Go and see Clara

Saturday swung around and its time to see Clara. After Gonzalez she’s the one person you don’t want to be a gang leader. Clara is the team's mother. She had a child at a young age, that child up and left to college and it felt like you and Gonzalez shifted into the space in her life that the child left behind. She baked you a cake for your birthday. She knitted you a scarf for Christmas. She is also always telling you off for not eating right but never in a nasty way.

That said she was present on all raids that turned up nothing. Also she was “Picking her daughter Adelaine up from college for the Summer” when the last raid happened.

You wait until the afternoon, and send her a text.

“Hi I’m in your area, are you around for a coffee?” You ping off.

“Sure :-) that would be great, Adelaine and I are just relaxing around the house watching The Great British Bake off” (cup emoji, cake emoji, contented smile emoji)

She was always big on emojis, you’re slightly worried about how she’s going to feel about your real life eggplant emoji.

Her apartment is on the fourth floor. The corridors around it are cramped and the lift smells like too many people had been caught short in there and peed in the corner. You knock on her door and a fresh face opens it.

‘Adelaine?” You guess. She’s a young Clara, wavy mouse brown hair. Nice hips in loose joggers, a big comfy hoody and a massive smile. Clearly she's still down for the winter holidays. You kick yourself for not realising that. “John” she half shouts in joy even though she’s never met you. She opens the door and grabs you in a big hug.

Clara’s head pops out from the kitchen. “We’re taking the baking into our own hands”, she say waving a wooden spoon.

The house is small but cozy. Lots of shelves carrying souvenirs, photos of Adelaine growing up and photos of vacations. There’s barely any wall space free but you get the impression each photo, has been carefully chosen. Adelaine beckons you into a lounge with an open kitchen attached, a big comfy sofa faces the tv. Behind it the kitchen backs straight on to it.

“Almost done” Smiles Clara carrying a big bowl of cake batter.

Adelaine jumps on to the big comfy couch and you flop down next to her.