Let's get a family portrait that looks pretty normal.

He remembers Claire’s mother was a beautiful woman, and yet she wore a permanent scowl on her face that made her look older than what she probably was. Now he meets Mr. Gardiner’s current wife, and can see the man definitely had a type (blond, slender, with milky skin and big eyes, she could easily pass as Claire’s older sister). It’s disturbing, actually, and he kind of understands how a person could become bitter and filled with hatred after such a betrayal. Evan would be more willing to sympathize with Claire’s mother if her treatment of her daughter had not been so awful.

He keeps this judgment to himself, since this visit is already a challenge for Claire as it is.

“Well, then I’ll let you both rest until dinner is ready.”

“Thank you, Helen.”

At the stairs, the little boy is staring at them with curious eyes, but he keeps his distance, and when Evan waves at him, he runs away. A timid kid, then. The baby, Jossie, is too young to remember Claire later, but her brother, Tom, is