Laurel was done trying to be nice (though many would quietly argue if she had ever tried to be nice). She had been here for more than a year; celebrated a birthday in the city, sent unanswered letters, and had some awkward and rather tense interactions with both her half siblings and the man married to her biological mother. The term mother often floated around in her head and in conversations but it was kind to use that term to someone who had done nothing more than give birth to her and send a necklace. That was it. No other contact and seemingly no desire to reach out to the daughter she didn’t know but of course Laurel didn’t know who she was till her father’s death so there was nothing Laurel could do till then. Even with that information, Laurel sat with it and tried to figure out what she wanted. She had been fine for more than twenty three years without her so why try to form a connection or bond with someone who didn’t want her? But on the other hand, the winning hand, there were so many unanswered questions that Laurel needed answers for and there was no on else with the answers besides her mother. So Laurel moved out to New York and tried to figure out the best way to reach out to her mother; letters were the best method because they didn’t seem as jarring as suddenly appearing at places they could run into one another or just coming to their home unannounced. No replies or contact ever grew out of those letters but it seemed like Clayton and Derek knew enough about them to throw them back at her when they wanted.
Laurel was fed up. She wanted her answers and she was done waiting for some written invitation. She had a right to know about her life and the circumstances of how it came to be so she was doing things her way and taking no prisoners anymore. The family she nannied for happened to live near one of the various charities Joanna was a part of so she’d give it an hour after work to see if Joanna happened to arrive or depart the building.
Laurel stood with her arms crossed as she waited, promising herself that she wouldn’t stay for more than two hours as the minutes passed on. But a familiar figure started to come into focus as the building’s door opened. Familiar only in the way that she had seen pictures online, on the television, and somewhat in her own mirror. There were some alarming similarities which bother angered Laurel and answered a question of who she looked more like between her parents.