"You did well, Cindy." Octavia ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, her touch gentle and comforting.
“Latham, didn't you say you'd booked a private room at Hearth & Kettle? Should we head over now?" she asked, turning to him.
Latham nodded. "Yeah, let's go. I just need to make a quick call."
By the time Claire picked up Latham's call, she was already at Hearth & Kettle.
“Is there something you need, Latham?” Her voice was polite, but distant, the kind of polite that felt like a wall.
Latham could hear it in her tone, and it pinched at something inside him, but now wasn't the time to argue.
"I heard you left your exam early... Did it go well?"
Claire didn't ask how he found out. She just answered calmly, "It went fine. Pretty normal."
Latham smiled, completely satisfied. "Well, I'm sure you'll come out at the top of your class, as always." This was exactly the daughter he'd always imagined: calm, competent, never bothered or overwhelmed. Not like Cindy, who looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders every time anyone brought up test scores. Honestly, Latham and Octavia hadn't exactly been winning parenting awards lately.
“So, where are you and your grandmother now? Let's have a meal together. We should at least celebrate you and Cindy finishing your exams. You're finally adults now."
Claire remembered the last time he threw her a coming-of-age celebration. He'd said something similar about growing up. The words never really meant much.
She paused, then just shut him down gently. "Grandma and I are already at the restaurant. She ran into an old friend, someone she hasn't seen in years, so it's probably not the best time to join us."
Latham sighed, but didn't press. "Alright. Congratulations to you, anyway."
He knew that was that-if Pandora had found an old friend, there was no chance the family would eat together today. Fixing things with Claire would take time, and Latham had learned to be patient about it.
Claire was taking the call outside the private room. Inside, Pandora and Queenie were chatting, so she slipped away to hang out with Jennifer instead.
Back in the private room, Queenie turned to Pandora and asked, "Pandora, why didn't you go overseas with Jackson all those years ago?"
Pandora let out a soft sigh.
"Everyone has their own path. I loved living here in Solenia. This is my
Home. No matter how broken or
chaotic it became, I loved it just the
same."
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"I never liked living abroad. I just couldn't get used to the cold, flavorless meals at those fancy Western restaurants."
"What I love is the everyday warmth of this place. Even in those tough years, no matter how hard things got, I made it through."
Queenie hesitated, clearly wanting to say something more, but held it back.
Pandora reached out and patted her hand lightly. "It's alright. I don't want to hear about his life after he left. You don't need to tell me."
Queenie was caught off-guard, but then realized it sounded exactly like Pandora. She let it go. "If you don't want to know, I won't say a word."
Pandora smiled a little, her
expression softening. After so many years of silence, sometimes getting unexpected news hurt more than just staying in the dark.
Queenie let out a sigh. “You really haven't changed a bit, you know. Actually..."
Pandora gave a gentle shake of her head. "People do change. You just don't know what I've been through all these years."
She could tell Queenie didn't know what had happened in her life, so she explained. "My son and daughter in law only left me with Claire, my granddaughter
"She was switched at birth, and we only recently got her back."
“But honestly, I feel like we were meant to be. When she came home, she didn't seem like a stranger at all."
“She looks like both her father and her mother..." Pandora's eyes softened, her words drifting as she thought of Claire.
Queenie listened, a bit confused by the whole story. "Wait, how does a baby even get switched at birth?"