have eyes that are sensitive to light. I can deal with daylight most of the time, but sudden flashes like that are a pain. Now I'm going to have spots in my vision for a few minutes."
"Sorry, it's just so dark in here. We need light for a photo which means a flash," Alex explained as he watched her continue to try to clear her vision.
"I like the dark, the dark is nice and soothing...but I get what you're saying. Maybe warn me next time though? Or get me a pair of sunglasses or something? Jesus, that stings," Tattered complained as she tried to blink to clear her vision.
Alex didn't respond as he was back to work with the stylus and phone.
"Message sent," Alex announced.
"Alright let me know in the morning what she said, no matter..." Tattered paused mid-sentence as the phone dinged, saying they had received a message back.
Alex floated the phone back to where he could read it. Tattered restrained herself from trying to read over his shoulder. She was much bigger than him, and it was amazing how much smaller he was as a fifteen-year-old colt than a fifteen-year-old boy. As humans she had been much shorter than him since he had a growth spurt the year before. The tables were turned now. She could have looked over his shoulder with ease.
"She says she's really happy to see that we're okay. She asks also if you really are okay if that's really you in the picture. She also says that she will definitely be ready for our call tomorrow," Alex summarized after he finished reading.
"Tell her that's really me, her big sister, and that I'm going by Tattered Wing now instead of Mandy. Let her know I'm healing up well and I'm looking forward to the call tomorrow," Tattered listed off after considering an appropriate response. Then she paused before adding. "And tell her I forgive her for not making it to the hospital."
Alex typed in the response with the stylus and they both waited for the reply. A moment later it dinged again.
"She wants to know why we need to wait till tomorrow to talk," Alex said as he read off the response.
"I can't really wait around anymore to keep this up, I need to get to work," Tattered said as she considered the time. "Tell her that we want to be sure that the three of us talking is kept secret from Mom and Dad, so she doesn't get in trouble, and we don't want her to be overheard by rushing to talk tonight without making sure she is well away from where they are. Plus, tell her I need to get to work right now because I'm an important pony in town with responsibilities."
"Will do," Alex said as he continued to type away with the stylus. He glanced back at her. "If you need to get going then go. I'm going to keep chatting with her for a little while before bed, and I promise to be at your office by eleven in the morning."
She nodded, wishing she could hang around for longer. Duty called though. She hurried out of the bedroom and made her way to work.
Devon finished setting salads out for Amanda, Robby, and Tonya and finally took her own seat between Robby and Amanda with her own plate of mixed vegetables and cafeteria mystery meat. She had started passing silverware out for them until Amanda put a hoof over Devon's hand to stop her.
"Devon, we have hooves, and none of us is a unicorn. We can't use silverware," Amanda said with an amused expression.
"Oh, I'm sorry...I didn't think," Devon said as she realized her mistake and wondered if she had done something insulting.
Amanda popped her hand with a hoof. "Stop that, it's okay. You were auto-piloting through things. Just don't worry about all our table manners since we have to basically just lean in and start eating."
"We really need to start doing more vegetarian sandwiches," Tonya mused as she looked at her salad. "We can pick bread up alright with two hooves, but a fork or knife is pretty much useless. Maybe if we could strap them on somehow."
Devon smiled, glad she hadn't done anything too offensive. She then frowned as she looked down at her own plate. She really needed to eat the meat since she needed her protein, but it looked bland. It would taste bad even to her despite being human. At least it should turn Robby off the idea of trying to eat meat himself.
She cut a a very small bite off and it and held it over to her son. "Okay Robby, open up. You can chew but don't swallow. When you are done you can spit it back out into my hand."
"Spit it out in your hand?" Robby asked as he looked at her hands.
"Yes, just this one time. If it'll make you sick to eat I'd rather you spit it in my hand than have you spend time vomiting," Devon explained.
He still looked dubious of the whole situation but nodded to her.
"Wish I had a camera for this moment," Tonya said with a giggle.
"Thought the same thing several times in the last few days," Amanda added in with a smile. "Cameras for ponies that need to operate things by hoof. Somepony needs to get on that right away."
"Probably many things they need to get on right away for pony friendly items," Devon said as she looked at Robby. "Okay, open up and let's see how long you can tolerate this in your mouth."
Robby pulled back looking suspicious. "Can you eat a bite first?"
"Are you thinking I'm trying to trick you?" Devon asked in surprise as she pulled the fork back.
"No...I just want to be sure it really is okay for you too," Robby answered sheepishly.
Okay, so he did suspect that he was being played. Well, he was in for a shock.
Devon quickly put the meat into her mouth and casually chewed it. It wasn't particularly great, but it was alright. Tasted like it was a microwave meal Salisbury steak; bland, but acceptable. She then cut off another small chunk of meat and held it out to her son again. After a moment she swallowed.
"Perfectly fine for me. Now let's see you and your pony taste buds try to take a stab at it," Devon said as she looked at him.
He looked the bite of meat over suspiciously and looked again at the food on her plate as if trying to figure out if there was any possible trick that could be played. He finally conceded the idea that it was the exact same stuff on the fork as Devon had just eaten.
Robby leaned in and let the fork put the meat into his mouth.
The effect was almost immediate. Robby's eyes bulged, and he didn't even wait for Devon to put her hand out to catch the bite of food. He expunged the offending food item out with a violent spit right back into Devon's shirt and then stuck his tongue out and began rapidly trying to wipe the taste away with his forehooves.
Tonya burst out laughing and the little colt glared at the pegasus even while still trying to clean his tongue with his hooves.
"So, is it settled now that you shouldn't be eating meat?" Devon asked in a serious tone as she picked the meat off her shirt.
"Yes, Momma," Robby said as he finally finished wiping his tongue with his hooves. Devon held a glass of water out for him to sip and he didn't even object as she held it for him.
"I remember when I learned meat wasn't going to work for me anymore. It took me a few times to figure it out," Tonya recollected with a grin.
"How'd it take more than one? I know it got to the point even the smell of a steak cooking could cause me to vomit well before I finished transforming," Amanda asked the pegasus.
"I had a habit of getting hot dogs from the local gas station. Took three times in a row getting sick eating them before it occurred to me that they weren't just under cooking their hot dogs," Tonya explained with a shrug.
Devon looked at her sister-in-law with a bewildered expression. "Why would you keep going back to the same gas station for hot dogs if you were getting sick each time?"
Tonya put a hoof behind her head in embarrassment. "Um, I was kind of perpetually near broke and kind of lazy, and they were cheap and convenient."
"What kind of job did you have when you were still human?" Devon asked as she took another bite of her mystery meat, curious to learn about what was a long-lost family member.
"Nothing special, worked part-time at a Wendy's as a drive-thru cashier about thirty hours a week and part time at a Domino's Pizza as a delivery driver for another thirty hours a week," Tonya said with a shrug. "If tips from deliveries weren't so great my bills got kind of tight. Even when they were good it was still a lot of Ramen noodles."
"I know it isn't the best food either, but couldn't you have gotten food from one of your two jobs?" Amanda asked.
Tonya laughed in response. "Um, I had to pay for that stuff too just like all the customers, and I wasn't spending ten dollars on a pizza or five dollars on a sandwich that didn't come off the kids’ menu. They let me get free drinks when on shift, but that's it in terms of free food."
"So, since you seemed to have just quit your job you already had here what are you planning on doing?" Devon asked with a frown.
Tonya's complexion changed at the question, smile dropping and adopting a serious expression. When she answered there wasn't any of her previous cheer in her voice. "There's a job in the works for me. I can't talk about it, town business."
Devon was taken aback by the dramatic shift in attitude and tone in Tonya. She had seen Tonya angry last night, Tonya mischievous and playful through much of tonight, but this was yet another side of her and Devon felt uncomfortable with it after starting to get used to the more playful side. She'd probably be uncomfortable with it no matter what.
Tonya relaxed slightly as she looked over at Devon. "Want to join me as I go to the little filly's room? We can talk along the way about things little colts shouldn't hear."
"What kind of things?" Robby asked, realizing he was the only little colt at the table and secrets were being kept from him.
"You don't want to know. It's the kind of talk that can get colts cooties, and you'd get cooties just by hearing it. We don't want you getting cooties now do we?" Tonya asked the colt in a grave tone.
"Eww, no. I don't want cooties," Robby said with disgust.
Devon rolled her eyes. "Good, so stay here and keep Miss Amanda, Jackie, and your sister safe, and listen to whatever Miss Amanda says, okay?"
"I can keep them safe, Momma," Robby said proudly as he raised his head high and proud.
"And listen to her," Devon reasserted.
"Yeah, that too," Robby added in. That earned a separate eye roll and giggle from Amanda.
Tonya hopped down from her seat and gestured with a wing for Devon to follow.
Once they cleared the cafeteria Tonya turned and spoke. "We can go to the school library and find a quiet corner to talk there. I also happen to know they have Wi-Fi in the library if you need to make any calls."
"That does save me some time," Devon said with relief before frowning. "I'm assuming you want to talk about Paul."
"Yes," Tonya answered as she nodded. "Let's get some more privacy first though."
When they reach the library, they found a large empty room. There were tables and chairs in the room, but the shelves were devoid of books. A few humans and ponies were attempting to put some books from some boxes to the shelves and a few humans sat using their phones in a few areas. The pair of them found a private enough area on the far side of the room and took seats at a table there.
"Maybe you should make whatever that call that you need to make out of the way first," Tonya said as she took another glance around the room. "If the conversation gets emotional it's probably best it doesn't spill over into your call if you're trying to find work."
Devon nodded in silent agreement as she pulled her phone out and turned it back on. The power level was low still despite her making every attempt she could to conserve the battery. But she shouldn't have any fear of the phone running out of power while making the call unless it took an exceptionally long time.
She had the phone dial the number for the job from her contact information and within seconds it was picked up. By someone with a tired voice. "Hello, Yvonne speaking. How may I help you?"
"Hi, I saw a sign saying this was the number to call if we had teaching experience and were interested in a position at the school. I'd like to apply," Devon said, making sure to put a pleasant professional tone into her voice.
"Okay, happy to keep hearing from people about that. I just need to get a few notes here and I can give you an interview time and place," Yvonne said as the sound of shuffling papers could be heard in the background. "Alright, just a few basic things. First up is your full name."
"Mrs. Devon Ann Middleton."
"Good, teaching experience and focus areas?" Yvonne continued.
"Four years teaching. I taught art at the private Montessori school in Charleston. I have my four-year teaching degree from College of Charleston, as well as my master's from the University of South Carolina," Devon answered.
"Master's degree? That's good," Yvonne said happily. "Alright, onto the next few things. Sorry if these questions seem odd, but recent circumstances make them things we need to know. Are you a human, a pony, or something in-between?"
"I'm human," Devon answered.
"Alright, and do have you any objections to teaching classes that contain both humans and ponies?"
"I'll happily teach both, they're all just students to me, and all will be treated with equal respect and care for their needs," Devon said with confidence.
"That's the kind of answers we like to hear," Yvonne said cheerfully. "Alright, so we will have an open interview session in two days starting at noon. It will be held at the library in the building at area one which will be the school when it reopens. Are you familiar with that location?"
"I'm actually calling you from it right now," Devon said with a laugh.
"Oh, so definitely no problem finding it. Please be there promptly but expect a wait as we will be having many that are getting interviewed on that day. We promise that everyone that arrives is getting interviewed. We should actually be able to tell you if you have the job or not right away after the interview process is done. Do you have any questions?" Yvonne asked.
"None, none at all. I'll be here in two days at noon right on time," Devon said with excitement.
"Good, see you then. Have a good evening for now," Yvonne said in parting.
As Devon said her quick goodbye and Tonya gave her a smile. "Sounds like that went well."
"Yeah, they make everything so easy around here," Devon said with letting out a breath of relief.
"That's the goal we were trying for when we were planning this out. Glad it seems to be going smoothly," Tonya said, then her smile dropped. "Now, let's talk about Paul."
Devon's upbeat mood dropped immediately upon that being brought back up. She didn't owe Tonya a talk about this, but Tonya was family.
"We had been under stress for some time up to that point because the kids were being kept from us in isolation and they wouldn't let us near them for fear of us getting infected too. Both Paul and I had done everything we could to try to convince them to let us go to them and we didn't care about getting infected if it meant we could be allowed to see our children. The hospital was adamant about keeping those not infected isolated and under quarantine," Devon began explaining.
"The hospital was keeping humans in isolation? I heard of them doing that to ponies, but not humans. Which hospital was this?" Tonya asked in shock.
"Roper Hospital, and there were a lot of us there, all very angry about it," Devon replied with a grimace as she remembered how the hospital had barricaded the doors and the only thing that had prevented riots was that they had armed guards posted.
"So, moving past the fact that Roper hospital needs to be sued and shut down for what they did; what happened after you got them home?" Tonya asked.
"Paul and I did our best. Robby wasn't too much trouble other than him being awake all night long and asleep all day. Jessie wasn't too much trouble the first day or so either, and we thought that we could manage things somehow. Then Jessie's surges started. We didn't know what they were at the time," Devon answered as she remembered the shock of having Jessie start easily overpowering both her and Paul.
"So, that's when it got too much for my brother?" Tonya asked in a neutral tone.
Devon shook her head. "No, he kept trying along with me for two weeks. We were both very frustrated and tired, but we were trying our best. Then Jessie bucked him. He had to get medical attention for his ribs due to how hard she got him. That's when he wouldn't come near her anymore and got nervous about being near Robby as well. When the call went out saying that they were going to be resettling all these ponies over here he took us to the convention center and left us there. He wouldn't even say anything other than he was sorry and he couldn't handle it anymore."
Devon couldn't help herself, she started crying again after explaining what had happened again. She had talked about it a little with Amanda, but this was recounting even more, and it hit her harder. Tonya got up on the table and walked over to Devon and gently laid a wing on Devon's shoulder.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think you should call him," Tonya said in a low voice.
"Why?" Devon asked as she looked up at her sister-in-law in shock.
Tonya frowned. "Because I don't think Paul is a bigot, or an uncaring father and husband. I think that he's a coward and should be given the chance to be less cowardly. He never got on my case about my issues, he just kept quiet while our parents did. When they cut ties he just followed along because he is afraid of confrontation."
Devon considered it. Tonya wasn't wrong about Paul's normal reaction to conflict. He always tended to just remove himself from it. He wouldn't even stand up for himself at work because he couldn't be convinced to stand up to his boss.
"If that's so why should I go pleading for him to come back? He's still going to just turn tail and run as soon as it gets too much for him again," Devon said as she felt herself getting angry at him. He was her husband, he was supposed to stand up and support her and the children.
"I'm just saying he should get another chance to do right. If he can keep it together wouldn't you want...," Tonya cut off what she was saying with a shake of her head and immediately continued, "rather have him here?"
"Why are you pushing this? I know he's your brother, but he turned his back on you too and kept it turned," Devon asked with a mixture of anger and confusion.
Tonya teared up slightly herself before answering. "I never tried to reach out to him. I just assumed the worst. I'm guilty for not even trying too. Maybe it will be wasted effort, maybe it won't. If you don't try you won't know. Someone needs to reach out first one way or another and just waiting for the other to do it is just petty."
Devon picked the phone back up and stared at it for a moment. She didn't know if she'd do it or not. Her emotions involving this were a wreck. Even if she did do it, what was she supposed to even say? What do you say to the person that dumped his wife and kids in a parking lot and ran away from his responsibilities?
She pulled up his phone number and stared at it for a moment. What to say wasn't coming to her at all. The desire to just turn the phone off and not even bother was strong, but she instead hit the button to initiate the call.
The phone rang several times before going to voicemail.
She sighed before speaking. "Paul, it's your wife, Devon. I'm in Riverview and making this call from a spot that has Wi-Fi. Me and the foals are doing well, and things are looking up. Please, call me back so we can talk."
She then hung up and dropped the phone on the table before putting her elbows on the table and crying into her upraised hands.
Tonya came closer on the table and draped her wing over Devon's back. Devon then gave the pegasus a shock when she suddenly turned and gripped her arms around the pegasus and pulled her into a hug while crying into Tonya's mane.
"Hopefully he'll call back," Tonya said in a soothing tone.
Devon didn't get to reply before the phone started buzzing. She looked down at the phone like it was a viper and saw that it was Paul who was calling back. She stiffened up, not knowing what to do.
"Answer the phone," Tonya whispered loudly in Devon's ear.
She picked it up swiped the green phone icon to answer the call. Before bringing it to her ear. "Hello, Paul?"
"Devon? Can you hear me okay?" Paul asked.
"I hear you fine," Devon answered, unsure what else to say at the second.
"How are the kids? Are they with you right now?" Paul asked.
"A friend is watching them for me in another part of the building. They are doing well. Robby has gotten really protective of me and Jessie as of late, but that's probably on account of his night pony instincts getting to be more prominent. Jessie is walking already if you can believe it, and she follows me close when I let her walk on her own," Devon answered, feeling a small amount of pride in her children.
"Jessie is walking already? Are you sure?" Paul asked in a shocked tone.
Devon felt her anger start to resurface. "Considering I actually live with her and have her with me most of the time I think I can be pretty sure she can walk. She actually took her first steps just an hour or so after you abandoned us."
With no immediate answer to that she continued. "To tell you more about what you have been missing she isn't super strong like she was before anymore. Those were something called surges that all foals get soon after birth that last a few weeks then stop. She'll get strong again, but it will take years and will develop over time. She probably won't be that strong again until she's a full-grown mare."
"They're kids, we shouldn't be calling them by pony terms like they're animals," Paul cut in.
"They are ponies, Paul, and I'll use pony terms because that's what ponies themselves prefer. I'm adjusting to their situation because I intend to see them live good happy lives. They're my babies and I may not be a night pony like our son, but I will protect them as best I can--like you should be doing," Devon all but growled into the phone as she tightened her grip on it.
"I'm sorry...it's just...I didn't know what to do anymore," Paul said sadly.
"Do you think I had any better idea what to do when you dumped us off in that parking lot?" She hissed into the phone. "I'm learning, and I've learned a lot. I'm finding ways to get our lives back together here. I've got a job interview lined up, I'm getting us a house here soon, and I'm asking questions. Why aren't you here with me?"
"Did you just call me to tell me how rotten a person I am?" Paul asked defensively.
"No, I called you because Tonya--your little sister--is sitting here in front of me and insisted I call and give you a chance," Devon said as she glanced up at Tonya. Tonya flinched back from the look and stared down at the table.
"Wait? Thomas is there?" Paul asked in a puzzled tone.
"Yes, the pony previously named that is right here. An orange pegasus mare with a purple mane and tail who is very clearly a she and is currently named Tonya; she's right here in front of me," Devon said as Tonya tried her best to sink into the table. "By all rights she should be one of the last ponies here to be giving you a chance, but she seems to have more loyalty to you than you have for her, me, or our foals."
She heard Paul sigh over the phone. "I don't want to fight. What do you want from me."
She leaned forward and put the phone directly in front of her mouth while she spoke firmly into it. "I want you to come here and try to be a father to your foals. I'm not sure that I can just get over what happened, but I do know I'd rather Robby and Jessica have their father there for them, and that I wasn't left having to someday explain to them how you turned your back on them."
There was a long pause and it went on long enough that Devon wondered if he just hung up and the call for whatever reason had not disconnected. Eventually he spoke again.
"Alright, I'll head out that way tomorrow. Where do I find you?"
She didn't know whether to sigh of relief or find another reason to yell at him, her emotions were a mess. Instead she just gave the answer. "We're at resettlement area four, spot thirty-five...it's a tent that we share with my friend Amanda and her foal. I'm still deciding on a house. If I'm not there Amanda will be. She's a rose-pink earth pony with a pegasus foal the same age as Jessie. Wait for me there if I'm not there at the time."
"Okay," Paul said in a defeated tone.
She tried to force a smile and force the smile into her tone. "I have to get off the phone. I don't have much power left. I'll see you sometime tomorrow."
She didn't even wait for a reply before hanging up.
"You didn't say that you love him."
She looked over at Tonya who was giving her sad eyes.
"I don't know if I do after what happened. If I say that again he must earn it," Devon said as she set her phone back down.
"I'm not sure it works that way."
"Are you a relationship expert?" Devon questioned her furry in-law while raising a brow at her.
"Well, no..."
"Then I'm going with he has to earn it," Devon said as she crossed her arms in front of her.
Hopefully he would.