The party finally started dying around midnight.
Mitchell and Cam left first after Cam spent twenty minutes arguing that the guest bathroom had "excellent emotional support lighting."
Jay followed soon after, already tired enough to stop pretending he wasn't enjoying himself.
Phil attempted to help clean up until Claire physically removed a trash bag from his hands "for public safety."
Eventually the house settled into quieter leftovers of conversation and half-empty glasses.
Luke had fallen asleep on the couch.
Alex sat curled into the armchair scrolling through her phone while pretending not to listen to everyone.
Haley stayed attached to Gael's side almost the entire evening, drifting between affectionate and territorial without seeming fully aware of either.
Interesting pattern lately.
Claire stood in the kitchen loading dishes into the dishwasher while muttering under her breath about people leaving glasses "literally everywhere."
Gael stepped beside her with another stack of plates.
"You're cleaning at sobody else's house."
"You allowed Phil near garbage bags." Claire took the plates from him. "This beca ergency intervention."
Fair.
The kitchen felt calr now.
Open windows let cool night air drift softly inside while muffled conversation carried faintly from the living room.
Then Gloria walked back in.
Jay was outside saying goodbye to Phil near the driveway, leaving her temporarily separated from everyone else.
She stepped toward the kitchen island and looked around the house again.
"It looks even better at night."
Claire snorted softly.
"That's because darkness hides Luke's fingerprints."
"I leave artistic traces," Luke mumbled half-asleep from the couch.
"No," Alex answered without looking up. "You leave biohazards."
Gloria laughed quietly before her attention shifted back toward Gael again.
Lingering a fraction longer this ti.
Not enough for anyone to consciously question.
Enough to exist.
"You really built sothing here," she said.
The sentence sounded more personal than:
nice house.
More like she ant the atmosphere itself.
Gael leaned lightly against the counter.
"That sounds serious."
"It is the truth."
Claire glanced between them briefly while drying another glass.
Just noticing conversational rhythm, the way Claire always noticed things.
Then Haley wandered into the kitchen wearing one of Gael's hoodies again and imdiately slid beside him.
Her hand rested lightly against his chest while she looked toward Gloria.
"You're still here?"
Gloria smiled innocently.
"I was admiring the kitchen."
"She's flirting with the wine storage," Claire muttered.
"There is no wine storage," Gael pointed out.
"There will be," Gloria answered smoothly.
Sothing about the way she said it made the room pause half a second longer than it should have.
Tiny shift.
Still there.
Then Phil burst back through the front door carrying asuring tape.
"I HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT OUTDOOR SPEAKERS."
And the mont disappeared naturally into family chaos again.
But later—
while everyone gathered near the front door saying final goodbyes—
Gloria lingered one extra second beside Gael before following Jay.
Close enough for her perfu to settle briefly in the air between them.
"You wear the house well," she murmured softly.
Then she smiled and walked away before he could answer.
Just confident enough to leave the sentence behind with him afterward.
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