Before Nancy could answer, Claire answered her own question. "Because you're applying to college this fall. You want to escape Black Pine Town and start over in a big city. Are you afraid of hurting Geralt, or afraid that getting too invested will make you waver about the future you once planned?"
"Sweetheart, I saw a play at school recently. The heroine, Madame Butterfly, said, 'All love fades. You can't hold on to it or stop it from going. All you can do is cherish the present.'"
Claire and Simmons left. Their next job was to spread the news, preferably until everyone had heard it.
Only Geralt and Nancy remained in the room.
Geralt thought Nancy was acting strange.
Strangely cute?
Claire went to the town police station to see her dad and told him her friend had found evidence that could prove Thompson's innocence.
Just as Claire expected, her old-fashioned dad didn't believe her. He didn't even ask a question before telling her to go home and stop meddling.
A rebellious daughter and an old-fashioned father naturally wound up in a shouting match.
Bang!
Claire stormed out of the chief's office and slammed the door.
Bang!
She marched angrily out of the station.
The corners of Claire's mouth immediately lifted. Everything was going smoothly.
On her way out, she saw the dispatcher, clerks, detectives, and officers either making calls or about to make them.
Life in a small town was boring. There was only so much gossip to go around, and whoever got there first got the best of it.
The town was tiny, with hardly any entertainment. The news would spread throughout Storybrooke in an hour or two.
Claire returned to the Three Little Pigs Inn.
Geralt opened the door.
"Done?"
"Of course!" Claire patted the