Rachel approached with water and noticed their hands clenched under the table, knuckles white.
A sudden crash from the kitchen.
Thunder outside.
The reaction was instant.
Ava flinched backward.
Nora clamped her hands over her ears, rocking.
Elise froze—mouth open, no sound coming out.
Ethan leaned in, trying to calm them, his voice strained. “It’s okay… it’s okay…”
Rachel didn’t think.
She reached into her apron and pulled out a small blue teddy bear, a red ribbon tied around its neck. A forgotten toy from weeks ago.
She crouched to their level and gently waved the ribbon.
She didn’t say a word.
The rocking slowed.
The trembling eased.
Three pairs of eyes locked onto the bear as if it mattered more than anything else in the room.
The diner fell quiet.
Then—barely louder than a breath—Nora whispered a word that sounded like it hadn’t been used in years.
“Teddy.”
The menu slipped from Ethan’s hands.
His eyes filled instantly.
Nora hugged the bear tight, crossing her arms over it—an instinctive, self-soothing motion Rachel recognized at once. It was the same gesture her own mother used when she was scared.
From the counter, a sharply dressed woman watched closely.
Victoria Caldwell.
Ethan’s sister-in-law.