Roseanne was about to refuse, but then Corley added, "Grandma went through all this trouble for you. If you say no, she''ll be disappointed."


    That shut Roseanne up.


    At eleven thirty, Corley pulled up outside. Roseanne went to meet him at the door.


    "You didn''t have toe out. I could''ve just gone in," he said.


    "Not a chance," she replied.


    It wasn''t until Roseanne led him through a maze of security checkpoints that Corley understood what she meant. There was no way he could''ve gotten in on


    his own.


    "Security''s tighter than when the ce first opened, huh?" Corley remarked, remembering the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. He''d been there it felt like


    a lifetime ago.


    Roseanne nodded. "I reset the whole system."


    "Was that an order from higher up?"


    "Not exactly. But a little extra caution never hurts."


    Corley nodded in agreement.


    "Aren''t you busy?" Roseanne asked as they walked. "How do you even have time to deliver food to me?"


    "Busy or not, this is my mission," he said, grinning. "I''m carrying out Grandma''s orders."


    "What kind of orders?" she asked.


    By now, they''d reached the residential wing. Corley unzipped the insted bag and pulled out two containers, still warm to the touch.


    He unpacked the food and arranged it neatly on the table, setting out a clean fork and spoon.


    "My mission," he exined, "is to watch you and make sure you finish everything Grandma made."


    Roseanne eyed the spread-six different dishes, not counting the soup, all her favorites.


    "It smells amazing..."


    Corley grinned. “Grandma''s been glued to her recipe bookstely. She says she hasn''t cooked much in years, worried she''d lost her touch. All her practice runs end up as dinner for Grandpa and me."


    "Grandpa says we''re just lucky to have you around. Otherwise, we''d never get to eat Grandma''s food every day."


    Roseanne burst outughing. "Oh,e on! But seriously..." She nced at the table, overwhelmed. "This is way too much."


    Suddenly, a thought struck her. "Hey, have you eaten yet?"


    Corley looked sheepish. "Not yet. Grandma was so worried about you going hungry, she had me out the ten just in case Ichit


    traffic."


    Roseanne stared at him, speechless.


    Honestly, Corley was a pretty good


    Hort about all this. If he weren''t, the


    house


    d probably be in


    every day.


    "Sit down and eat with me,” she insisted. "There''s no way I''ll finish all Help me out so


    = one. Help me out so


    to waste."


    "I only brought one fork..." he started.


    Roseanne handed the fork to him. "Here. I''ll use the spoon."


    They both sat down and started eating.


    Halfway through the meal, Roseanne''s tablet chimed with a security notification.


    "Huh? Who''s here at this hour?" She picked up the tablet and checked the front gate camera.


    "Professor?!" she blurted out.


    Corley paused, his fork hovering mid-air. "Owen Reynolds?"


    "Yeah."


    Roseanne hit "approve" on the screen and switched to the inte. "Professor, you''re cleared. Come on in."


    "Thanks. Are you in theb area?" his voice crackled through.


    "No, I''m in the living quarters. Come over," she replied.


    Two minutester, Owen Reynolds arrived, finding Roseanne and Corley at the dining table.


    Roseanne stood to greet him. "Professor."


    "Mr. Sullivan, too? What a coincidence," Owen said, ncing at Corley.


    Corley looked back, their eyes meeting across the quiet room—a subtle tension hanging in the air.


    Corley broke the silence first. "It really is a coincidence, Mr. Reynolds. Would you like to join us for lunch?"


    "Thank you, but.....”


    He was clearly about to turn them down.


    Corley thought, Well, at least he knows when to take a hint.