Chapter 80: Lunch with Rachel

Within the public bathroom of the chosen sushi venue, a flickering ceiling light patters Daniel's weary eyes as he stares into his mirrored self before the sink. His parting words to Viviane replay in his head while pink creeps up his cheeks, despite efforts to hold it down.

I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm fine. Whatever awful thing you think you did, though, it's a past that shouldn't reflect the current you. No matter what, I still love you, Mommy.

Cringing, he turns on the faucet and splashes cold water over his face, but the rising heat on his face remains unabated. With no recourse to his words, he stares back at his duplicate image, dragging his face down and groaning.

'Fuck me! Why did I call her like that?' he screams internally, before cradling his face into his hands.

He already knows the reason.

Although he may not be aware of what happened at Mary's studio, Viviane shocked him with her muted horror. Regardless of the reason, he couldn't allow her to beat herself up, so he did his best to uplift his mother.

If it weren't for his and Anne's lunch outing with Rachel, he would've driven there in a heartbeat, too.

Breathing out, Daniel lifts his chin towards the ceiling with a dead smile on his face.

'Why does everything like to fall apart?'

Mixed laughter spilling from the dining room breaks his concern — a reminder that the two women he joined are waiting. Luckily, he was able to place his order before excusing himself.

For now, he'll have to trust that Viviane and Mary's situation will be revealed soon when they're together again. Although waiting won't ease his stomach, he pushes past, exiting the restroom door with a forced smile.

The bustle of peak lunch hour immediately floods his ears as he steps back into the main seating area. From there, Anne and Rachel chatted merrily at a corner booth, with complimentary sushi rolls served. No doubt, they've been talking about science.

He clears his throat as he approaches.

"Sorry about that. It was a client," Daniel lies, retaking his seat next to Anne.

"Oh, no worries. I figured," Rachel waves before leaning forward with a raised brow. "A high-profile client, huh?"

"Sorry, but all my clients are high profile," the artist clarifies, straightening.

Closing her eyes, the astronomer stifles herself with a hand. "My, how honorable! Certainly, you carry your mother's work ethic in your own way."

Anne smugly lifts her chin, to which Daniel coughs, not wanting any more profound meaning to arise from his slime mother's reaction.

"Of course, you also know how she overdoes herself," Rachel adds, sighing. "Seriously, Amy was a workaholic through and through."

Following, Anne flinches before silently thinning her lips and glancing away.

Daniel's eyes twitch because of his slime mother, but he manages to keep it in.

"Hoo...anyway, I'm sure you two were talking about some developments in the sky. What's the latest, other than the missing Al-Bali star everyone is talking about?" he asks.

Rachel shakes her head. "Sadly, every researcher is on a race to come up with theories for Al-Bali, but before that, I was looking into a particular asteroid that holds a different metal composition beyond our belt. Unfortunately, there's not much to really talk about since that analysis was paused."

But at the same time, she's also sick of talking about that damned star. Her eyes shine a little when she returns her attention to Anne.

"Let's forget about my work, for a moment. I have to ask: Did your boyfriend mention that his aunt, who died at birth, would've been named Anne?"

Nearly dropping her roll within chopsticks, the slime mother quickly jerks forward. "O-of course! It's unfortunate what happened, but Anne isn't an uncommon name."

The astronomer hums before taking a sip of some water. "That's true. I just found it an interesting coincidence."

Feeling too much weight, Daniel forces a light chuckle. "Rachel, let's not make this awkward for my girlfriend with comparisons to the dead, please."

Blinking, Rachel lowers her gaze. "Oh...my apologies. I'm still wrapped up in the past, as usual."

"No, it's fine!" Anne insists, jabbing her son beneath the table to ease up. She keeps up her smile as if nothing were wrong, humming softly. "It's a compliment, truly."

While the artist rubs his side with crooked lips, Rachel's eyes relax as she recalls her friend's telling long ago. "I'm glad you think so. Obviously, for Amy, she couldn't feel too sad about it since it happened at birth, but it was different for her mother. The shock was enough to avoid trying another child."

She returns focus to Daniel, snorting, "Well, aside from moving on from your father, I do think that your grandmother's experience was more excuse for Amy to be satisfied with just you."

Recovering, Daniel flattens his lips before shrugging. "I'm glad I got to know my grandmother before her passing, but...you might be right. Mom always warned me to not bring up my would-be aunt."

She is right.

Anne shifts uncomfortably, unable to deny the influence of Amy's mother. That said, if Mary and Daniel marry in the future, then...

The corner of her lips secretly rise. 'I hope they don't settle with just one like Amy did.'

A clap breaks her wishful thought as Rachel groans. "Dear me, I'm doing it again, bringing up family. Well, going back to space, as much as I don't want to, I just remembered..."

Sipping some more water, she locks to Anne and continues. "When we were talking about reduced galaxies last time, you mentioned NMT-501. Looking into it, though, Amy and I never published with such designation; it was just a temporary one between me and her. How did you find out about it?"

Daniel and Anne flinch. With the blunder shared between them, the artist quickly responds first.

"I told her. I knew because I overheard Mom mentioning the designation at home when she was on a call with you."

Rachel's brows rise. "Ah, I see. I'm surprised you'd remember something so fleeting, though."

Daniel simply shrugs, hoping she doesn't put too much thought into it. At the same time, Anne tries to relax and is thankful that her son can cover for her.

However, Rachel reclines back into her seat, twisting her lips. It's not that she doesn't believe Amy could've been overheard when Daniel was young, but to remember such a specific detail seems...odd.

In addition, Anne's awareness of space developments and theories are far beyond what she'd call a passionate interest. It feels more like she's actually gone to college to study these concepts.

Holding these doubts about the lovely couple in front of her, she smiles weakly but can't find too many ways to press as the staff brings over their full orders.

...

..

.

The rest of lunch went smoothly as Rachel parks in front of Daniel's apartment to drop her passengers off.

Grumbling, she grips her wheel. "You paid the bill before me..."

Daniel laughs in the passenger seat next to her. "Hey, it's no problem. You drove us."

"Enough with that!" Rachel snaps, lightly nudging him on the shoulder. "You should let your elders treat you from time to time!"

Leaning back to her sharpened gaze, Daniel thins his lips and glances away.

"S-sorry, I don't see the problem?"

Rachel narrows.

To such a gaze of death, Daniel coughs, closing his eyes innocently while also reaching for the door handle. "But really, thanks for coming by, Rachel."

"Yes, thank you!" Anne adds, then huffs. "There's nobody like you who I can talk about space stuff!"

Scoffing, Rachel shakes her head. "Keep your thanks. I'm still bitter that I wasn't able to make this completely my treat."

Daniel and Anne glance at each other before opening their respective doors awkwardly. The artist speaks first, bowing.

"Well, anyway, please have a safe dr-ah!"

Before he can finish, the astronomer's hand snaps to grab Daniel's arm before he can fully exit. Bearing flaming eyes, she causes both couple to remain seated.

"This Saturday."

"S-saturday?" Daniel repeats, shuffling.

Rachel smiles rather rigidly. "Why, yes. You two should come over to my house for dinner, without payment I might add, and enjoy some of my cooking. There are no issues with that, right?"

Her manner of speaking leaves no room for argument or rejection. As such, the couple gulp at the same time before nodding their heads.

Seeing their "agreement", Rachel relaxes like a switch flipped, then closes her eyes, clapping her hands together. "Wonderful! Then, I will send you details later. It was really fun catching up with you two!"

"L-likewise."

Anne recovers a bit, her smile more genuine. "Bye, Rachel!"

The astronomer blinks, then smiles warmly. "Dear, I might be stepping boundaries here, but...I don't mind if you want to give this old lady a hug. I feel we're friends, aren't we by now?"

The slime mother's breath hitches as she widens her eyes.

Friends.

Just like old times.

Anne chokes, quivering. "R-rachel...uuuh..."

Somehow, she manages to control herself. It's not like she can jump the astronomer completely from the back seat. Still, she leans forward, wrapping a needy arm around her friend.

Chuckling, Rachel closes her eyes, collapsing a hand over the brilliant girl's hold. After a few seconds, Anne reluctantly parts, taking her son's side from the outside and closing the door.

Daniel also shuts his door, but just when he thinks he's escaped from her elder gaze, she rolls down her window.

"Saturday."

Daniel quickly raises his hands. "Y-yes, I heard it the first time! Please let us know the timings soon."

Satisfied, Rachel snorts. Her lips rise as she rolls up the window. "Don't stress yourself out, alright!"

"No worries!"

When the window shuts, Rachel drives away. In her rearview mirror, the two shrink behind and when they're gone, she sighs. "I swear, Amy, your son is walking a fine line with me."

That said, she still can't believe they could be involved with matters of the Stonehenge book. It's not out of the question, necessarily, but this is simply her reservation.

Groaning, she tries not to think about it. There's already enough to worry with Lecia as is.

'Anne felt quite cool to the touch, though. I hope I'm not running the AC back there.'

Checking her temperature controls, she sees no such setting; plus, the internal measured temperature is set at 74 degrees.

"Huh."