Chapter 31 SUNDAY ROUTINE
It was Sunday morning. Vivienne lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to calm her racing heart. The folder with her signed contract was ready to be sent to Hunt Enterprises. She had checked everything three times to make sure it was all in order: the signature, the date, and the initials on each page where they were required.
It was sealed. Binding. Ready.
Eventually, the smell of coffee got her out of bed. She put on her robe and walked to the kitchen, where she found Noah already awake, sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal and his tablet.
"You're up early," she said as she walked by and messed up his hair.
"I couldn't sleep." He was watching something about the solar system on his screen and didn't look up. "Did you know that Jupiter has 79 moons? Earth only has one, which seems a little unfair."
Vivienne smiled even though she was very nervous. This was what she had promised Noah: normal Sundays with just the two of them, cartoons, and simple conversation about planets and the solar system.
"Very unfair," she said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "But I think one moon is enough for earth to handle."
They went about their usual Sunday morning routine. Noah wanted chocolate chips in his pancakes for breakfast, so that's what he got.
His small body was warm against her side as they watched cartoons on the couch. And later that morning, they went to the corner store to get milk and eggs, holding hands and engaging in their little mother-and-son gist.
Vivienne felt like every moment was precious and fragile, like she was trying to hold water in her hands and watch it slip through her fingers.
Her phone rang at noon. An unknown number.
She almost didn't answer, but something made her do it.
"Ms. Cross? Hi, this is Jane Sterling from Hunt Enterprises." The assistant's strong voice came through the line. "I'm calling to make sure your prep session is still on for this afternoon at 2."
Vivienne's stomach dropped. "Practice session?"
"For the fitting for motion capture? On Friday morning, we sent an email with the details."
There was a pause, and Vivienne could almost hear Jane's disappointment over the phone. "You didn't get it?"
She had. She had seen it in her inbox, marked it as unread, and not opened it on purpose because she wasn't ready to face more details about what was coming.
"I must have missed it," Vivienne lied. "I thought we had that booked for tomorrow, Monday. What exactly are we doing today?"
"Body scans for the motion capture suit, a first fitting of the costume, and meetings with the creative team. It should take around three hours." Jane's tone made it clear that missing such an important meeting was very unprofessional. "We have you scheduled for 2:00 PM today, but if that doesn't work, we could move you to later this evening—"
"Two is fine," Vivienne heard herself say. "I'll be there."
"Great. Please enter through the north entrance and ask Security to show you to Level B, Studio 3. And Ms. Cross, please don't be late. Mr. Hunt has changed his plans so that he can be present too."
Vivienne couldn't answer before the call ended.
She stood in her kitchen with the phone still to her ear, feeling the walls of her peaceful Sunday morning start to fall down.
Today. She had to go today. And in two hours. This wasn't what she signed up for. What would she tell Noah now?
"Who was that?" Noah asked from the couch.
"Work." Vivienne made her voice stay steady. "I have to go to a meeting this afternoon."
His face fell. "But it's Sunday. You told me that Sundays were our special days."
"I know, sweetie. I'm really sorry. This came up at the last minute, and it's important."
"Isn't our promise more important than that?"
Vivienne walked over to the couch and knelt in front of him, holding his small hands in hers. "Hey, Noah, listen to me. You are the most important thing. And nothing is more important than our special time together. But there are times when adults have to do their jobs. Now is one of those times."
His face was serious, and he was quiet for a long time. Then he asked, "Are you going to see Uncle Alex?"
She was surprised by the question. "Maybe. Why?"
Noah shrugged but didn't look her in the eye. "Just curious."
Vivienne wanted to push to find out what he was thinking, but there wasn't enough time. She had to get dressed, get ready mentally to go back into Hunt Enterprises, and—
"Are you going to be home for dinner?" Noah asked in a low voice.
"Yes. I promise. I'll be back in just a few hours." She kissed him on the forehead. "Mrs. Chen is going to sit with you while I'm gone, okay?"
"Okay."
But it wasn't okay. She could see it in the way his shoulders drooped and hear it in the way he spoke. They both knew she was breaking their promise and ruining their special Sunday.
This was only the beginning.