"No wonder you're always so inspired."
Claire glanced over at Jenny, who looked totally busted and slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Claire, you must be hungry. Let me get you some porridge."
“Oh, and Patti made some wild vegetable pancakes this morning. They're amazing.”
Jenny switched topics fast, clearly not wanting to linger.
Claire found her funny, so she just relaxed and let Jenny spoil her a bit.
"Patti's pancakes smell so good. I could eat them every day."
Pair that with some pickled veggies, a tea egg, and a big bowl of porridge, and breakfast really felt complete.
After eating, Claire wandered outside into the yard, scooped up Pandora's cat, and spotted a few little kids peeking in through the gate. She waved them over and handed each one a little fistful of candy.
"Aren't you cold?"
She noticed their cheeks all rosy from the chill and gave one boy a gentle pat on the head.
That was Jim.
Ever since Claire had saved him, Jim stuck to her like glue, always trailing right behind her.
"I'm not cold." Jim shook his head, then grabbed her hand without a second thought.
Claire blinked. The kid's hand was actually warm.
"Wow, you're super warm," she said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
"I'm wearing thick clothes."
Jim tugged at his brand-new cotton jacket with a proud little grin.
Claire nodded, smiling back at him.
"Claire, do you want to come play with us?" Jim asked hopefully.
"I'll sit this one out. You all go have fun."
Jim looked a bit let down, but didn't make a fuss. He called his friends and they all ran off together, laughing as they went.
Watching them play, Claire felt her heart relax.
That peace didn't last long, though. Her phone rang, and Lance's name flashed on the screen.
"Claire, you are just ice-cold. The holiday's almost over and you haven't called home even once. What, cutting off the James family for good?"
"Mom and Dad waited all through New Year's Eve hoping you'd call. Nothing from you. Not even a message."
"And for the past two days your phone was totally off. Do you even care about us at all?"
Lance didn't even pause for a breath, just kept piling on the guilt. Claire honestly couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Lance, let's get something straight. I'm not part of the James family anymore."
“Sure, it's tradition to check in for the holidays. But Cindy's there, isn't she?"
"If I call, she'll probably get all
emotional and spiral again. Whoret
knows, she might even threaten to jump off a balcony I'm not about to poke that hornet's nest
“She's super fragile right now and I don't need to get involved."
Before Lance could fire back, Claire hung up.
Lance nearly threw his phone at the wall in frustration, but he had to pull himself together and act like nothing happened. They had company over, after all.
"So, is Claire coming back?"
Shirley, who never used to care about Claire at all, suddenly sounded pretty desperate.
She honestly just couldn't stand Cindy anymore. Every little thing set her off and if anyone said anything. remotely sharp st she'd get teary eyed. It made everyone else look like the villain.
And York, for some reason, just kept siding with Cindy, which bugged Shirley to no end.
Even if she didn't care about York as much as before, it still stung to see him go out of his way to defend another girl.
Shirley was hoping to fight back by inviting Claire home, figuring she'd handle Cindy. But Claire didn't show up at all, messing up Shirley's plans completely.