Dumas hadn’t had any particular question in mind when he inquired about the list.  But as he watched Mari gathering up dishes to be washed, he wondered what he would ask -- if he really could ask her anything.  Not something about the past she couldn’t remember.  No, he would ask what future she still dreamed of.  Aside from the pleasure she obviously derived from making people happy, was there some small and selfish desire which lived inside her?<br/><br/>However, before Dumas could finish chewing his last bite of steak, Mari spoke again.  A great sadness filled Dumas as he listened to her words.  They hit so close to his heart that it almost might have been him speaking them.  They were two damaged souls, who couldn’t even control what they might do if a darker side of them seized control.  Maybe there was a place for people like them in this world -- a place like Wonderland.  But would there ever be anything more than just a place?  Would there ever be a home?<br/><br/>Almost as soon as Mari finished speaking, she told him to forget her words.  But how could he?  How could he hear her cry of pain and then wipe it from his mind?  “Mari...I know this sounds like total crap, but you’ll find someone.  Someone who can see how lucky they’d be to have you for their wife, regardless of the problems.”  Dumas glanced down at his empty plate, as if there might possibly be some scrap of food that he’d missed.  “Hell, if I wasn’t a super-sized serving of completely fucked up, I’d marry you in an instant.”<br/><br/>Mari’s hands on his shoulders felt good.  Dumas closed his eyes, desiring no other sensory input other than her touch.  “I am tired,” he confessed softly, meaning something more than physical exhaustion.  “Would you...would you massage my neck and shoulders?  Just for a little?”