Chapter 548

It hadn’t been her imagination. Someone had definitely been standing outside the bathroom door, but whoever it was had left in a hurry. Danielle wasn’t sure what they were doing there, and while it left her a little puzzled, she didn’t dwell on it.

As she headed back, she spotted Ross waiting for her at the theater entrance. “Why are you out here?” she asked.

The movie clearly wasn’t over yet.

“My grandma called,” Ross said, “asked us to come home.”

Danielle’s expression shifted. “Is everything okay with Janice?”

“She didn’t say.”

“Then let’s go,” she said immediately.

Ross nodded. “We’ll come back for the ending some other time.”

Danielle smiled. “We’ve had the experience now. We should just install a theater in the apartment. Then we can watch whatever we want at home.”

“Sounds good,” Ross agreed.

Danielle leaned in close, whispering in his ear, “And maybe do some other things too.”

Ross’ eyes darkened a shade as he grinned. “Dr. Shelly, you really are a wicked little tease.”

Over at Jean Villa, the atmosphere in the living room was warm and full of joy.

When Janice heard Owen was stopping by, she didn’t think much of it until he walked in, followed by Shermaine, Joshua, and baby Gracie.

Janice and Ruth were overwhelmed. Tears welled in their eyes almost instantly.

One had just become a great-grandmother, the other a grandmother.

Ruth’s eyes were still red as Shermaine stepped up to give her a hug, “You look amazing today. Don’t ruin it by crying,” Shermaine teased gently.

“I’m way too old to care about looking good,” Ruth said with a soft laugh. “I’ve missed you so much that I couldn’t hold it in.”

Shermaine gave her shoulder a light pat. “You were heading out somewhere?”

“I had plans to meet Richard,” Ruth replied. “We were supposed to go out for dinner, but now? Definitely not leaving.”

Shermaine raised an eyebrow. “You and Richard still aren’t official?”

It had been two years.

Ruth looked slightly embarrassed. “You weren’t around. I couldn’t bring myself to think about any of that. And with all the business going on at the company, I didn’t want Ross to burn out, so I took a position there too.”

Shermaine chuckled. “Richard must really be the patient type.”

Ruth laughed along. “He’s waited this long. A little more won’t hurt.” Her eyes landed on Gracie. “She looks just like you did when you were little.”

“Her eyes are all Joshua,” Shermaine said.

“But that mouth is pure you.”

The two of them kept chatting, mother and daughter picking up right where they left off.

Meanwhile, Janice and Owen’s focus was exactly where you’d expect it to be—completely absorbed in Gracie. Janice had her in her arms and looked like she couldn’t stop smiling.

Gracie, for her part, didn’t fuss no matter who held her. She was calm, sweet, and irresistibly cute.

Owen was settled on the couch with his reading glasses on, a thick baby name book open on his lap. His brow was slightly furrowed in concentration. “We need to give Gracie a proper name,” he said.

Janice walked over with a cup of coffee and sat beside him. “Didn’t you already say Gracie was perfect?”

“That’s her nickname. For official documents—passport, school records—she needs a full name,” Owen replied, flipping pages. “What do you think of ‘Willow’? I like how it sounds. Soft, but a little wild.”

Janice shook her head. “Too trendy. Not timeless enough.”

“‘Evelyn’?”

“Too grandma.”

They went back and forth but never saw eye to eye. No matter what name one of them suggested, the other would shoot it down. Half an hour passed, and the two just sat there, staring each other down, getting nowhere.

“Are you disagreeing with me on purpose?” Janice sighed.

“You’re one to talk. Is there any name you actually like?”

On the other couch, Shermaine had already buried her face in her hand. She turned to Joshua, silently pleading for help.

He got the message loud and clear. Taking his time, clearly in no rush, Joshua watched the two elders squabble like they were about to start a full-blown argument. Without looking up, he said, “I’ve got an idea.”

Both Owen and Janice turned to him in sync. “What idea?”

He set the paper down and, with mock-seriousness, said, “Pick a page in the name book at random. Whatever letter your finger lands on, we choose from that section.”

Both Owen and Janice frowned, thinking, ‘That sounds lazy.’

But Shermaine nodded. “I actually like it. Better than listening to you two bicker all night.”

It might’ve sounded silly, but compared to endless bickering, this was at least an easy way out.

If Gracie really had luck on her side, maybe the right name would just come to her.

Owen and Janice exchanged a look and then gave reluctant nods. “Fine. Let’s try it.”

“Alright, let’s try,” Janice agreed.

Owen got up, grabbed an old name book from the shelf, flipped to a random page, and pointed. “Let’s see…”

Janice leaned in. “Gracelyn.”

They both fell silent for a moment and then nodded at the same time. “That’s actually cute,” Owen said.

“Gracelyn York,” Janice repeated. “That has a nice ring to it.”

“If she grows up and doesn’t like it, she can always go by Gracie again,” Owen added.

For once, they were in complete agreement.

Gracie’s full name was finally chosen. Next came the official steps, filing her birth record and applying for her certificate, but there was no rush. Joshua and Shermaine were back, but they weren’t ready to announce it publicly just yet.

First, Joshua needed to take back the reins from Owen and resume control of the projects Owen had been managing.

About forty minutes later, Ross and Danielle arrived at Jean Villa.

They moved quickly through the entryway.

The moment Danielle stepped inside, her eyes landed on Shermaine. She blinked hard and then gasped. “Sheary? Is that really you?”

Shermaine raised an eyebrow. “Who else would it be?”

“Oh my God, you’re finally back! I missed you so much.” Danielle ran over and threw her arms around her.

It really was the best kind of surprise.

After hugging Danielle, Shermaine turned to Ross and gave him a tight embrace too. “Thanks for holding it down.”

Ross tousled her hair. “Two years. I’ve been waiting for this.”

“No choice,” Shermaine said. “We got separated on the other side. And with Judy? She was practically a queen there, so we needed time to sort things out.”

“I still can’t believe Judy’s from another world,” Danielle said. “Why did she even come to Earth?”

“She was after a superweapon,” Shermaine explained. “And that thing has ties to Joshua’s mom’s side of the family. That’s why she targeted us.”

“So Josh’s mom is from there too?”

“Yeah. She came to Earth over a thousand years ago.”

“Wait, then their civilization must be way more advanced than ours, right?”

“Definitely.”

Danielle tilted her head. “How did they get here all the way back then?”

Right then, something stirred in Gracie’s little hoodie pocket. Dave had been curled up asleep inside, but now that he was rested and had caught the tail end of the conversation, he sprang out. “Obviously, I brought them over,” he declared.

Everyone froze.

No one had expected to see Dave, and now that he realized how many people were in the room, he got flustered. Clearly still a little groggy from sleep, he panicked and dove back into Gracie’s hoodie.

‘Too many people! Too scary!’ Dave whimpered.

Shermaine chuckled. “Relax, Dave. It’s just family.”

Dave peeked out, still wary.

Ruth’s eyes lit up. She had a background in biology and was always fascinated by rare creatures, especially insects and butterflies. “What kind of species is this?” she asked, intrigued.