No Way Out

A Photo Album, An Unfinished Story, and A Robbery

For a minute she thought that it was all a dream. Waking up in her childhood bed, Marinette felt like a thirteen year old girl again. It wasn't until she looked around and saw the other beds on the main floor that she realized that it was real.

She wasn't thirteen. She was an adult, with all the adult things to go along with it. A full-time job, a husband, and three kids. Maybe if she closed her eyes and wished hard enough, she could go back.

It was silly, of course. There were no magical wishes that could change reality. She would just have to embrace it and move forward.

So Marinette kicked off the covers and got out of bed. Having no new clothes to change into, she would have to keep wearing the same outfit that she wore yesterday and all night. She picked up her shoes from the floor and began putting them on when she stopped. Then she tipped the shoe upside-down and stared at the coin that fell into her open hand.

That's right, Gabriel and Adrien said something about a coin. It didn't look very important though; it was just a regular ten-cent piece. After studying both sides, she sighed and put it back in the shoe. She would keep it just in case Gabriel wanted it back. Then she went downstairs.

Surprisingly, Sabine and Tom were both waiting for her in the living room. Marinette had expected them to be down in the bakery like most mornings, but they were right there.

"How did you sleep, sweetie?" Sabine asked.

"Not too well," Marinette admitted.

Sabine gave her a compassionate smile. "That's understandable."

"Yes, completely understandable," Tom added. "Let's all have some breakfast together. I made some of your favorites this morning."

"What about the bakery?" Marinette asked. "Don't you two need to be down there to run everything?"

"We're taking the morning off. Our daughter needs us more than our customers do. Besides, we've been so successful over the years that we finally hired some extra staff, so they can cover things for a few hours."

"Wow, that's great to hear," she said as she and Sabine went over to the table. They sat down while Tom went to grab the food. "What's this?" Marinette continued, pointing at a large book that was laying there.

"It's a photo album. I thought that we could go through it together this morning. Maybe it will jog some memories."

Marinette frowned a little. She was uncertain if that was a good idea. Exactly what pictures would be in that album, and how she would feel about them?

"It doesn't have to be right now. We'll look whenever you're ready," Sabine said, noticing her daughter's hesitation.

"Is it alright if we eat first?"

"Of course."

"Thanks," Marinette sighed. Then she smiled at her father as he placed a plate down in front of her. "Thanks, Papa."

"You're very welcome, sweetie." He sat in the seat opposite her and smiled brightly. "It's so nice having you here. It's been a long time since it was just the three of us."

"Yeah?" she asked before picking up a croissant and taking a bite.

"Yeah. You got married when you were only twenty, you know."

Marinette suddenly started choking on her food. "I... cough... was... cough... twenty?"

Both Sabine and Tom nodded.

"And you... cough... were okay with that? Isn't that... cough... like, really young to get married?"

Now Tom shrugged. "I would have been fine with you getting married even younger. As long as it was to Adrien."