Текст книги "Unsung"

Автор книги: Shannon Richard

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

“Ahhh, so it was one of your companions. My money is on Dale and Hamilton.”

“You’d be correct.” She dropped the towel she was still twisting and sat on the edge of the bed, holding the phone to her ear with her hand.

“Well, in that case I get two conversations of asking you questions. And you don’t get any follow-ups until then.”

“Oh, is that so?” Her eyes focused on the mirror across from her and she was taken off guard by just how massive that grin on her face had gotten.

She’d never seen anything like that before.

“Yup, and I’ve made a list.”

“Really now?” She grabbed a pillow and placed it on the space behind her on the bed, lying back and settling in.

“Spent the entire flight working on it, too. Could take hours to work through.”

“Well, then you should get started.”

“Question number one.” Papers rustled again and he cleared his throat. “When is your birthday?”

“July thirty-first.”

“Question two: Where were you born?”

“So you’re starting from the very beginning?”

“The more interruptions you make, the longer this is going to take. I have a lot of questions, honey.”

Honey. Yeah, her grin was somehow still growing. She was going to have to get a grip, because not only was it hard to talk around it, but it was going to crack her face in two any second now.

“Atlanta, Georgia, and it was four seventeen in the afternoon,” she answered.

“You being sassy will not make this process go any faster, either.”

She had absolutely no problems whatsoever with a long conversation with Liam. How shocking.

*  *  *

Harper ended up staying on the phone with Liam until well after midnight. When they’d hung up—both more than a little reluctantly—she’d passed out with a massive smile on her face. A smile that had been there the entire time she’d gotten ready that morning…and hadn’t budged in the least bit on her drive to Café Lula.

The first order of business that morning was breakfast with Mel and Grace, where she was grilled for about an hour. Even though Mel had known a lot of what had happened over the weekend, she hadn’t been privy to all of the facts of Harper’s conversation with Liam. Mel had been kind enough to refrain from interrogating Harper in the car—something she couldn’t have done without revealing the pregnancy. But neither Mel nor Grace refrained from asking Harper every question under the sun over coffee.

Well, coffee for the girls and green tea for Harper. It was her first caffeine in weeks and she was going to happily enjoy every sip of it between answering—in great detail of course—all the questions thrown at her.

The beginning of the conversation consisted of Grace’s opened-mouth shock interspersed with more are you kidding me’s than Harper could count while the party portion of the weekend was recounted. And by the end of the conversation, both Mel and Grace were grinning just as much as Harper was.

“Well, this sure has taken a lovely turn,” Mel said happily.

“No kidding,” Grace agreed.

“So you guys are going to get to know each other?” Mel drummed her fingers across the table. “Just talk for a little while?”

“Yeah. Maybe this way we can actually get some talking in without, well—”

“Screwing each other’s brains out?” Grace finished.

“Exactly.” She nodded, taking another bite of her cranberry orange muffin that was settling surprisingly well with her tea.

Keeping food down for the win.

Harper’s phone was face-up on the table and it buzzed against the wood, alerting her of a text from Liam. She grabbed the phone immediately, sliding her thumb across the screen as she read the words.

Surprises on my morning run.

When she opened the text conversation—empty until now—a picture popped up of about forty peacocks blocking the path. A second later the three floating dots indicating he was typing were moving on the screen.

How are you feeling this morning?

Exhausted, but well worth it. She even tagged on a smiley face emoji for good measure. Looking forward to many more late-night conversations.

Who says we need to wait for the late night? I’m going to need my three facts about you before noon.

Yes, sir, she typed quickly before she looked up to find both of her friends staring at her.

“What? It’s Liam.”

“Really?” The mock surprise in Grace’s voice was beyond exaggerated. “We had no idea.”

“Which just goes to show how oblivious we are, as that smile you’re rocking is giving the sun a run for its money on brightness this morning. Good thing I have my sunglasses.” Mel tapped the pair sitting on the top of her head, and they fell down onto her nose.

“Was it this blinding when she was around him?” Grace asked Mel. “Because I might need to invest in sunscreen stock when I get to meet the man. And when is that going to be?” she asked, turning to Harper.

“In two weeks. He’s coming to my next doctor’s appointment.”

“Is he now?” Mel pushed her glasses back into her hair before she rubbed her hands together. “And staying for how long?”

“We haven’t discussed that.”

“And where will he be staying?” Grace this time.

“We haven’t discussed that, either.”

“Well, maybe you should discuss it. When are you guys talking on the phone again? And I don’t mean texting,” Mel said before she finished off her muffin.

“Tonight.”

Harper already had the countdown going down in her head. It was the only thing distracting her from the inevitable conversation she was going to have with her parents in just a few hours.

*  *  *

It was a little after seven when Harper pulled into her parents’ driveway that evening. She spent a solid five minutes sitting in the car, staring up at the house while she prepared herself for what was going to go down.

And while she was at it, she listened to the rest of Liam’s song that was currently playing through her car’s speakers. Because obviously she’d been listening to his music at any and all opportunities all day.

“You only get one chance at this life. So live it up, live it up right…”

Yup. That was the plan. Living it up right.

She couldn’t help but think of the last time she’d had to prepare herself for a very similar conversation not five months ago. She’d sat her parents down at the dining room table and just ripped the Band-Aid off.

Brad is gone. The wedding is off.

Paul had said good riddance. “Any man who doesn’t realize what he has with you, isn’t good enough for you.”

Delilah had cried…Harper predicted a repeat showing of that performance tonight.

As it was after seven she was hoping they’d already eaten dinner. She wanted this for two reasons. One, her parents would no doubt ask her to join them, and food just wasn’t going to be an option for Harper tonight—less so because of nausea and more due to the fact that her stomach was tied up in knots. Reason two, she had no doubt both of her parents weren’t going to be pleased with the news…and might in fact lose their own appetites.

No need to ruin everyone’s dinner.

The last chords of the song echoed around her. She reached up and shut off the ignition, taking one last deep breath before she got out of the car and headed for the house.

“It’s now or never,” she whispered as she walked in the front door.

Actually it was now or now.

She found both of her parents in the living room at the back of the house, the evening news chirping away in the background while Paul read the newspaper on the sofa and Delilah played solitaire on her iPad, reclining in her chair while she mumbled about corruption in the government.

“Knock, knock,” she said as she rasped her knuckles on the door frame.

It was then that Darby was alerted to another person in the house, rousing from her deep sleep as she bolted off her bed in the corner and ran to Harper.

“Hey, sweet pea.” Paul folded his newspaper and stood up, giving Harper a quick kiss on the temple.

“Were we expecting you?” Delilah asked, closing her iPad and setting it down on the coffee table in front of her. She pushed the pop-up footrest of her recliner down, sitting up and putting her feet on the floor.

“No.” Harper shook her head. “I was hoping you guys had a second, though. I need to talk to you about something.”

“Something serious?” her father asked, his brow furrowing in concern as he sat back down.

“Yes.” She nodded before taking a seat on the empty space next to her father on the sofa.

She’d barely settled down when Delilah blurted out, “Tell me you didn’t lose your job.”

“No.” Harper shook her head, trying to swallow the sudden lump in her throat and wishing she had a glass of water. “I’m still gainfully employed.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

The humorless laugh that escaped Harper’s mouth was unavoidable. “Yeah, I don’t know that you’ll be saying that in a second, Mom.”

“Harper?” Paul shifted forward, placing his forearms on his knees.

Better out than in.

Say it.

Say. It.

“I’m pregnant and—”

“Tell me it’s Brad’s,” Delilah said, cutting Harper off before she could get any further.

“Oh my God.” Another humorless laugh escaped Harper’s mouth as she closed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead.

Well, it hadn’t taken any time at all for Delilah to go there. Awesome, just what she needed to make this conversation better.

She opened her eyes again and shook her head at her mother. “As Brad left five months ago and I’m about eight weeks along, that isn’t something that’s a possibility.”

Harper’s eyes focused on her father who moved his arms from his knees and shifted back in his seat. He took a deep breath, his face now showing nothing as to what he was thinking or feeling.

Harper knew that look, when her father went from being expressive to revealing nothing. She’d seen it so many times. Usually it was when people came in with their hurt or sick pets, and before he even got a good look, he had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen. He was very rarely wrong, but until he thoroughly examined the animal, he hid that initial diagnosis from the owners. Which was what he was doing right now.

“When?” he asked.

“When I went to Nashville…during the weekend that was supposed to be the wedding.”

“Nashville?” Delilah repeated. “When you were supposed to be supervised by your aunt Celeste?”

Otherwise known as Delilah’s sister.

“Mom, I’m twenty-six. No one supervises me.”

“Well obviously.” She gestured to Harper aggressively. “Look what’s happened.”

“Delilah,” Paul said sternly, effectively shushing his wife. “Who is this guy and how did you meet him?”

“His name is Liam James and I met him at the Second Hand Guitar.”

“At a bar! You met him at a bar?” Delilah shouted. So really Paul had effectively silenced his wife for all of about ten seconds. That was something at least.

“Liam James…Liam James,” Paul repeated, ignoring his wife. “Why do I know that name?”

“He’s a musician.”

“A musician? Oh. My. God. Like he plays on the side of the street for dimes?”

“No, Mom. He doesn’t play on the side of the road for money. He’s actually very successful.”

“Successful?! I can’t believe this!” She stood abruptly, the force causing her chair to move back, the feet screeching across the hardwood floors. “Can. Not. Believe. This. Why do you keep doing this to me? First you call off the wedding. Then you get knocked up by some stranger.” And with that she stormed out of the room.

Neither Harper nor her father said anything as Delilah’s footsteps echoed up the stairs. And it was only after the bedroom door slammed shut that Paul finally did speak.

“Liam James is the guy who sings ‘Against the Odds’?”

“Yes.” The word came out on a whisper.

“And he knows that you’re pregnant and that he’s the father?”

“Yes.”

“And he’s going to be involved?” he asked, still revealing nothing.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Paul nodded slowly, clearly still trying to process.

“I’m sorry, Dad. This isn’t how things were supposed to happen.” She didn’t look away from her father’s gaze. She couldn’t. She was still waiting for it to reveal something.

Anything.

“How do you know?” he asked, tapping his forefinger against his chin.

“What?”

“How do you know it wasn’t supposed to happen exactly like this?” And there it was, the twitch to his lower lip. “Sometimes you have to believe that things happen for a reason. And that’s how I’m going to look at this, because I can’t think of my first grandchild from my only daughter any other way.”

Hope. All she felt was hope at her father’s words. “You’re not disappointed in me?”

The twitch in his lower lip turned to a smile. “Not even in the slightest. No one is perfect, sweet pea.” He reached for her face, touching her chin and pushing it up, his wordless way of telling her to hold her head high. “If we were, life would be pretty boring.”

A soft laugh escaped her mouth. “Yeah, you can say that again.”

“Your mom…she’ll come around.”

“You sure about that?” Harper raised one of her eyebrows, not so sure of her father’s statement.

“You know how well she deals with shocking news.”

“You mean she doesn’t.”

“Exactly. But she’ll get there, and you know how I know?”

“How?”

“Because she loves you. And she’s going to love your child, too. She’s just got to adjust. And she will.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” Paul said as he pulled his daughter in for a hug. Holding her close for a good minute before he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back so he could look at her face. “So tell me about him. Tell me about the father of my first grandchild.”

Her dad’s mouth flickered up at the corners when he said the last word, his eyes twinkling more than a little bit.

For the first time since Harper walked in the front door, she took a full breath without that painful constriction over her chest. Yet another reason she’d been beyond stupid to keep the truth to herself. Once it was out there, she’d felt so much better. Could breathe again and not feel like she was suffocating in the slightest.

The truth will out. And for her, when it was out it was so much better.

Chapter Eleven The Elephant in the Room

When Liam first started opening for Isaac Hunter, he was lucky if the seats in the auditoriums were half-filled. The people around the stage were usually only those who were staking out their spots for the main show, while the other forty percent of the space remained empty. But within the last year, the seats had started to fill up before he hit the mike, and the people around the stage were the majority of the crowd that were going to show up for the night.

People were no longer forced to listen to him. Now they were there because they wanted to hear his set.

That being said, the size of the crowd had never had any effect on his performance. He put on a good show no matter the circumstances. He had to. It was his job. But never had that part of his job been as difficult as it had been during those weeks right after Harper had left him in Nashville.

He’d opened for fifteen concerts during that time, and for every single one of those performances it had taken everything in him not to phone it in. This was not the case anymore.

It had been eleven days since he’d seen Harper in Jacksonville, twelve since he’d found her, and in that time he’d opened for eight concerts. For Liam, each performance had been better than the last. If anything, the show he was currently rocking out on the stage might just be the best so far. And when he got to “Forever”—the song he’d written about Harper—he killed it.

Maybe it was because when he sang the song it was no longer physically painful. He’d been able to get the words past his throat without feeling like the biggest tool on the face of the planet. Maybe it was because he was talking to her on a daily basis. Maybe it was because he was going to see her in less than twenty-four hours.

Maybe it was everything that had to do with her.

So okay, things weren’t perfect yet. Far from it. She actually still didn’t know about the song he’d written about her. Well, he was pretty sure she didn’t know more about it than when he sang it to her in May. And as it wasn’t going to be released on the radio for another couple of weeks, he figured he still had a little time.

He just didn’t want to freak her out again. They were in a good spot, or as good as it was going to get when all they had going was electronic communication. So he was taking advantage of the time, because it was going to take time to figure out what was going to happen with them. No matter what, she would be a part of his life forever. She was the mother of his child.

He was going to be a father…a freaking father. That was a reality he knew and though it was more than a little scary, it was an exciting scary. The kind he wanted to run toward and not away from.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately.” Isaac grinned at Liam as he walked backstage, the crowd chanting his name at ear-splitting levels. That was something new. “But you better keep it up. That, my friend, was incredible.”

“Thanks.” Liam tipped back a cold bottle of water, so thirsty it was kind of ridiculous that he hadn’t noticed it until now.

“Go take a breather. We’ll see you onstage for “Practice Makes Perfect,” and you better bring your A-game for the guitar solo,” Isaac called after him.

“Always do.” Liam grinned as he headed for one of the rooms at the end of the hallway.

The second the door closed behind him, he reached for the back of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. It had been hot out on the stage and he needed a clean one that wasn’t sticking to his skin.

But before he could grab another shirt he was reaching for his phone. As was the norm of late, when he hit the Home button the screen lit up showing texts from Harper. He found himself grinning like an idiot—something else that was becoming the norm—as he entered the code and pulled up their text conversation.

My three facts of the day:

1. When I was in the seventh grade I played the part of Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame for our school play.

2. I know the lyrics to every N’SYNC song by heart (I know. Don’t judge me.)

3. I’ve seen Jurassic Park more times than I can count. And when I see it on TV I have to watch it.

Her last text was followed by a picture of a TV, the Tyrannosaurus rex from the movie running across the flat screen. She was zoomed out far enough that he could see her legs propped up on an ottoman. There was a yellow blanket spread across her lap and Luna was nestled between the folds, her little black head just peeking out and looking up at the camera.

Liam studied the rest of the picture, taking in what was around the TV. It was sitting on a black entertainment console with candles, picture frames, and books filling the shelves. There was a floral painting hanging on the light green wall above it.

Tomorrow he was going to see the room in person. He was going to see her. That fact added to the current euphoria pumping through his body.

The baby wasn’t the only exciting thing he wanted to run to—sprint to more accurately. He wanted Harper even more than he had in May. Even more than when he’d spotted her across that bar and been drawn to her like a freaking moth to the flame.

Even though she’d left him without a word, even though she’d waited through all those weeks and still not called him, even though he’d been a mess, it hadn’t changed the fact that he wanted her.

Seeing her again in Jacksonville? Having her in his arms again? Yeah, that had confirmed it all. He was without a doubt in love with her. Really and truly head-over-ass in love for the first time in his life. That was what had gotten into him.

Oh, look at that, the ridiculous grin on his face was only getting bigger.

“Well, that’s a smile if I’ve ever seen one.”

And just that fast, his smile was gone. Every single time Liam heard that voice, his entire body tensed. Actually it was more like a cringe. He took a second to brace himself before he looked up to find Kiki Jean Carlow.

He understood why the woman was in Los Angeles; she owned a home here and spent the summer months in the city. What he didn’t understand was why she was in his room.

She was leaning against the door frame that led to the bathroom, one of her arms stretched above her blond head. The move pulled up the bottom of the low-cut shirt she was wearing. She somehow managed to expose all of her tanned-toned stomach—complete with twinkling diamond belly button ring—as well as her chest.

The move did absolutely nothing for him. She did absolutely nothing for him.

“What are you doing in here, Kiki?”

“I thought we could take advantage of your downtime. Don’t you have an hour before you need to be onstage again?”

“Yeah, that won’t be happening. You need to go.” He turned away from her, walking to the small closet in the corner and grabbing a clean shirt. But before he could pull it over his head, hands were running across his bare chest, skimming down his abs to the top of his jeans.

He moved fast, snatching her hands away from his body and turning around. “What are you doing?” He let go of her and stepped away.

“You should really stop denying the attraction between us, Liam, and just give into it already.” She looked up at him, pouting her lips and batting her eyes. “Besides the fact that we’d have a lot of fun, it would be fantastic publicity. And as we’re going to be working together, you should really start playing nice.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m going to be in your new video. Or didn’t you know?”

Liam’s mind reeled. The next video he was making was for “Forever.” Over his dead body would Kiki be in the video for the song that was about Harper.

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t believe me? Just call and ask your manager. He was the one who talked to my agent.”

“I don’t care what he has to say. You aren’t going to be in it. And you need to get out of my room.” He moved farther away from her and headed for the door. He opened it and pointed to the hallway where more than a few backstage people passed by. “Now.”

“Okay, Liam.” She smiled as she walked to the door. “But it’s just a matter of time before we get together.” She reached up, running her fingers across his still bare chest as she passed by him.

It took everything in him not to slam the door behind her. The second it was shut and locked he had his phone out, pulling up his manager’s number to get this sorted out.

Because there was no way in hell.

*  *  *

Harper had seen her mother a number of times since telling her the baby news. The first handful of encounters hadn’t been exactly pleasant. They always involved someone dissolving into tears—Delilah—or someone shouting—Delilah again.

But after everything that had happened in Jacksonville, Harper had resolved that she was very much done crying about this.

She had her father’s full support, she had her friends by her side—all of whom now knew the full scope of what was going on, and she had Liam. Sure she and the father of her child were still in the process of figuring things out, and for now, that was enough.

And though her mother wasn’t in any way, shape, or form as accepting of the situation as her father, she was still more than happy to make as many demands of the situation as possible.

The one that Harper was currently giving in to? Liam was flying into Tallahassee in two hours. And their first stop after he landed? Her parents’ house for dinner.

Yeah, Harper was picking her battles, and Delilah’s insistence that she meet the father of her future grandchild didn’t seem like a smart one to fight.

And besides, at the end of the day, she really wanted to fix things. There was no point fighting about it anymore. What was done was done. There was no changing this pregnancy. Only moving forward.

Their relationship had never been the easiest, and differences or not—because there were a lot of differences—this was her mother.

And as it had been made very clear to Harper, there was no starting over, only catching up. So Delilah was just going to need to catch up, and Harper would wait until she did. Again, this was her mother after all.

Before Harper went to pick Liam up at the airport, she stopped by her parents’ house to drop off Luna and the fresh-baked apple pie she’d picked up from Café Lula.

“Paul?” Delilah called out. “You’re home early.”

Harper walked down the hallway, leaving Luna and Darby in the entryway while they did their customary sniff-over. “Dad’s still at the office,” she said as she walked into the kitchen.

Delilah looked up from the kitchen island where she was peeling potatoes, her mouth going from relaxed to pursed and her nostrils flaring. Her eyes immediately dropped back down to the task at hand where she was now peeling so vigorously it was any wonder there would be any potatoes left at all.

“Hello,” she said as the tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt filled the kitchen.

“Luna is running around with Darby and I brought the pie.” Harper held the box in the air.

Tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt.

“You can just set it there.” Delilah nodded to the counter before she dropped the potato into a pot next to her and grabbed another one before she started up again.

Tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt.

Harper set it down in the spot indicated before she took a deep breath and walked over to the space right in front of her mother, leaning against the counter that separated them. “Can we get this out of the way before I go pick Liam up?”

“What out of the way?”

Tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt.

“The bright pink elephant in the room. Though it might be a blue elephant, I’m not sure of the color yet.”

The potato and the peeler both fell onto the cutting board and Delilah looked up in fury, wiping her hands on her apron. “Is this funny to you, Harper? Some sort of joke? You’re having a child with a man who you barely know, a man your father and I have never met.”

“Yes, but the part where you and Dad have never met him will be rectified in…” Harper made a dramatic show of looking at her watch. “Oh, about three hours.”

“Is this still you trying to be funny? Because I’m not seeing the humor here.”

Harper wondered if her mother saw the humor anywhere. “I know, Mom. But I don’t know what else you want me to do. You’re going to meet him tonight. We are coming straight here. Not even stopping at my apartment beforehand.”

“So he’s staying with you?” Her lips pursed even tighter, something that Harper didn’t even think was possible.

“Yes. He will be staying with me while he’s in town.”

“I’m not happy about that.”

“I know, Mom, but my time with him is already limited and I’m not going to waste any of it driving back and forth from wherever he would be staying.”

“Is he going to be sleeping on the couch?”

“Probably not.” God, was she really having this conversation with her mother? Besides the fact that it was more than somewhat painful/awkward, she really had no idea what was going to happen with Liam in the sexy times department.

Though if she were entirely honest with herself, she was hoping they wouldn’t be doing all that much sleeping in her bed. Her wanting him definitely had not changed…and good Lord the last few weeks on the phone felt like the longest foreplay of her life.

“See. You have no regard for your actions.” Delilah shook her head as she picked up the potato and peeler again.

Tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt-tppt.

“It isn’t like the full consequences of my actions haven’t already been realized.” Harper waved her hand down in front of her belly as her mother looked up, dropping the now peeled potato into the pot.

“Oh, so you’ve already sinned so you might as well sin some more?” She grabbed another potato.

“I didn’t say that.” Harper rolled her eyes and was thankful that her mother’s gaze was directed down again. “Do you think Brad and I weren’t having sex, too?”

For the second time another clatter of potato and peeler hit the cutting board. “Are you deliberately trying to upset me?” Delilah asked. “I know that anything and everything with Brad is good and truly out the window at this point. There is no need to rub it in my face.”

“You think that’s what I’m trying to do? Because it’s not. You’ve put Brad on this pedestal that you refuse to take him down from even though he left me. He. Left. Me. You do know this, right? He called off the wedding. Not me. He didn’t love me, Mom. So why can’t you let it go? Let him go?” Harper’s voice had progressively gotten louder as she’d gone on. By the end of it, she was surprised by the max volume she’d reached.

And so was Delilah, whose eyes had gone wide with anger and righteous indignation. But a second later that look was gone as her mother’s entire face fell. Delilah averted her eyes for a second while she took a deep breath, trying to collect herself.

And the next words that came out of Delilah’s mouth were the very last that Harper ever expected to hear.

“Because when he left I lost part of you,” she whispered.

“What?”

Delilah’s eyes came up and she focused on her daughter. “Brad was the first relationship you shared with us. The first man you introduced to your father and me. The first time you let us in to that aspect of your life. And I saw quite clearly how happy you were with him, and how much it devastated you when everything fell apart.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“Mom?”

“I just wanted it to go back to how it was. Where you shared that part of yourself with us. Because when he was around, that perpetual wall between us was lower. I could look over it. It wasn’t that I couldn’t let go of Brad, it was that I couldn’t let go of you. When he left you shut me out completely. That wall was higher and thicker than ever. So him coming back was the only solution I could think of.”

Harper was pretty sure she was going to need someone to come along and pick her jaw up from off the floor. “I had no idea,” she said when she managed to find her voice. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“I didn’t know how to.” Delilah started to blink rapidly and turned away again.

Well, this had been…unexpected. Harper had never known her mother felt that way.

She reached across the counter and grabbed her mother’s hand, whose gaze came up again immediately. Delilah’s eyes were brimming with tears. Harper was long used to tears of anger coming from her mother, but not tears of this caliber.

It was slightly unnerving, and causing her own eyes to mist up.