Chapter 7: Grandpa's Selling the House

At lunch, Claire and Megan ate together in the HR break room.

Halfway through the meal, Claire noticed something off.

Megan kept chewing on the end of her fork, eyes drifting downward.

Claire followed her gaze down to her own shoes.

Two years of wear had worn the toes dull, the leather creased and cracked no matter how much she polished them. They looked old no matter what she did.

Claire's face went warm. She instinctively tucked her feet under the chair, out of sight, and laughed it off.

"I'll get a new pair once I'm paid next month."

Megan finished the last bite of beef from her lunchbox, wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I'm stuffed. Let's walk it off mall run?"

"Sure."

They headed out arm in arm.

Megan came from a comfortable, middle-class family. Her parents never asked her to contribute a cent toward household expenses they gave her spending money on top of her salary, and bought her a car outright her first year on the job.

Every dollar she earned, she spent entirely on herself.

Passing a designer shoe store, Megan breezed in like she owned the place.

"What about these?"

She'd already slipped into a pair of pointed-toe strappy heels, spinning in front of Claire to show them off. Barely five foot two, but in three-inch heels she nearly matched Claire's height in flats.

"They're great really lengthen your legs," Claire said, settled onto the waiting bench, meaning it.

Megan admired herself in the mirror from every angle, clearly thrilled.

While she was distracted, Claire glanced at her phone a few messages had come in and looked up to find a pair of soft leather flats being held out in front of her.

"Try these. They're on me." Megan crouched down without asking, already reaching for Claire's shoe.

"No wait, I've got it" Claire jumped, stopping her hands.

There was no arguing with Megan once she'd made up her mind. Claire gave in and let her swap the shoes on.

"See? Gorgeous. That leather's so soft, it'll be like walking on clouds." Megan's eyes lit up.

Claire liked them too flipped one over out of habit to check the price tag.

$118.

She started pulling her foot back out. "That's a little steep"

Before she could finish, Megan had already scooped up Claire's old shoes and, with a flick of her wrist, dropped them straight into the nearby trash bin.

Claire: "..."

"These are yours now." Megan clapped her hands together, looking entirely too pleased with herself. "They're on sale, half off, and I get an extra discount buying two pairs as a member."

Claire stared at the trash bin, then at Megan's smug face, and burst out laughing.

"Megan, you just went full ruthless-CEO on my old shoes."

"If I were a real ruthless CEO, I'd have told the sales girl to wrap up the entire store except what's on her feet."

They were both cracking up right there in the store.

Still, when it came time to pay, Claire stopped Megan before her card came out.

"I appreciate it, really but I've got this one." Claire's eyes brightened. "I just landed another sponsorship deal, for a grocery chain this time."

"Seriously?! That's incredible!" Megan looked happier about it than if she'd found the money herself.

They walked out of the store in their new shoes, steps light.

Passing a jewelry shop, Claire suddenly stopped.

Warm light spilled from the display window, catching on rows of gold pieces, making them glow.

Her eyes landed on one necklace in particular an old-fashioned filigree design, out of style by today's standards, but carrying a warmth that felt like home.

Megan followed her gaze, pressed her lips together, and sighed. "Ugh, gold prices are insane right now practically robbery. My mom was smart, bought me a whole dowry set years back when prices were low. Worth double now."

Claire forced back the sting behind her eyes and tightened her grip on Megan's arm. "Let's head back. Lunch break's almost over."

Back at the office.

Claire walked into the executive suite just as Nathaniel was heading out.

"Mr. Cross." She stepped aside.

He paused.

His eyes dropped to the brand-new leather flats on her feet.

"Nice shoes."

He tossed out the comment and walked off, leaving her standing there, blinking.

He noticed that?

By the time she left work, the sky had gone dark.

Claire found herself back outside the jewelry shop without quite meaning to.

The same warm glow, the same rows of gold catching the light. Not fashionable but achingly familiar.

Staring through the glass, her eyes slowly welled up.

On her eighteenth birthday, her grandfather had spent a chunk of his retirement savings money he'd set aside for years on a gold necklace for her. He'd fastened the clasp himself, his rough, calloused hands smoothing her hair after, telling her it would keep her safe, keep her at peace.

Later, when she left for college, the necklace stayed locked in a drawer back home.

When she went back for it was gone.

Her mother's eyes had flickered with something she couldn't name, insisting she'd never seen any such thing, that Claire must be misremembering.

But her sister-in-law had a new gold bracelet on her wrist that year.

"Miss, if you like it, I can pull it out for you to try," the shop assistant offered warmly.

Claire blinked out of the memory, about to nod, when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She checked the screen and her tired eyes lit up.

"Sorry one moment."

She answered, voice softening instantly. "Grandpa. Did you miss me?"

A hoarse, gentle voice came through. "Course I did."

"I've got time off next month. I'll come see you." Claire leaned against the shop window, tracing idle circles on the glass with one finger.

"Next month..." He hesitated. "Claire, sweetheart..."

"What's wrong?" She caught it immediately something in his voice.

"The house we're selling it. Closing's next week."

Claire straightened sharply. "Why would you sell it now? That's your house. You've lived there forever."

"I'm getting old, and your father your father says he wants to move me into town, somewhere I can be looked after properly."

"*Looked after?*" Claire let out a bitter laugh, not buying a word of it. "Where exactly is he planning to put you?"

"Well... well, it's..." Her grandfather's voice trailed off, losing conviction with every word.

"The house has just been sitting empty anyway, so we figured, might as well sell it... You've still got things here, sweetheart. I'll box them up and send them your way."

Claire took a slow breath, staring at the necklace through the glass until it blurred into a smear of gold, tears finally spilling over.

She gripped the phone tighter. "I'm coming home tomorrow."

"...All right."

The second she hung up, she pulled up a ticket app and booked the next available train.

Back at her apartment, she threw a few changes of clothes into a backpack and left that same night.

The train cut through the darkness, lights blurring past the window.

Claire sat with her forehead against the glass, unable to sleep the whole ride.

By six the next morning, just as dawn broke, she was climbing onto a rattling countryside bus, running on no sleep and pure adrenaline.

Two hours later, the bus finally rolled to a stop on the same cracked, familiar road she'd grown up on.

Through the morning mist, the old house came into view in the distance and Claire's eyes filled with tears all over again.