“So… What now?” Gadalik asked, his striped blue eyes looking between Gavin–the lean man with curly yellow-green hair braided from the waist-down, who was watching out the window to be sure the car that had just sped away wouldn't circle back–and Ian, the stocky bearded man who was awkwardly left sitting on the couch.

“She's gone,” Gavin reported. He backed away from the pane and headed for his adoptive daughter's room to check on her.

“...I didn't think Tera was that way,” Ian said, almost to himself. “She had her issues, sure. But to abandon her own daughter…? To–to scream at her right in front of us? I've never seen her act like that before…”

“Don't blame yourself, Ian,” Gadalik murmured. “You only tried to reunite a mother with her child. Instead of being honest about not wanting to see her, Tera led everyone on just to save face. She lied to her own daughter. And…she lied to you. Are…you okay?”

Ian seemed genuinely shocked to be taken into consideration. Then he downplayed it with a wave of his hand. “I'm alright. I actually don't live very far from here, so perhaps I should call a taxi and be on my way.”

“There’s no rush to leave,” Grace spoke up as she and her father returned to the living room. She was wiping the tears from her face, and her short red hair was the least bit messy, but she smiled reassuringly. “We still haven't had lunch. It would be nice if you could join us?”

“Oh, o’ course–if you'll have me! I can even help set everything up,” he offered.

“Very well,” the tall man agreed, and the two went into the kitchen.

“...Are you alright?” Gadalik gently prompted his girlfriend.

“I will be,” Grace sighed, her red irises looking down as if in shame. “I kind of expected something like this to happen, honestly. But I held on to the glimmer of hope that fifteen years could have changed her. If you all hadn't been there as witnesses, I… I'm sure…she would have gotten violent, too...”

He couldn't help but move in to hug her. “I'm so sorry it turned out like this…”

She returned the embrace rather tightly, and after a moment he could feel her body shake with voiceless sobs.

Gadalik continued to hold her patiently as she vented it out, not letting go until she pulled away first.

She still seemed distraught, but took a moment to steady her breathing. He gently ran his fingers through her hair to fix it for her. She took his hand in hers and guided him to the kitchen, where they sat beside each other at the table.

As promised, Ian was busying himself putting the food Gavin had prepared onto the plates. When he turned to set them, the bearded man brightened. “Just in time, you two! We were just about to come get you.”

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Grace responded with a friendly smile that fell into a more neutral frown when she focused on her meal, taking small, absent bites at a time. There was a deafening silence aside from the silverware against the dishes.

The older man pushed his grayish-brown hair back nervously. “I…I apologize for bringing your mother here,” he began. “You know, Grace… When I discovered Tera had a child, I was shocked. She made it clear from the start that she didn't want kids in our future.”

Grace hesitated, then gave an ever-so-slight nod.

“But…I was also happy about it.”

Her eyes met his, somewhat surprised.

“I've always been on the fence on having kids, myself. But all of the sudden I realized I was a potential step-parent. I admit I may have been a little pushy for details about you from Tera. I really thought–and hoped–that we could make things work as a family.”

The woman softened. “Me too.”

Gavin had sat back in his seat and was watching them both with narrowed eyes. “Ian,” he spoke up.

The stocky man jumped. “Y-Yes?”

“Tell me. What is it you plan to do, going forward?”

“Oh, well, I… I s’pose I will go back to work. Of course I will be terminating Tera as my client. Perhaps I should ban her from my modeling agency altogether. Her behavior today was utterly unacceptable.”

“I meant in regards to Grace.”

Gadalik listened curiously. That was a similar question to what Gavin asked himself when he and Grace first began dating.

Ian tensed. “W-Well, I mean… You're her father, yes? If it's alright with you, I would like to keep in touch. Perhaps make up for what happened today.”

“Grace?” her father prompted.

“That's fine with me,” the woman agreed.

“Oh, Mr. Gavin, that reminds me,” Ian said urgently. “Those albums you showed us looked wonderful. Err, the photos, I mean! You mentioned you're a photographer?”

The taller man’s yellow-green eyes narrowed. “Yes.”

There was a moment’s pause; his daughter jumped with excitement at this opportunity to boast. “He's a certified professional photographer, and a self-employed wildlife photographer!”

Ian raised his eyebrows, impressed. Gadalik was happy to see her so proud. “Photographing wild animals sounds a bit dangerous,” the older man remarked.

“It can be,” Gavin replied simply. “I have had a few close encounters in my career, but I've learned from them and take necessary precautions.”

“I see, I see. But even if that's your career, Mr. Gavin, you seem to be good with photographing people as well, judging by the albums.”

“Yes,” Gavin once again said, his guarded expression unchanged.

“As you know, I work for a modeling agency. Tera was my client, but we got together outside of work, and things took off from there.”

The young woman once again averted her eyes upon the mention of her estranged mother.

“Well, I, uh…” He cleared his throat, somewhat awkwardly. “I was thinking–about those photos. My company could use someone as skilled as you, Mr. Gavin…even if only for freelance work.”

Gavin lifted a brow but said nothing.

Ian dug through his pocket and fished out a business card, handing it over. “If you're interested, don't hesitate to give me a call.”