Zilpha was plain, short-legged, and a bit fat; her notable feature was a cascade of heavy black hair that hung to her waist when undone, but was usually in braids that she then wrapped around her head. No thug could ever fell Zilpha with a knock on such a thick, resilient helmet. She never quite got over her amazement at being the mother of a child with spun-gold hair. As she made the sandwiches, she knew very well what Jaron was thinking. Y’know, fella, she said in silent rebuttal, if you want sandwiches that look like the Taj Mahal, why don’t you make them yourself ?