If Molly notices the hesitation, she doesn't say anything. Hugs aren't meant to demand return hugs. They're meant to make someone feel good. However, when Chloe does return the hug, she feels a little comforted too. Chloe might be a stranger, but she wasn't a danger, and right now Molly really did want the company of someone who was like her...someone who wasn't from here and was trying to figure out what was going on. The locals were really weird. This was all really weird.

But it was also really nice. The autumn, the pumpkin farm, the pumpkin spice everything. If it was all fake, it was at least a nice kind of fake.

"Okay!" She offers Chloe a big grin. "But before I get started on that...how do we get a picture of us holding hands? This phone looks ancient. Like, what even has actual buttons any more? Do you think it can do a delayed picture? It looks like it's from, like, 2002 or some super old time like that."