Amara looked up at Hector's table. Both men raised their glasses toward her in a mocking toast."That's too much," Barbara muttered, already stepping forward to speak on her behalf.Amara caught her arm. "Leave it. It's just two crabs. I'll do it.""But..." Barbara tried again.Amara shook her head, picked up the crab tools, and returned to the table. "Honored guests, allow me to pick the crabmeat for you."Hector tilted his chin.The tools laid out for the crab were more numerous than the crab itself seemed to warrant: a small mallet, a pair of scissors, and a pick.Amara didn't particularly like crab. She had never picked one apart for someone else before, and she was doing it with a fire banked low beneath her ribs.She wasn't careful enough. The mallet came down on the shell, clipped the edge of the plate, and cracked it.She hadn't hit it hard, but the plate cracked anyway."I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," Amara apologized at once.Hector watched her with a pleasant smile.
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