"Hey, Minne. You've been on your phone the whole way here."
"Sorry," she replied quietly, adjusting the container in her arms. "My mother and I were talking. I sent her some cute photos of Mik."
"How's she doing?"
"Good. Better." Minne's expression brightened slightly as she talked about him. "She can nearly run now. Nearly. She's so close."
I smiled and reached over to gently ruffle her hair. "That's good. Really good."
Minne looked up at me with a small smile before fixing her hair with one hand. "She was very happy when she saw the pictures."
"I'm sure she was."
We started walking toward Mendy's house together. It was just shy of ten, and we hadn't told Mendy we were coming because Tessa wanted it to be a surprise. I just hoped she wasn't already asleep.
We reached the front door, and I raised my hand to knock. Before I could touch it, the door opened. Penelope stood on the other side. She glanced back toward the living room, then immediately raised a finger to her lips.
