Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Ines looked at Timothy in surprise. "She came with you?"

Timothy's expression turned a little awkward. Jessica had come by herself. He'd never been much of a liar, so he simply said, "She arrived a day earlier."

"Alright, let me know when you have news." Ines glanced at her watch. "The presentation's about to start. I can't chat much longer—let's leave it here for today."

"Best of luck with the expo, Ines."

"You're too kind."

They left the lounge together. Ines followed an assistant into the exhibition hall, while Timothy stepped outside and lit a cigarette.

He couldn't help but notice how interested Ines seemed in Jessica. Was it because of that graphic novel version of *The Grand Canal, Venice*? The piece incorporated paper-cutting techniques, and Henry had learned those from Jessica. Did Ines want to know more about Jessica's skills?

Back when Henry was in kindergarten, there were always arts and crafts lessons. Jessica had only helped him with simple paper cutouts, just playing along with the child. Those basic shapes were nothing compared to the intricate paper-cutting featured in *The Grand Canal, Venice*. The three-dimensional embossing technique in that piece was a heritage craft-something an ordinary person couldn't master with a few afternoons of practice.

Timothy didn't believe Jessica's little crafts with Henry could compare to such refined artistry; it was just playing with a kid, nothing that belonged in an art gallery.

digital techniques to try and replicate that embossed look. It was impressive, but it lacked the authenticity of real paper- cutting, which explained why it fell short. She simply didn't

of three- dimensional paper-cutting. It was clever, really-blending an old-world technique with modern animation. Not just anyone could pull

out how

he introduced her to Ines, answers

go back into the expo.

for a bit. Listen closely to Ines's

him for a while, but not forever. Still, delaying him by a

her friend request. That said everything-Jessica

Sheila replied:

back to the hotel and knocked on Jessica's room door. She still wasn't back. He took a seat in the lobby to

Before he knew it, it

Jessica still hadn't returned.

was always the one people waited for-never the