a sound she hadn't heard before

twenty-nine.

The group seems to make it to the restaurant with no issues, however only time will tell if Taylor truly did stay hidden amid the frenzy of cameras stationed near New 42nd Studios. She only saw them out of the corner of her eye, but it was clear that they were all waiting for her.

The group gets seated at a nice little table in their own private room of a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen,  and Taylor can't help but breathe a sigh of relief once she knows that she's safe.

"Those cameras were all waiting for you, Taylor?" Elizabeth asks. "My goodness. I never realized how crazy your life is."

"It was even worse when I was younger," Taylor sighs. "I can get away with a lot of things by simply wearing disguises like the one I had on, but when people know that I'm going to be somewhere, it gets worse. They knew I was going to be at the performances this week. Just like they knew that I was going to be at the open call auditions. It's hard sometimes..."

"I can't even imagine."

"I've been lucky in the sense that I've been almost entirely able to shield my daughter from it," Taylor says. "She was photographed a few times in my arms when she was super little, but only once since she has been old enough to know what was happening, and that was from a distance, so it wasn't like the camera was shoved in her face."

Elizabeth smiles softly. "Joe has told us all about how amazing of a mother you are to her."

Taylor blushes a little bit. "She's the best kid, really. I don't think I'm a great mother. I just think that I have a great little girl."

Joe shakes his head. "You don't give yourself enough credit, really."

"I used to be a primary school teacher," Elizabeth adds, "and I can promise you that there's a very strong correlation between the great kids and them having great parents."

"Oh wow," Taylor says. "Joe has never told me that. What age?"

"Eight and nine year olds," Elizabeth says. "I retired a few years ago, though. I loved it, but it really does take everything out of you at times."

"I can imagine," Taylor laughs. "Ayla just started kindergarten a few months ago, and she seems to love it. Most of the time. We've had our little incidents, of course." Taylor laughs.

"Most kids do find something that they don't enjoy with the transition into school," Elizabeth nods. "But I'm glad to hear that she's enjoying it for the most part."

"She's such a smart little girl, mum," Joe says. "Taylor taught her how to read when she was just four years old. She's been writing the cutest little stories recently."

"Wow," Elizabeth smiles. "Seems like you've found a friend, Joe."

Everyone laughs.

"Elizabeth, if I may ask you something... what are your opinions on homeschooling at that age? Like, for a little bit of time? Can kids usually jump back in if they return to school?"

Elizabeth frowns. "Are you considering it?"

Taylor sighs. "Without going into much detail, there's a good chance that Ayla and I are going to be the subject of some headlines soon. I have to start fighting a fight, for the safety of both of us, that's probably going to be pretty publicized. I'm really worried about her safety at school. With the precautions that I'd want to put in place to keep her in school, I don't think it would be fair to her or her teacher."

Elizabeth sighs. "That's a hard one. I'm sorry you even have to make that decision."

Under the table,  Taylor feels Joe grab her hand.