"That took quite a while. How are you? Is walking still exhausting?" Leann asked while putting down her bag and peeling off her coat.

Linus remarked that his sister looked exhausted. He felt shame bubbling up in him again.

"A lot better, Annie, really. How was work?" Linus said in a cheery voice.

Leann threw him a sceptical glance but didn't dig deeper.

"Fine. We currently have a new project we are pulling off. It is very promising." She said, and an enthusiastic spark entered her eyes. Linus admired his sisters' passion for organising and planning. Event management really fit her as perfectly as a glove.

"That sounds amazing. Congratulations! Ice cream?" he said.

Leanne chuckled.

"Like the old times: no better way to celebrate than with ice cream. But honestly, it's November, and I was freezing outside. First, a hot chocolate and then maybe ice cream," Leann said.

Linus nodded and turned to the kitchen. Hot chocolate was a guilty pleasure for both of them. And considering the conversation he wanted to have with her this evening, hot chocolate was the best way to at least try to make it as comfortable as possible.

But his sister knew him too well, and his facial expressions seemed to have done all the talking he had tried to avoid.

"What is going on. Please don't beat around the bush. You know that straightforward is the best approach."

Linus took a deep breath.

"You know me so well. Just let me finish the hot chocolates for both of us, and then we can talk."

A few minutes later, both were seated on his comfortable couch. One of the items he was the proudest of in his apartment. Also, it was one of the first things he had bought from his own paycheck.

"I lost the picture of mom. Or better: I think it was stolen."

"What?" Annie looked at him like she had seen a ghost.

"I think it happened yesterday at the club," Linus added.

Annie put her hot chocolate down on the table. Then she gave him a big hug.

At first, he was frozen, but then he eased into the comfort of a familiar embrace. He was so grateful he and his sister were close.

After a few more seconds, she let go.

"Tell me everything. Best start at the beginning."

So Linus took another deep breath. Then, he told her what had happened the past 24 hours as good as he remembered. He told her about his suspicions.

Leanne listened closely. In contrast to him, his sister knew how to keep a pokerface. Linus really didn't know what she thought. But her fingers betrayed her as they were beating a quick rhythm on the couch, showing she was deep in thought and that what he had told her left her restless.

"First of all: Thank you for telling me. Secondly: Lee, I had told you to take it slow today. Your adventure is not what I or the doctor had in mind when we said that."

Linus just shook his head - he felt scolded like a child from his mother. Leann really had in some way also taken over the mother role in their sibling relationship ever since their mothets death.

"I know. But it was my decision, and as you can see, I am alright," Linus emphasised.

Leann kept quiet but nodded a few seconds later.

"Lee, I think we need to talk about mom. I know you do not like it, so I'm asking you: do you have the capacity for it today?"

Linus took a moment to think about it. He felt exhausted, stressed, and unsettled. But he was also very curious, and he knew it would keep him awake all night wondering what she would want to talk about in detail. But he would worry either way.

"I think I'd like to sleep first. I need time to let everything that has happened settle. Are you free tomorrow after work? We could talk then about mom?"

"Sounds good," Annie replied and took another gulp from her now slightly colder hot chocolate.