"Auntie!"
The young girl ran across the grocery store, arms outstretched. Binah broke into a grin, abandoning her shopping cart and spreading her arms, letting the impact happen. She hugged Binah fiercely, with the sort of energy and trust and decisiveness you only see from someone too young to know better. Binah chuckled as they embraced, and then she ruffled the girl's hair, her medium-length brown locks flying as Binah's hand scooched back and forth.
"Well hello there, my little lady." Binah beamed down at the girl. "What a pleasant surprise! ...And speaking of surprises, what on earth are you wearing?"
The girl stood with immense pride, grinning and putting her hands on her hips as she showed off her outfit to Binah - a black robe with gold accents. "You like it? It's just like your clothes!"
"Aha, so it IS on purpose! I knew it."
"You know everything, Auntie!"
"Where's Mom? She's with you, right?"
"Yeah, she's just slow! You know I always beat her in races!" the girl boasted.
"Hehe, true, true."
"What have you been doing at work lately?" the girl asked, her eyes wide and hopeful. They faltered as Binah could only return her expectant gaze with a sad, resigned look in her own eyes.
"I'm sorry, dear... You know I can't talk about it. As always, my job is top secret." The PCR only told non-members of its' work on a need-to-know basis. And though she would insist otherwise, Binah's eager little niece most certainly did not need to know. Binah's heart broke as the girl's face fell and she looked down at the ground.
"Oh... I hate that dumb rule. I thought you said you were gonna get rid of it."
"I've tried. But I'm not important enough in the company to make those kinds of changes alone. There are others I need to convince, and they won't hear it. So my job remains secret, I'm afraid."
"But... if I take a job with you when I grow up, then you'll HAVE to tell me, right?"
Binah grimaced a bit. "T-true... but I don't know if I like the idea of you having a career there."
"It's worth it to finally find out what my super-cool Aunt Binah does for a living!"
Binah couldn't help but chuckle again, a smile returning to her face. Then she heard the voice of someone approaching.
