There were always going to be things that people wished had happened and wished hadn't happened. But every happening, or not happening, had its ripples and consequences. Positive and negative. Life was never just “Because Thing A happened, Thing B happened.” That wasn't the case for Jonah's life, anyway.
Reena had likely gleaned from Jonah's essence that his mind had wandered, and she'd engaged in a joking debate about holiday food with Terrence, who had probably simply looked at Jonah, and figured out where he'd gone mentally, so he played along with Reena. Jonah loved them more than they probably knew.
“I'm good,” he told them, and the fact that their conversation immediately ended let him know that he was right. “Let's get Ms. Mott her stuff, and head on home.”
They returned to the e
