Chapter 979 Are Hannah and Shirley Sisters?
Hannah cradled Shirley in her arms, watching as the little girl flipped through cartoons, clearly not interested in any of them. "Hey, what cartoons do you like? I can put them on for you," she asked.
Without missing a beat, Shirley said, "I love 'Tom and Jerry,' 'The Simpsons,' and 'Frozen.'"
Hannah's eyes went wide. "No way! Those are my favorites too!"
Shirley looked at her, surprised. "You like those too? Aren't they kinda childish?"
Hannah pulled out her phone, found the saved files, and projected them onto the TV.
The room filled with the familiar theme song, and both of them started bobbing their heads to the music.
"Childish? No way," Hannah said, humming along. "I've loved these since I was a kid and never got tired of them."
They both found it pretty cool that despite the age gap, they liked the same cartoons.
"How come you watch these old cartoons? Don't kids your age usually go for the new stuff?" Hannah asked.
Shirley snuggled closer, eyes glued to the TV. "Mommy said these were Violet's favorites. After Violet went missing, she saved them on a USB drive to remember her. I found it one day, watched an episode, and got hooked."
Hannah held her tighter, feeling a pang of sadness. "Your parents must've had a tough time."
Shirley nodded. "Yeah, I've seen them crying over Violet's photos a few times when I got up at night."
Finding Violet had made Lassie and Carter so happy, and Shirley cherished their sisterly bond.
Hannah felt a wave of sadness wash over her, as if she had lived through it herself.
Shirley was too engrossed in the cartoon to notice, but Hannah's mind wandered.
Charles, meanwhile, was busy in the kitchen. He wasn't slow, and soon enough, dinner was ready. He set the table and then leaned over the back of the couch to give Hannah a big kiss on the cheek. "Dinner's ready."
Shirley looked up at the sound, but Charles had already moved away.
Hannah snapped back to reality, gave him a look, and led Shirley to the table.
Charles had made simple dishes, but they looked and smelled amazing.
He sat at the head of the table, with Hannah and Shirley on either side.
They picked up their utensils and almost reached for the same dish at the same time.
Both of them looked at each other in disbelief. "You like this too?"
After a moment of surprise, Hannah laughed. "Yeah! A lot of people don't like this dish, but I love it."
"Me too. I really like it," Shirley chimed in.
Hannah let Shirley have the dish. "Go ahead! But it's a bit spicy. Can you handle it?"
Shirley puffed out her chest. "I can! I can handle spicy food really well!"
"Alright then!" Hannah said, looking at her with a gentle smile, almost like she was her own daughter.
With her mouth full, Shirley turned to Charles. "Charles, did you know? Hannah and I like the same cartoons!"
She listed off the cartoons they both enjoyed.
Charles looked at Hannah, surprised. "You like those cartoons?"
He remembered Violet loving those same cartoons when she was little. They used to watch them together almost every day.
Hannah laughed. "What's so strange about that? Most kids like those cartoons."
Even though her explanation made sense, Charles couldn't shake his doubts. He noticed something intriguing: Hannah and Violet not only liked the same cartoons but also the same dishes. Could it all just be a coincidence?
After dinner, Hannah and Shirley put down their utensils at the same time, leaned back in their chairs, burped, wiped their mouths, and patted their bellies in perfect sync.
They both said, "I'm full. My belly is stuffed."
Realizing their synchronization, they smiled at each other.
Charles was stunned. Even twins wouldn't be this in sync, right? Their preferences, tastes, and behaviors were exactly the same. For a moment, he felt like they were real sisters.
After dinner, Charles and Hannah played with Shirley for a while, building blocks, before it was time for bed.
Hannah and Shirley shared a room, while Charles slept in his own room.
Shirley insisted on a bedtime story. After turning off the lights, she lay in Hannah's arms, listening to the story and gradually getting sleepy.
Shirley's internal clock was spot on, and she fell asleep on her own when it was time.
Hannah, exhausted from the day, relaxed completely and fell asleep to the sound of Shirley's even breathing.
Sometime later, the door quietly creaked open. Charles slipped in silently, and by the moonlight streaming through the window, he carefully plucked a hair each from Hannah and Shirley's heads, sealed them in a bag, and left quietly.
He didn't know why, but seeing Hannah and Shirley together gave him a strange feeling. Even though all of Hannah's information indicated she wasn't Violet and Violet's paternity test confirmed she was Carter's biological daughter, he couldn't shake the feeling that there might be another possibility.
He couldn't afford any mistakes.
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