“It’s not you I’m looking for; I want to speak to Sonia. Is she there with you?” Grace asked on the other line, prompting Charles to glance over at Sonia.

“She’s here,” he answered.

 

“Pass the phone to her.”

Having made a noise of agreement, Charles handed Sonia his phone while saying, “Here, it’s my mom.”

Sonia took the phone over and greeted pleasantly, “Mrs. Lane.”

“Sonia! I’ve missed you so much.” Grace beamed as soon as she heard Sonia’s voice on the other end of the call.

 

Sonia, on the other hand, smiled as well. “I’ve missed you, too, Mrs. Lane.”

“You could always drop by to see me, you know,” Grace pointed out, feigning dejection.

 

“Sorry, Mrs. Lane. I’ve been tied up with tons of stuff recently. I barely have time to breathe,” Sonia winced and said apologetically.

“Well, you could come over for a meal right now if you have the time. I’ll bust out a few of my best recipes for you,” Grace cajoled kindly.

Sonia was just about to say something when Charles—who had been eavesdropping—spoke up instead. “Mom, I’m bringing my darling for seafood.”

Grace, however, was insistent as she countered, “You know how restaurants never run a quality check on their seafood supplies, and it’s not as if they could do better than me when it comes to cooking.”

“Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Lane. We’ll go over to your place in

See you soon!” Grace chortled happily, elated that

look. “Well, it looks like we’re going to have

Now, we should probably go and pick out gifts for your parents.” With that, she linked

the boutiques in the mall, they finally picked out an elegant cloak for Grace and a tasteful necktie for Curtis. Then, they made

particular, Grace had been best friends with

pulled up in front

by in six years, though she noted that the house looked the same as it had before. As such, she did not feel out of place

out of the house to greet her guest when she heard the sound of the car pulling up. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Sonia, and she approached the

Sonia greeted with a

sarcastically, “Don’t mind me, Mom.

said pointedly, “I see you every day, and believe me when I say I’m getting tired of it. My attention is on Sonia now. Come here, Sonia, let me take a good look at you!”

was somewhat amused by the

Grace insisted. “Your face

so now I appear a little more slender than

Come along, then.” Grace took her by the

noted that there was no one else at home but them,

you’ve been for the past six years.”

began to detail the life she had had with the Fullers, though she kept it brief

in a physical show of frustration and snapped, “I knew those Fullers were rotten! You should have told us how badly they were treating you, Sonia.

into an apple. “That’s what I told

marriage wounded him, and the rage he felt never went away. That being

of Charles and Grace’s outward concern, Sonia felt warmth course through her. Tears pricked her

might have been able to get them to stand up for her throughout her marriage to Toby, but they couldn’t come to her defense all the time. Besides, they weren’t actually related to her, which meant her troubles would only grow to become an unnecessary burden for them. She would rather give them a peace of mind than have

going to do with you?” Grace gently prodded the younger girl’s

smiled good-naturedly

at this gesture and smoothed Sonia’s hair

sniffed the air curiously. “Mom, what do

of her thoughts, and her eyes lit up with panic. She

simmering in the pot, and thankfully, she

of juice over to Sonia and said, “Here you go, Sonia. Have some juice while

Lane.” Sonia nodded with a warm

a look. “Come and

he had just heard as he pointed at

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