I and My Step-Mother's Daughter
"Mom, I missed you so much!"
God knew how she had endured this past month. Leaning into her mother's warm embrace, Claire bit her trembling lips, preventing the tears welling up in her eyes from falling.
"Silly girl, you've grown up, and you're still acting like a baby to your mom." Margaret chuckled even more gently, soothingly patting Claire's back like consoling a child. "It's almost dinner time; let's go downstairs."
"Yeah," Claire took a deep breath, blinked a few times, and composed herself. She allowed herself to appear normal.