"Ah, there you are!" Florence sat up on the couch when Audrey and Becky came in through the front door, her smile sinking a little when she noticed the more mellow look still etched onto her daughter's face. "Nice day, darling...?"

"Oh yeah, it um... it was alright..." Audrey cleared her throat to excuse herself, still in the process of pulling off her jacket while she made her way upstairs to her room.

"Well, I take it she's sugarcoating that..." Florence lowered her head a little, looking over to the porcupine and gesturing towards the pot on the coffee table. "Tea, Becky?"

"Oh yeah, sure..." Becky quickly made her way over and sat on the couch opposite, picking up one of the empty cups from the table and letting Florence fill it for her. "Thank you, Ms. Fletcher."

"So... how is she, really...?"

"Pretty quiet... it's kinda been the same these last few trips out..." Becky answered rather bluntly. "I'd say it's like usual, but... to be honest, these last couple weeks I'd kinda gotten to used to it not being usual, y'know...?"

"Ah... right." Florence put her cup down. "To be fair, she's been through an awful lot. We all have."

"We stayed clear of the Wharf, obviously, so I just took her around the park instead. Was hoping Tim'd come with us too, but his parents said he was busy, so..." Becky sighed, taking a moment to quietly stir her tea. "I reckon he's still pretty upset about his mixer... hmm... he really loved that thing, didn't he...?"

"Oh dear, you don't know the half of it." Florence stifled a soft, nostalgic laugh. "Was probably about eleven, maybe twelve, when he first started building it. Oh, he took Audrey on all kinds of little treasure hunts when they were growing up. Dumpster diving, second-hand hunting, the whole deal. It was a bit of a messy little contraption, I'll admit, but... but seeing it all shattered on the floor like that, it... it just wasn't right."

"Yeah..." Becky straightened up a little. "But believe me, Ms. Fletcher, if... if I'd known what Mike was like with either or them, I'd have done something about it. I know it's too late to say that now after everything he's done, but..."

"No no, Becky, it... it was more my fault than any of yours..." Florence lounged back again, continuing to speak while Becky's attention turned towards something on the back wall. "I suppose Michael, he just... I just thought he was a bit of a diva. Rather like I myself was back in the day, but... but I should have seen sooner what he was hiding behind all that charm. Audrey and Tim, they... they never should have been anywhere near -"

"I'm really sorry to interrupt, Ms. Fletcher, but um... th-that picture there..." Becky pointed to the framed black and white poster that was hung on the wall behind Florence, prompting the gorilla to glance over at it. "Breakfast at Tiffany's, right...?"

"Ah... good eye, my dear." Florence turned back. "We weren't very rich, my family, so we just had one of those clunky old VCR's with those old tapes. That one was always my favourite, used to watch the film all the time when I was a girl. It's what got me into theatre, actually."

"Well yeah, but... but that's you and Nana, right? Back when you were performing at the Prairie..."

"Yes, that's right... oh, I'll never forget the final night..." Florence let out a soft exhale. "Nana was absolutely wonderful, as always, but... but it was quite a shock finding out it was her final night too..."


"Retirement...?! Ms. Noodleman, you can't be serious?"

"Hmm..." The old sheep chuckled as she reached the bottom of her steps and made her way to her study, letting her young protege follow close behind. "My dear Florence, I believe we've known each other more than long enough for you to call me Nana."

"Oh absolutely, Ms. Noo... ahem... Nana..." Florence cleared her throat. "Still, you can't surely throw all this away now, you're at the top of your game!"

"Which is all the more reason to quit while I'm ahead." Nana said bluntly. "Or would you rather I wait until I'm past my prime and withered to a sad, desperate old lady, clinging to what little relevance I have left?"

Florence pursed her lips, slightly taken off-guard. "Well no, I... I suppose not."

Nana pulled a smirk as she raised an eyebrow. "And did I not overhear you and your magician friend positively gushing how this was my finest show yet...?"

"Of course, and Caleb and I absolutely meant that, but we didn't -"

"Then what better send-off could one ask for?" Nana almost laughed, sitting herself down on the couch while Hobbs brought her tea. "Better to go out with a bang than a whimper, Florence."

"Hmm... and might I reiterate, Nana, what a quote-unquote bang it was! We'll be chatting about it for years to come, we will!" Florence laughed awkwardly, before taking on a more mellow tone again. "But you do understand, you'll be leaving quite the hole when you go."

"Holes can be filled, Florence." Nana lounged back. "After all, I'll be leaving it in good hands with you and the rest of those talented youngsters, wouldn't you say?"

"Oh yes, we... we'll make you proud, Nana, I promise..." Florence nodded. "As long as you believe it's the right decision, I'll gladly support you."

"I've taught you many things, my dear, but you can consider this my most important lesson..." Nana said. "When it's your time to go, be sure to leave them wanting more."

"Hmm... well, I can only hope I go off on a high-note as good as yours, Nana."


"Of all the times I'd spoken to her, that... that's the one that stuck with me most..." Florence pulled a small smile at the thought of her old memory, looking across the coffee table to where Becky was sat. "You know, it's funny to think I'm just about the same age now that she was back then. And she was already calling herself an old lady... hmm... good old Nana."

"Yeah, I... I know she meant a lot to you, Ms. Fletcher." Becky said, quietly finishing the rest of her tea. "It's a real shame all that went down with the show. Would have really made her happy, I think."

"Well in hindsight, dear, she wasn't going to live to see it anyway..." Florence scoffed with a rather bitter sniffle. "Perhaps if I'd reached out to Mr. Moon sooner, and not tried to split his little troupe apart, maybe... maybe we'd have given her a show to remember. Instead, I just... I just wasted everyone's time."

"Wasted? With all due respect, Ms. Fletcher, that's not the way I see it at all..." Becky sounded rather defensive. "I mean, come on! Do really think Audrey would have been happy if none of this had happened?"

"What do you mean? Audrey was happy..." Florence pursed her lips, now slightly more unsure. "Wasn't she...?"

"Well I mean... I guess..." Becky itched the back of her neck. "I wouldn't exactly say she was unhappy, Ms. Fletcher, but... but you gotta admit she wasn't exactly a socialiser before she met those guys. Tim either, for that matter."

"Hmm... I suppose there is that..."

"Yeah, so... y'know..." Becky clicked her tongue. "It might not have happened the way we wanted it to, Ms. Fletcher, but I wouldn't say it was a total waste of time, would you...?"

"No..." Florence pulled a small smile as she looked up to the top of the stairs, focusing on the closed door to her daughter's bedroom. "No, I don't think I would say that."

A few minutes of idle conversation later, Becky took both their empty cups into the kitchen and grabbed her coat and bag, politely excusing herself as Florence led her to the front door. The porcupine hesitated just as she was about to leave, keeping a grip on the door handle as she turned back to the gorilla startled.

"Y'know, I hate to intrude, Ms. Fletcher, and... this probably sounds ridiculous, but um..." Becky chuckled at the thought of what she was about to suggest, but she finally decided to come out with it. "Was it planned...? Your accident, I mean."

"Planned...?" Florence's eyes widened a little, though Becky couldn't tell whether this expression was one of shock or guilt. "What on earth makes you think that, dear?"

"Well I dunno, just... maybe it's just cause you were talking about wanting to go out on a high-note like Nana, or how you always brush off the idea of singing again..." Becky then briefly glanced over to the broken remains of Florence's black cane on the table, raising a playfully suspicious eyebrow. "Or maybe it's the fact that you've been faking that limp this whole time..."

"Hmm... well, like Nana said... best to leave them wanting more..." Florence chuckled. "You take care, Becky."


Audrey was sat in a fetal position on her bed, clutching her pillow tight as she quietly wept. Her ears pricked up as she heard the door open, and she sat up to see her mother stood there.

"You alright there, Audrey...?"

"Oh, um... y-yeah, I'm okay..." Audrey nodded, still sniffling as she wiped her face and put her pillow aside. "I um... I'm really sorry about the show, Mum. And Nana..."

"Oh darling, that wasn't your fault..." Florence clicked her tongue, and sat beside her daughter on the bed. "You and Johnny, you... you were both wonderful. You'd have been quite the standout if things had gone better."

"I know, but... but that was your comeback, your legacy, all that... I just..." Audrey sighed, still not looking her mother in the eye. "I just really wanted to do right by you."

"Audrey, you don't need to live my old dreams for me. The last thing I ever wanted to do was pressure you."

"I know, Mum, it's just... it just wasn't fair. Y'know, your... your dreams were taken from you by that... that stupid accident."

"Hmm... actually, that story wasn't entirely true, darling." Florence gently put her hand over Audrey's. "I left on my own. No sabotage, no... no unforeseen disasters, nothing like that. It was no one's decision but mine, and I decided to stop."

"Wait, what...?" Audrey was taken off-guard by this, pursing her lips. "But... but you fell...?"

"Smoke, mirrors and crash mats. Just a few of the many benefits of having a talented magician on hand." Florence gently patted her daughter on the shoulder. "I'd always told Caleb I wanted a send-off to remember, and when the time came he more than delivered!"

"Hang on hang on hang on, Mum, you're... you're blowing my mind here..." Audrey pinched the bridge of her nose, trying her best to process this new information. "If you fell, but... b-but didn't really fall, then... then how did you have your injury...?"

"I didn't have an injury, Audrey..." Florence chuckled warmly. "I had a baby."

"A baby... but that... wait..." Audrey took another moment or two to process this, quietly counting on her fingers before her eyes bulged to their widest point. "Hang on, you... you mean me, don't you...?!"

"Well, it was only about a week after you were born, Audrey. I'm surprised none of you figured it out sooner!" Florence smirked, before noticing her daughter hunch over with her face in her hands. "Oh no, darling, don't get upset! I don't regret doing it, I absolutely love being your mother!"

"Oh Mum, I'm so sorry!" Audrey was rambling on a mile a minute while her shameful sniffles devolved into actual crying. "But you loved singing, you... you could have been a big star, and you weren't, because of me! That must have been so hard to -!"

"Hard...?!" Florence scoffed. "Darling, having you was the easiest decision I've ever had to make! The only hard part was pretending to have a limp for the last seventeen years!"

"Really...?" Audrey calmed down a little as her mother nodded, but she still crouched nervously. "But you... you gave up the best part of your life for me..."

"And I'd do it a hundred times over if I could..." Florence cupped her daughter's chin, affectionately kissing the younger gorilla's forehead before looking her in the eye with a beaming smile. "Singing wasn't the best part of my life, Audrey. You were, and you always will be..."

Audrey had given up any attempt to hold back her much happier tears as she threw her arms around her mother's waist, burying her face in Florence's shoulder as the older gorilla caressed the back of her head.

"I love you, Mummy..."

"Hmm... I love you too, Audrey..." Florence returned the embrace just as tightly, using her free hand to wipe her own misty eyes. "You special little superstar, you..."