Chapter 467

• "Your family are wonderful" Claudia states gently as she blinks away some tears that have welled up in her eyes. We find the backyard empty as we sit down at the table set up underneath a giant red outdoor umbrella beside mums vegetable garden. Juni settles quietly, seemingly comfortable to lay her check against my chest.
• "Sure, when they aren't asking for money or selling stories to the media" I answer with a sarcastic smile. I still haven't confirmed whether or not my family are the source of some of the leaks that get out to the media sometimes, but I haven't ruled out that possibility. Maybe it's confirmation bias, I don't like them and therefore I believe the worst, but I still keep my guard up and spend as little time with my extended family as I can. "So what's up?" I ask her as she tips her head back against the cushion behind her head.
• "I think it just hit me all of a sudden that she's actually a mother. I know that seems silly, but I just never thought I'd see it happen for real" Claudia says with a soft sigh as she swipes at her cheek to collect the tears that seem to be drying up. It makes sense to me, sometimes I wake up and it takes me a second or two to realise that I'm not dreaming up the sound of my daughter crying down the hall.