“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.”

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

for the formalities. See you soon!” Grace chortled happily, elated

the call ended, Charles put his phone away and gave Sonia a resigned look.

probably go and pick out gifts for your parents.” With that, she linked arms with him and led him toward the

mall, they finally picked out an elegant cloak for Grace and

was more family than anything else. In particular, Grace had been best friends with Sonia’s mother. As far as Sonia was concerned,

and Sonia pulled up in front of the Lane

noted that the house looked the same as it had before. As such, she did not feel

greet her guest when she heard the sound of the car pulling up. Her eyes lit up at the sight

Sonia greeted

by the side and drawled sarcastically, “Don’t

her eyes as she 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!” She clasped Sonia’s hands in hers and slowly spun her around,

amused by the remark. “No, I haven’t, Mrs.

insisted. “Your face is

lost all my baby fat, so now I appear a little more slender than usual,” Sonia placated. “Alright, that’s enough fretting, Mrs. Lane. Shall we

of course. Come along, then.” Grace took her by the hand and led

Sonia noted that there was no one else at home but them, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Is Mr.

matter. Sonia, why don’t you tell me how you’ve been for the past six years.”

answered easily with a nod and began to detail the life she had had with the Fullers,

she heard the last of the story. She slapped the edge of the coffee table in a physical show of frustration and snapped, “I knew those Fullers were

as he bit into an apple. “That’s what

fact that she had kept mum about her abusive marriage wounded him, and the rage he felt never went away. That

Tears pricked her eyes as she said, “I didn’t want

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

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

smiled good-naturedly as

this gesture and smoothed Sonia’s hair with motherly

“Mom, what do you have on the stove? I think it’s

with panic. She rose to her feet in a flurry

kitchen to salvage the chowder simmering in the pot, and thankfully, she made it in time to keep the

Sonia. Have some juice while you watch a bit of television; I’ll be in the kitchen whipping up a couple more dishes, and we can

Sonia nodded with

look. “Come and help me out in the

blinked. He could hardly believe what he had just heard as he

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