When she closed the door behind her, Gabriel turned to Adrien. “Since you’re here, I’m assuming you have the files I need?”
                          
With a nod, Adrien pulled three large files from the briefcase he had set down upon entering the room. “These ones.”
                          
Gabriel took them, glancing through them as he walked to his desk. “On a different note, may I ask why Mrs. Kurtzburg suddenly asked for the day off? Normally, a two weeks’ notice is in order.”
                          
Adrien’s lips twisted into a frown. “She said she thought she could handle it, hence the quick notice. But you remember how hard it was to realize it had been exactly a year without Mom.”
                          
Gabriel froze. His back was towards Adrien, but he knew his father well enough to know he’d struck a chord.
                          
“If you need to postpone work for a short while in order to give her a few more days off, then you are welcome to do so.” After dropping the files on his desk, Gabriel turned back around. “And if worse comes to worse, I’m certain Emma wouldn’t mind spending the day with ‘Uncle Gorilla’.”
                          
“I’ll be certain to relay that,” Adrien said. “But Marinette already felt guilty for causing me the inconvenience for today.”
                          
“It is not an inconvenience for her to take a few days off to absorb the fact she managed to survive a full year without her husband,” Gabriel said. “You remember that date, too, I’m sure. How Nathalie dealt with either of us was beyond me.”
                          
Adrien chuckled yet rubbed his neck in embarrassment. “That’s an understatement. There’s days I realize just how miraculous it was that she stayed.”
                          
Gabriel hummed his agreement. “I’m hoping Emma didn’t ask too many questions.”
                          
“Thankfully, no, but she was very disappointed Marinette didn’t show up today.”
                          
Gabriel rose a brow. “Really? I would have thought she’d be thrilled to spend the day with Alya.”
                          
“It took a bit of convincing, but Marinette has spent the last three weeks or so making a quilt with Emma. They were going to finish it today, so Emma was upset about that.”
                          
“Yes,” Gabriel drawled out, a small smile crossing his face. “For a charity, if I remember correctly. Emma very excitedly recounted her trip to the fabric store she took with Mrs. Kurtzburg that week.”
                          
“Did she tell you she helped with cutting all the fabric for the quilt?”
                          
At this, Gabriel’s brow rose. “Really?”
                          
“All ten-something yards.”
                          
Gabriel’s eyes widened.
                          
“And,” Adrien continued, pulling out his phone to find the photo he’d taken last week. “She somehow has the patience to sew.”
                          
He handed his phone over to his father to reveal the picture of Marinette’s rudimentary set up on the kitchen table. She’d bought a cheap, somewhat portable sewing machine that was good enough for the straight lines of quilting. Emma was on her lap, hands on the fabric that Marinette was feeding through the machine. Emma’s slight frown of concentration was adorable while Marinette’s expression was far sweeter, far gentler, and completely focused on Emma.