Julianne: What do you think?

Tiffany was speechless. Well, almost.

Tiffany: Mrs Hunter. It's... it's gorgeous.

For a moment, she forgot her troubles and worries with the woman in front of her. Not just because of the scene, but also because of how shocked she was to see that in the house.

It wasn't just the flower light. It was the tables, the plates, the food, even the cups. They'd all combined to create some kind of beauty that she had no words for.

Julianne: Think so?

Tiffany: Yeah. It's so.....

And then, in a sense, she came back to her senses.

Tiffany: ... beautiful.

Julianne: Oh, why thank you Tiffany. It took a lot of work to get it this way.

Tiffany: I can see that.

Julianne: But it still needs some tweaking. Could you turn the lights back on?

Tiffany: Yeah..

She turned the light switch back on and Julianne turned the flowers back off.

At this point, for whatever reason, Julianne started...

Julianne: Y'know... while I was acting, I learned this thing called table design.

Tiffany: Hmm?

Julianne: I know, right? I wanted to get to acting.... and my boss wanted me to learn how to set a table properly. (sighs) It was so annoying.

She became starngely amiable. Yet another thing Tiffany did not expect.

Julianne: But later, I got pretty good at it. In fact, I got a lot better than he'd expected me to be.

Tiffany: I see.

That was obvious, seeing what the table looked like.

Julianne: You know what that taught me?

Tiffany: Hmm?

Julianne: It taught me, that the smallest changes... can make the biggest differences. Even though it doesn't make sense at the moment, it starts to before you even know it.

Tiffany: Oh....

A strangely good lesson from something as odd as table arrangement.

Julianne: Every little thing matters. Down from the position of the plates to the exact lighting of the flowers. After all, the most beautiful things in this world, tend to come from the most strenuous forms of hard work. Wouldn't you agree?

Tiffany: Yeah... I... I guess so...

Julianne started giggling, leaving Tiffany in even more shock.

The last thing Tiffany had expected was for Julianne to be like this. The kind of person to share wisdom, even more especially at a time like this.

And then suddenly, as she'd stopped giggling and sighed, her countenace changed to something slightly more serious.

Julianne: You know, Tiffany... thats how I learned to become a better actress. Every little change matters... even the one's that seem inconsequential.

Tiffany: Yeah... I agree.

So that was how she became a great actress. She never would have imagined. Of all the things she could think of, she'd never considered that Maxs mother would say that.

Julianne: (sighs) Oh... sorry. Am I boring you?

Tiffany: Oh! No! Not at all.

Julianne: Phew. Good. The last thing I'd like to be is boring to one of my son's friends.

Tiffany: (awkwardly) Yeah....

And then, Julianne's voice turned to something more soulful.

Julianne: Y'know.... I made a lot of mistakes when I was sorting all those tables.

Tiffany: Hmm?

Julianne: Oh, you would not believe. (nostalgic sigh) I cost my boss so much money in those days. Even now I can't believe it.

She started to giggle again.

Julianne: But I learned.... in fact, even as a scientist I learned.... that you shouldn't let failures keep you from going on further and further. After all, .....

Julianne Hunter's eyes fell on Tiffany, causing her to flinch.

Was what she was saying directed towards her?

Julianne: .... no one ever succeeds without having a few failures here and there.

Tiffany: I.... see...

She was right. Julianne was saying that to her. Was it because of what had happened that Monday night?

Was she... trying to help her?

Julianne: Oh... but enough about me. I suppose I've taken enough of your time already. You should get back to training.

Tiffany: (unsuredly) Ok.....

She turned to leave and just as she'd taken a few steps away, Julianne, who was silently debating something finally decided to speak up.

Julianne: Oh, Tiffany?

Tiffany turned back.

Tiffany: Yes, Mrs Hunter?

Julianne: I know we don't know each other very well.... but.....

In Julianne's hands lay a ladel, concealed under the table cloth.

Julianne: .... please take care of my son.

Her words were unlike anything else Julianne Hunter had said before. Not in words, but in substance. For the first time since shed met this woman, she seemed to be genuinely begging her. There was a massive weight in her words. One so heavy she couldnt help but sympathise with her.

It was her son she was talking about, after all.

Tiffany: I will.

That was all she could say.

Julianne Hunter then took a deep sigh.

Julianne: Thank you, Tiffany.

Tiffany: No problem.

And with that, Tiffany walked downstairs, her opinion on this woman completely changed.

As for Julianne Hunter....

One thing that could be said about her was that she was not an especially physically strong woman.

However, this not so physically strong woman, had bent this metal ladel several times over while speaking to Tiffany about taking care of her son.

Was it because she didnt want to say that?

No.

Rather, because she was holding herself back from saying more...

What she really wanted to say was, that she wanted her to have her number in the case that they ended up in any serious trouble.

But she knew, deep down, how wrong that was. She knew what needed to be done.

She looked once more at a photo of her husband and winced.

To think, he would never approve of her doing something sneaky like that.

And to her chagrin, she knew quite well, that he was right.