“Where did you go? I went to dad’s office and you weren’t in yours anymore when I came to visit,” she demands, her hands falling adorably to her hips as she tilts her head back to look up at Caroline.

She bops Abbie on the nose lightly with her finger. “I got a new job, Abbacado.”

Hannah holds out her hands, staring between the two of them. “I’m sorry. What is –”

“Caroline’s my friend from dad’s office! I told you, remember?” Abbie stares at her mom, like duh. And Caroline has to hold in a laugh from the interaction.

Hannah shakes her head slowly. “Hon, you told me your friend gave you candy and played the Nintendo Switch with you when you had to go to dad’s work. And loaned you those books…” She trails off, switching her questioning gaze to Caroline.

Who isn’t sure if she should apologize or not. She raises her hand. “Uh, guilty. Junie B. Jones. I have them all for when my nieces and nephews come over.”

“I’m reading Percy Jackson now,” Abbie informs her with pride.

“I always thought her friend from Michael’s office was another child who was also stuck at the office for a few hours.” Hannah stares at her, her eyes undecipherable. She blinks a few times, before looking at Abbie. “Honey, go back to the table and I’ll meet you over there soon.”

“Do you want to sit with us?” Abbie asks her immediately and Caroline can’t help but smile.

The thing is – Abbie is precocious and chatty and sweet, and would fit perfectly in with Caroline’s nieces and nephews. For her entire final year at Wilkens & Granger, she’d worked almost every Saturday, working toward the soon-to-be-open partnership. And almost every Saturday, Abbie would walk in, trailing Michael, who looked as though he couldn’t be more aggrieved about his daughter’s presence.

“My mommy has to take my grandma to the hospital on Saturdays. She told my daddy that the least he can do is spend some time with me for once.” She looked up at Caroline with smart, sad eyes. “I wasn’t s’posed to hear that but I was listening in.”

Now, after talking to Hannah in the last month, she now knows that those Saturdays were the days Hannah would sit with her mom through chemo and various other appointments and errands.

Michael had spent most every day with his office door shut, leaving Abbie in the outer seating area with a couple of toys with her. Abbie, being a normal freaking kid, eventually wandered into Caroline’s office after spotting the candy bowl she had on her desk.

She hesitates to agree to sitting with them – not because she doesn’t want to, because she does. Surprisingly so. But she glances at Hannah, who still is giving her a look, forehead crinkled in thought.