"Huh? You didn't see Asher? He just went to your community health center looking for you. Did he get lost? I have to call him!" Shirley exclaimed, her urgency clear as she prepared to hang up.
"Wait, he seems to be right in front of me, but I'm not sure it's really him," Thea's voice trembled with disbelief. "Shirley, is this the Asher who left us ten years ago?"
"It's him—the ungrateful brat who ran away for ten years finally decided to come back!" Shirley confirmed, and as the words sank in, the phone slipped from Thea's hand, landing on the table with a loud thud.
Yet, Thea remained dazed, as if her soul had left her body. Her lips moved slightly as she murmured, "Asher?"
Asher, unable to keep up the act any longer, quickly picked up the phone from the table, ready to hand it to The
