Chapter Text
It was a pretty normal day so far. At least, a 5-year-old Anne Boonchuy thought so. Kindergarten had been about as uneventful as ever, and now, she & her classmates were out by the front of the School, where they all waited for their parents to come pick them up.
Her own parents were usually here fairly on time, like most parents, so it was a bit strange when, after nearly 10 minutes, they still hadn’t shown up, leaving her among the last kids to go home. Even her Teacher, Mrs Wren, seemed surprised & mildly concerned when Anne was still among the group by the time she had to bring the remaining children back inside to the Classroom, where the late parents would need to come inside to find their kids. Strange, they were never usually this late. What was taking them so long?
Anne kept a close eye on the Classroom door for a while at first, waiting for the moment her Mom or Dad would walk through. But each time, it was only the parent of one of her classmates, so she eventually stopped keeping track of who was coming in & out, and began tiredly staring off into space. It was times like now that Anne wished she & Marcy were in the same Class; at least then she'd have someone to talk to.
After another 10 minutes of waiting, she chanced another look to see who had entered this time, and was surprised to see Dr Jan of all people.
From what Anne knew, she didn't have any kids of her own (and if she did, Anne would've known if that included any of her classmates), so was she perhaps here for her? After all, she had been a close family friend with the Boonchuys for as long as she could remember, and had even babysat Anne a few times. That theory was immediately confirmed when, after scanning around the room for a moment, Dr Jan's face lit up as her eyes locked onto Anne, smiling & waving as she quickly made her way over to her.
“Hey there Anne” she greeted as she knelt down slightly in front of her. “I just need to have a quick chat with your Teacher for a moment, ok?”. Anne was admittedly a little confused, but nodded anyway, prompting the older woman to head over to Mrs Wren.
They were speaking too quietly for Anne to be able to hear, but she could see just how uncharacteristically worried Dr Jan seemed to be about something. Anne had never seen her in such a state; she always remembered her being really jovial & optimistic most of the time, so it was certainly an unusual sight.
Mrs Wren seemed more perplexed at first by her presence, but something Dr Jan said caused her to lightly gasp in shock, briefly glancing back toward Anne for a moment. After a few more seconds of chatting, the two of them eventually made their way back over to Anne.
“Anne, you know Dr Jan here, don’t you?” Mrs Wren asked. Anne nodded with a ‘Mhm’ of confirmation. “Well, she’s come to pick you up & take you home today” she explained further.
“Where’s Mom & Dad?” Anne asked bluntly. Both women visibly flinched at that question, but Dr Jan quickly responded.
“Th-they’re just running a little late today; something… unexpected happened at the Restaurant, so they asked for me to bring you home instead while they sort things out” she explained.
“Oh… Ok” was all Anne could respond with. She knew Dr Jan & Mrs Wren would never maliciously lie to her, but it felt like they weren’t being completely honest with her either. Still though, she wanted to trust them.
With that, she stood up from her seat & grabbed her bag to sling over her shoulders. When Dr Jan held a hand out for her, she took hold of it & followed her out.
“Have a good weekend Anne!” Mrs Wren called, prompting the Girl in question to look back & wave goodbye just before they rounded the corner out of sight.
A few minutes later, Anne was sitting with Dr Jan in her Car. She understandably didn't have a child's booster seat, so she had to drive a bit slower than usual for the safety of her passenger.
Dr Jan didn’t say much throughout the drive either, aside from asking if Anne was comfortable in her seat before they exited the parking lot, leaving an uncomfortable silence between them. This was also pretty unusual for the woman, who normally would take an opportunity like this to talk about things she’d found during her work trips to dig sites, if only to keep her entertained. Instead, the only thing filling the silence was the distant sounds of assorted sirens across Town.
“Are you ok Dr Jan?” Anne eventually asked while they were waiting at a Red light, noticing how she seemed to be anxiously tapping her finger on the steering wheel.
“Hm? Oh, uh, don’t worry, Anne, I’m doing just fine” the older woman answered, flashing the young Girl another smile. “And haven’t I already told you? There’s no need for that ‘ Doctor ’ talk; you can just call me ‘Janice’” she added a little more playfully, managing to get a small giggle out of Anne as she reached back to ruffle her hair. Just then, the light turned Green, forcing Janice to return her attention back to the road as they began moving forward again. “I’ve just… got a lot on my mind right now… ” she trailed off as her smile slowly began to fade.
Not wanting to disturb her while she was focusing on driving, Anne turned her attention to the window at her side. Looking around at the scenery, she realised something else unusual; this wasn’t the usual route back home. Sure, it was still going in the same direction, but Anne had watched the scenery from her parents’ Minivan enough times to know that they always drove past their own Restaurant on the way to & from School. But Janice seemed to be avoiding it for some reason.
“Don’t we usually go past Thai Go on the way home?” Anne asked.
“ Er- well, there’s a bit of a… traffic jam around there at the moment. I-I just figured we could avoid it by going this way instead” Janice explained.
Anne said nothing after that, but that gut feeling, that something more was going on, only grew stronger. Janice was definitely hiding something from her, but she still wasn’t sure what or why.
“Alright, here we are” Janice said upon unlocking the door with her spare key, allowing Anne through first as she pushed it open. “So, are you hungry? Or thirsty?” Janice asked as she locked the door behind them.
“…I am a bit thirsty” Anne admitted.
“Ok then, how ‘bout you go make yourself comfortable in the Living room, and I’ll go see what there is for you to drink?” Janice suggested as they began walking down the hall.
“Ok” Anne agreed as she entered the Living room, while Janice branched off to go to the Kitchen. By the time she returned, Anne had already put her School bag down by the couch before climbing up to sit on it.
“Here, is Apple juice good?” Janice asked, handing her a juice box.
“Yes, thank you” Anne said with a nod, taking the box from her & using the straw to puncture it so she could take a sip.
“Alright, now let’s see if there’s anything good on” Janice suggested as she grabbed the remote & pointed it at the TV.
As it turned on, they were immediately met with what appeared to be some sort of News broadcast. Strangely, Janice seemed to startle & gasp as she saw it, fumbling the remote briefly as she tried to quickly switch channels. It was up long enough for Anne to recognise what looked like the Thai Go Restaurant in the background behind the Reporter, but it was gone before she could process anything else, replaced by a random age-appropriate cartoon. Janice quickly relaxed & let out a sigh of relief.
“Ok, Anne, I need to go upstairs to make a few phone calls” she said, pointing out to the stairs in the hall. “Is there anything else you need before I go?”.
“How much longer will Mom & Dad be?” Anne asked. Like last time, Janice tensed at the question.
“I-I uh, well, I can’t say I know… chances are, they might not come back until at least tomorrow…” she explained. “D-don’t worry though, I can spend the night to keep you company. Is that ok with you Anne?”.
“Yeah, it's ok… it'll be like a sleepover, right?” Anne responded, showing a bit of optimism.
“Yes! Exactly like a sleepover” Janice agreed cheerfully. “So, will you be ok if I just leave you here for a moment?”
“Yeah, I'm good” Anne assured her.
“Okay, good, good. If you need anything else, just come and ask, ok?” Janice reminded her, eliciting a nod from the child before she left the room.
About an hour later, after Janice had already come to sit with Anne, there was suddenly a knock at the door, prompting Janice to quickly stand up to go answer it. Curious, Anne followed her. Were her parents back already after all?
When Janice opened the door, Anne didn't see her parents on the other side, but she was still pleasantly surprised to see her ravenette friend wearing a backpack, standing alongside her own Mother.
“Hey Anne!” Marcy greeted her as she ran forward to hug Anne. “Dr Jan called & asked if I wanted to come over for a sleepover” she explained.
As Anne looked up to Janice, the older Woman flashed her a sincere smile & a shrug.
“I figured you could use a little extra company tonight” she explained.
“Come on Anne, I brought some glow-in-the-dark toys that I really wanna show you!” Marcy said, ushering Anne to follow her as she began running toward the stairs to go up to the latter Girl’s room.
Anne followed her briefly, but stopped for a moment as she glanced back at Janice, seeing that she & Mrs Wu were having a hushed conversation at the front door, much like when she spoke to Mrs Wren earlier. As it quickly ended, Anne turned back & resumed following Marcy as Janice shut the door.
Upon reaching Anne’s room, Marcy took her bag off & began emptying out the contents. It was mostly the usual sleepover materials, like a spare blanket & pillow, her own toothbrush, and her own pyjamas, but she quickly pulled out a handful of small pale Green toys.
“We'll need to leave ‘em in the sunlight for a bit first, but once it gets dark out, they'll be glowing really bright!” she explained, putting the Toys up on the windowsill.
“Cool” Anne commented.
“So, where's your Mom & Dad? Are they not home?” Marcy asked.
“Janice said that they won't be back until tomorrow” Anne began explaining. “Something unexpected apparently happened at Thai Go, so they asked for her to pick me up from Kindergarten instead”.
“Oh. So you haven't seen them since this morning?”.
“No” Anne confirmed, shaking her head. “I was hoping to see them when we drove by on the way home, but Janice went a different way, so I didn't get to” she went on, her tone gradually turning more melancholic as she began averting her eyes from Marcy.
“…Are you missing them?”. Anne only nodded despondently in response. Marcy stepped over & hugged her again. “Don't worry, you'll see them again tomorrow. Dr Jan said so, right?”.
“Yeah, you're right. Thanks Mar-Mar” Anne replied, cracking a smile as she hugged Marcy back.
They began playing with some of Anne’s toys for a while, before Janice eventually called them both down for dinner. Anne wasn’t afraid to admit that Janice wasn’t as good at cooking as her parents, but the meal was still good nonetheless.
By the time they finished eating, it was dark enough for them to properly admire the glow-in-the-dark toys that Marcy had brought. Not much longer after that, Janice eventually got them to start preparing for bedtime, while she began preparing the couch for herself to sleep on.
Anne had hoped to have more answers by now, about why today had been so odd, but it didn’t seem like she'd be getting them any time soon. All she could do now was try to drift off to sleep with Marcy by her side, as these mysteries continued to weigh on her.
Janice felt terrible the next morning. She knew she’d gotten a full night’s sleep, but it sure didn’t feel that way as she had to rub her eyes to wake herself up.
Part of her wondered, hoped even, that the events that had transpired yesterday had been nothing more than a bad dream. But alas, the sight of the Boonchuys’ Living room around her was enough to confirm otherwise, that this was real, that what had happened yesterday really did happen.
Janice sighed as she stared up at the ceiling, thinking about how all of this might affect Anne; no child her age should ever have to go through this sort of thing. But as much as she knew the truth would hurt her, Janice hated having to lie to her about it. The only reason she had kept her in the dark so far was because some things were still very uncertain, and she didn't want to risk potentially making things worse by giving her false hope. So until she got confirmation, she was going to have to continue-
Janice was startled from her train of thought when her phone began ringing. After grabbing it, she quickly sat up & swung her feet off the couch before answering it.
“H-hello? Yes, this is Dr Jan speaking” she greeted. “...Right, yes, um, h-how are they? ” she asked. Her expression gradually turned darker as she was told the unfortunate news that she'd been hoping not to hear.
“ …I see… thank you for letting me know… ” she spoke quietly before ending the call.
After setting her phone down, she breathed a heavy sigh before leaning forward, resting her elbows on her knees as she stared down at the ground, dwelling on this outcome.
She needed to have a talk with Anne about this soon.
Later, Janice, Anne, & Marcy were sat around the Dining table. Anne & Marcy were each quietly & peacefully enjoying a plate of Scrambled Eggs on Toast for breakfast, while Janice sat silently with a half-drank mug of Coffee cupped between her hands. Eventually, after several minutes of silent deliberation, she cleared her throat before speaking.
“Hey, um, Anne. There’s something I need to talk to you about…” she began, “It's probably best you hear this too, Marcy”. Both Girls paused their eating to look at her, Anne giving a ‘hm?’ of acknowledgement.
“Do you… remember how I said yesterday that something unexpected happened at Thai Go, and that’s why your Mom & Dad were running late to pick you up?” she asked.
“Uh-huh” Anne responded with a nod.
“Well, it is true that something unexpected happened, but… I wasn’t really telling you the whole truth about some things” she explained.
“…So, you told a lie?” Anne asked. She didn’t sound too surprised. Janice couldn’t help but mildly grimace as she looked down at her mug in guilt.
“…Yes, I did lie” she admitted after a moment of silence, keeping her head down solemnly. “I'm sorry Anne, I only did it because even I wasn't entirely sure about some things, and I didn't want to tell you yet until I knew the full extent of it all. I do know now, though, so… you deserve to know too”. She scooted her chair around the table so she could put a comforting hand on Anne’s shoulder, also sandwiching her between herself & Marcy.
“There’s no easy way to say this, Anne, but… your Mom & Dad, they… they got badly hurt yesterday” she began, deciding to get the important part out of the way first.
Anne & Marcy both gasped in surprised concern.
“W-what? How? What happened?” Anne exclaimed in shock.
“I wasn’t there to see it myself, but… someone was driving in a car near the Restaurant, and they were… being reckless”. Janice sighed before continuing. “Your Mom & Dad were just in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
“…W-will they be ok?” Anne asked quietly, a few tears already forming in her eyes.
“Th-that’s… the part I’ve been unsure about until now…” Janice responded, glancing away.
“I got a call from the Doctors at the Hospital this morning, and…”. She took a shaky breath to steady herself as she thought about how to explain it in a way a 5-year-old like Anne would understand.
“Anne, do you remember that time when you asked about the bones & skeletons I've helped dig up, and where they came from?”.
Marcy seemed to catch on pretty quickly, quietly gasping before looking at Anne with wide, sympathetic eyes. Anne herself, however, didn't quite understand yet, instead cocking her head as she raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Yeah, I remember; you said they came from things that used to be alive, but aren't anymore. Why?”.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Anne, but… that's what's happened to your Mom & Dad; they're…”. Janice gulped as she was starting to tear up herself.
“They're dead…”.
That made it click for Anne. Her eyes slowly widened into a look of disbelief & shock as she sat in stunned silence. After only a few seconds, Marcy, still stunned for words herself, quickly wrapped her arms around Anne from behind, tightly hugging her. That action finally prompted the Thai Girl to start heaving with sobs as tears flooded her eyes. Janice quickly followed suit, hugging both of them from the front.
“… I’m so sorry Anne ” she said, shedding a few tears of her own as Anne wept into her shoulder.
Later that day, Janice found herself sitting in the armchair in the Living room, with Anne on her knee & clinging to her (tears still in her eyes, but she had quieted down by now), and two visitors sitting across from her on the couch; a Lady from Child Protective Services, and the Boonchuys’ Lawyer, Mr Braly. Marcy had already been picked up & taken home by her Dad about half an hour earlier, so it had just been her & Anne until now.
As they chatted briefly about what had happened, and double-checked that Anne was safe & comfortable (outside of clearly being distraught & upset about the situation, which was to be expected anyway), Janice began thinking more about what might happen with Anne after this.
As far as she knew, the only other family Anne had lived in Thailand, and while her parents had already taken her to visit at least once before, Janice doubted she’d be happy with having to permanently move away to a different Country on top of losing her parents. Not to mention, she’d be separated from her Best Friend, Marcy. If she wanted to remain in LA, her only other option would be to go into a foster home, and Janice doubted Anne would handle that much better.
But then Janice began to wonder… maybe she could take Anne in? She wouldn’t have to move very far, and they already knew each other quite well, so it wouldn’t be like moving in with a stranger. It could also be a good way of repaying Oum & Bee for how much they’d helped her in the Past…
The more she thought about it, the more sure she felt about her decision; she would do everything in her power to support Anne going forward.
Just then, Mr Braly opened up his briefcase to sift through some documents while the Lady from CPS began speaking.
“Now, with all that out of the way, I believe it’s time to discuss Anne’s custody for the foreseeable future-”.
“ I’ll do it! ” Janice suddenly announced, drawing everyone’s eyes to her. Even Anne lifted her head to look at her. After a moment of silence, Mr Braly spoke up.
“…Well, that works out nicely, because it states here in their Will-” he started, bringing attention to a particular document he’d pulled out. “-That should they pass before Anne reaches the age of 18, they’d like for their trusted friend ‘Dr Janice Jan’ to hold custody until then ”.
“…Oh” Janice said awkwardly. Seems that they already had the same idea as her . In hindsight, she should’ve known that they’d thought that far ahead.
“Additionally, they also request that their House & Car go to you as well, to contribute to Anne’s care” Mr Braly went on.
“I see” Janice muttered. At least she wouldn’t have to raise Anne in her apartment. Not to mention, the Boonchuys’ Minivan was certainly more suitable for childcare than her own Car.
“Next, they ask for you to be the temporary Trustee of their Restaurant, Thai Go . When Anne turns 21, it’s up to her if she wants to take over, leave it with you, or even sell it. Until then, you can choose to either run the Restaurant yourself, or just keep it preserved”.
Right, she hadn’t even thought of what would happen with the Restaurant. It seemed like a solid plan though. Now that they mentioned it, she didn’t want Anne to miss out on learning to cook like her parents, so maybe in the future, Janice could use it as a training ground for Anne to practice cooking.
“And finally, they wish for all their remaining current assets, including their recipes, to be reserved for future inheritance by Anne at the same time as the Restaurant” he finished.
The Funeral was held a few days later. Plenty of folks from the local Thai community & even most of her family from Thailand had all come to attend.
Many of them offered Anne their condolences, but she understandably wasn’t in the mood to be sociable. She only really gave small nods & quiet grunts of acknowledgement as she clung to Janice’s leg almost the whole time. She did cheer up a little, however, at getting to meet her 3-year-old Cousin, Molly (Janice hadn’t even been aware she had other family members in the US).
Marcy had also come with her parents, immediately running straight to the grieving Girl to hug her, and thankfully keeping Anne company while Janice had to go up to the podium to give her Eulogy.
A few weeks had passed since then. Janice had decided today to take Anne out for a walk to the local Park. They'd found a small Ice Cream stand at some point, and Janice had gotten a vanilla one for Anne before later finding a bench for them to sit at. Janice was looking around at the scenery before them, but Anne only stared down at her half-eaten Ice Cream with a melancholic expression.
“It sure is a nice day out, eh?” Janice asked, glancing down at Anne.
“Yeah… it is” she responded non-committedly, not bothering to look back at her.
Janice furrowed her brow in concern; she was admittedly starting to get a little worried about Anne. Ever since Janice became her Guardian, she’d only gotten more distant & quiet. She rarely smiled anymore, either.
Of course, Janice could never expect Anne to just act like everything was fine & dandy; the loss of one’s parents was a very difficult thing to get over, especially at her age. But she’d hoped to be at least able to give her a reason to smile every now & then.
It was clear by now that Anne just wasn’t happy living with her. What was she doing wrong?
At this point, Janice was beginning to wonder if she’d made the right choice to take Anne in. If this was really the best option for her. If Anne would ever be happy staying with her.
“…Anne, listen, I… I know this is tough, and hard to get used to, but… I really am trying my hardest for you” she began, placing a hand over Anne’s shoulder. Anne didn’t respond, only curling in on herself slightly. Despite this, Janice pressed on.
“You don’t… have to stay with me, though. There are other options. If you want, I’m sure your family back in Thailand would be happy to have you. Or maybe even the Mcgees could take you in… How does that sound? Would you like that?”.
Anne remained silent at first and still wouldn’t look at her. Janice half-expected her to give some sort of agreement, even if just a nod. But instead…
“ No… ” she muttered in a quiet, wobbly voice. Janice blinked in surprise.
“…What?”.
“ I don’t- want to- to go. I want to stay- stay here with you ” Anne said, taking quick & shaky breaths between every other word. Janice hadn't even noticed she was crying until now. Even her shoulders were starting to quiver under Janice’s hand.
“ P-please don’t send me away! ” she pleaded, squeezing her eyes shut as the tears really started to flow. She even dropped her Ice Cream on the ground so she could use both hands to cover her face & wipe away her tears. Janice flinched back a moment as her eyes widened in surprise, before quickly trying to amend her mistake.
“Wha- No no no , Anne, I’m not trying to send you away!” she quickly assured her. “What made you think I was?”.
“ B-because I'm just getting in your way & making your life harder! ” Anne reasoned.
…
Ah, so she wasn’t unhappy about having to live with Janice; she was feeling guilty about being a burden on her!
Part of Janice wanted to laugh at the irony in how they'd both been worried that the other was unhappy because of them, but now wasn’t the time for that. Instead, she briefly stood from the bench in order to kneel down in front of Anne to meet her eye level.
“No, no, Anne, that’s not true” she began as she tried to cup her hands around the sides of Anne’s face, softly attempting to lift her head up, or pry her hands apart with her thumbs, but the younger Girl wouldn’t budge at first. “I’ll admit; this whole situation has been quite stressful… but you are not to blame for any of it, and I don’t want you gone”.
That was enough to convince Anne to at least look at her, lifting her head & peering over her hands.
“…You- you promise?” she asked.
“I promise” Janice answered with a nod before pulling Anne into a hug, letting her rest her head on her shoulder. “You’re not getting in my way, you’re not making my life harder, and you’re not a burden” she repeated softly.
“B-but, you had to quit your dream job because of me” Anne argued.
“And I got a new one that I'm equally happy with at the Museum” Janice countered. She then pulled away to look at Anne’s face again, keeping her hands on her shoulders.
“Anne, the only thing that's important to me right now is making sure you are comfortable & happy. I only suggested you could go live with your family in Thailand because I was worried that you weren’t happy living with me ”. Anne’s eyes widened in surprise before she quickly sat up & leaned forward as she exclaimed her response.
“But I do like living with you, Janice, I really do!”. Then she shrank back again & began averting her eyes as she quietly & shyly continued. “I… I still miss Mom & Dad… but, if they’re gone… then I really like the idea of you being my Mom instead…” she admitted.
Janice’s eyes widened in surprise. At the moment, she was only Anne’s legal Guardian, not her Mother. But there wasn’t much stopping Janice from fully adopting her. And truth be told, she had found herself thinking numerous times while babysitting Anne in the past, how she was like the Daughter she never had (despite having no plans to have kids of her own).
Part of her wondered, though, if it’d be disrespectful toward Oum & Bee, but she quickly reminded herself that knowing them, they’d likely be all for this, especially if it made Anne happy.
With her mind made up, she smiled warmly at Anne, before planting a soft kiss on her forehead, surprising her.
“And I wouldn’t mind calling you my Daughter”.
Anne quietly gasped as she looked at Janice in awe. Her agape mouth quickly curled up into a smile, before she threw her arms around Janice to hug her again.
“I love you… Mom” she told her. Janice’s own eyes began to well up with tears of joy as she hugged her back.
“I love you too, Anne” she replied, closing her eyes as she relished in the moment.
…
Said moment lasted for only another 7 seconds, before Anne suddenly gasped as she noticed something unexpected.
“A Kitty!” she exclaimed.
“Huh?” Janice reacted, quickly pulling out from the hug to look at her, seeing her eyes were fixated on the ground.
Following her eyes, Janice was surprised to see a small Black & White Kitten poking out of the bush next to the bench, licking up the remains of Anne’s discarded Ice Cream. It looked concerningly skinny & malnourished, and was too preoccupied with desperately licking up the melted Ice Cream to react to Anne, even as she dropped down from the bench & approached it to pick it up.
“Hey there, little Kitty; it’s ok, I won’t hurt you” Anne calmly told it as she began petting it, causing it to purr. “What’re you doing out here all alone?” she questioned before looking around. “... Where’s your Mommy? ” she added, noticing the absence of a Mother Cat in the area.
Meanwhile, Janice knelt down next to them to look inside the bush it had seemingly come out from, noticing an empty Cat nest.
“I… don’t think it has a Mom, Anne… not anymore ” she guessed. “It looks like it’s been left alone here for a while now…”.
“ Oh… ” Anne said, looking sadly at the Kitten. Janice had an idea of what Anne was thinking, and it made her heart ache. Of course she knows the feeling . Suddenly, Anne perked up as if she had an idea, smiling brightly as she looked back to Janice, who was caught off guard by what she had to say.
“Can we take care of it?”.
Janice stared at her blankly for a moment before glancing back at the Kitten. Throughout her whole life, Janice had never had a positive interaction with a Cat; at best, they'd just run away or glare at her. It was almost as if Felines just had a natural disdain for her. And likewise, she'd always preferred Dogs as a result. As such, she did not like the idea of bringing one home. Not to mention, nursing a stray pet like this one back to health sounded like a lot of work.
But… this was also the happiest she’d seen Anne in weeks…
“… Suuure, I don’t see why not ” she agreed hesitantly, attempting to hide her reluctance with a smile.
Anne’s eyes practically sparkled as she gasped in delight, before quickly stepping forward to hug Janice. It was a little awkward, since she was still holding the Kitten, but she made do with only one arm.
“Thank you Mom!” she exclaimed. Any remaining doubts Janice had instantly melted away at those words as she hugged her back.
Anne wouldn’t normally be up at 7am on a Sunday, but like the last 7 years, today was an exception. And since her Mom had started bringing her back to Thai Go last year so she could learn to cook like her biological parents, this only seemed appropriate.
She didn’t like admitting it, but… she didn’t remember much about them anymore (she at least kept their surname when Janice adopted her). However, she had retained a surprising amount of knowledge from when they used to let her sit & watch them work in the Thai Go Kitchen, so she was glad she could utilise what little memory she did have of them.
Once it looked ready, she scooped up the Cheese & Onion Omelette from the pan to transfer it over to a plate, mirroring the Mushroom & Bell Pepper one she’d already made for herself. As the Toaster then popped up, she grabbed the two slices & made sure to put some spread on each before cutting them in half; Peanut Butter for herself, Jam for Mom. And finally, to top it all off, she poured some Coffee & Orange juice into their cups respectively.
“There we go, all done” she said to herself proudly. After double-checking that the stove was turned off, she loaded her Mom’s plate & mug, plus some cutlery, onto a tray to carry to her room. As she was about to knock, she was briefly distracted when Domino began meowing & brushing up against her leg. “…Alright, fine, you can come in too” Anne quietly conceded, knowing Janice wasn’t too fond of Cats.
Meanwhile, Janice was awoken by the sound of her alarm, prompting her to fumble around across the bedside table to switch it off. As she then searched for her glasses to put on, she briefly wondered what she should make for breakfast. That thought was quickly thrown out the window, however, as there was a knock at her Bedroom door.
“Hm? Come in” she answered tiredly. The door opened to reveal a 12-year-old Anne Boonchuy. Domino, now an adult Cat, followed her in too.
“Morning Mom; I made you breakfast in bed” Anne said, bringing attention to the tray of food she was carrying as she walked over to the side of the bed. Ah, it seemed she wouldn’t be needing to make breakfast after all . “And don’t worry, I already made my own too” she added as Janice pulled herself up into a sitting position so the tray could be placed across her lap. Meanwhile, Domino jumped up onto the other side of the bed, thankfully keeping her distance as she settled into a loaf position.
“Ooh, this all looks really nice!” Janice complimented as she looked over the contents of the tray. “You really didn’t need to do this, Anne” she added, flashing Anne a grateful smile.
“Well, it is Mother’s Day; figured it’d be nice to spoil you a little” Anne pointed out, before leaning over the bed to plant a kiss on her cheek. “Love ya Mom” she added before turning to leave, making sure to grab Domino on the way out & shut the door behind her.
Janice silently stared at the closed door for a moment. Right, today was Mother’s Day. And like every Mother’s Day for the past 7 years, Janice was reminded of one thing; Anne’s Birthday was coming up, in 12 days this time.
She & Anne had been through a lot together over the years. She’d made sure to take her to the Thai Temple once a Month, just as her biological parents would have. Anne also made a new friend in Sasha Waybright. Janice herself even got promoted to Curator at the Museum.
Anne had also been making good progress since Janice started taking her back to Thai Go to practice cooking. She even invited a few old frequent customers to try some of Anne’s dishes; they all said that her cooking was just as good as her parents’. Of course, she was still too young for them to be able to reopen the Restaurant completely, but it was a good start.
Her grades in school were going good too. Not perfect , but good nonetheless. And sure, Anne & her friends were occasionally getting into trouble at school too, but what preteen didn’t? She just needed time to find herself, Janice was sure of it.
And now, she was already turning 13. Man, how time flies. So as she started to dig in, she began mulling over what she needed to do in preparation for that day.