A few seconds later, they're at a Chinese restaurant, presumably in Perth. The owner seems to know Zaneta, and refuses to let her pay.

Well, Sadde won't object to free food just because it also happens to be free for whoever's paying.

Food!

Zaneta and Sadde sit in a corner booth, while the other patrons regard the former with either benign indifference or awe.

Sadde hadn't expected it but is not in hindsight surprised.

"How was your morning?"

He thinks over all of it and settles on "Okay."

"When the triplets first started school, Martin used to tell me his day was 'okay', rarely meant anything good."

"Well, adding everything up it was good but there were lots of bad things that had to be made up for."

"My kids were being weird again, weren't they?" Zaneta smiles sympathetically.

"...kinda?"

"I see you met Paul and Nemo."

"Yeah. Why are they all so obsessed with babies?"

"It's more like Moira and Michael want living, breathing baby dolls, and Nemo doesn't want to be beaten by her brother at something."

"...I could give them more lifelike baby dolls, probably."

"Also, Michael I think likes the idea of someone who's part him having a less confusing childhood."

"He, uh, is still in his childhood."

"Most children don't really think they're kids, I find."

"I do. I don't like it."

"That's sadly common as well."

"Why sadly? Being a kid is awful."

"I remember it basically being the same as being an adult. Different-but ultimately the same."

"I think slower, my body isn't done, I'm not smart enough, I don't know enough things, no one takes me seriously, I have to depend on other people to live, I don't know how to deal with my emotions very well, I don't understand other people well enough. Being a kid is terrible."

"Fair enough, I suppose. The others seemed very excited when I showed up. Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"I dunno. They said you'd be excited that I can do forcefields."

"Object conjuring, shape shifting, and force fields? Anything else you've got in you?"