Chapter 7 - The First Promise
Grace did not run into Vincent's arms. She stayed beside Nora, studying the stranger who resembled the man in the old photographs. Vincent didn't reach for her. He asked about her rabbit and listened while she explained that its name was Captain Blue.
Nora looked tired enough to fall asleep standing. She told Mara that Elena had been separated from them six weeks earlier after leaving to collect evidence against Richard. A message had arrived afterward, supposedly from Elena, ordering Nora to stop searching. Nora had recognized the wording as wrong.
"Elena always called Grace her sunshine," Nora said. "The message called her the child."
Mara began investigating Elena's disappearance as a separate case. Vincent asked whether Grace could stay with him. Nora gently explained that the child needed continuity, and the court would have to determine safe temporary arrangements. Vincent accepted that, though the disappointment in his face was painful to see.
Grace approached me while the adults talked. "Are you having a baby?"
"Yes," I said.
"Will she be little?"
"Very little at first."
Grace considered my stomach with grave interest. "Captain Blue was little once. Then he got washed and became smaller."
I laughed for the first time in days. She smiled. Vincent looked over, surprised by the sound.
Before they left, Grace handed him a folded drawing. It showed a house, a tree, a woman, and a small blue rabbit. One figure stood outside the house, beneath a gray cloud.
"That's you," she told him. "Mommy said you were lost too."
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Vincent took the drawing with both hands. "I won't stop trying to find her," he promised.
Grace nodded solemnly. "You have to keep promises."
