Page 27 of Shielding Instinct

“Basically, out of jealousy, Leontes imprisons Hermione and orders the abandonment of their newborn daughter, Perdita. Hermione dies in prison while a shepherd is raising Perdita. At sixteen, Perdita returns home and is recognized as the lost princess. Leontes is remorseful, and his family is reunited.” She lifted a hand and let it drop. “A terrible story with a worse outcome. So much better had Perdita stayed in the hills eating bread with butter and cheese.”

“I knew you were hungry,” Hawkeye said as he pulled out his phone and swiped to bring up a prompt window.

“What are you searching? I’m not on social media.”

“Neither am I. You’re right. Winter’s Tale sounds like a miserable story. There must have been something your mom saw in those characters that she wanted for you.” He looked over at Petra. “I don’t know your mom, but there has to be an explanation.” He focused back on his phone. “I’m looking up, Hermione. I only know it from Harry Potter. In that book, she is—”

“Obviously neurodivergent?” Petra asked. “Most probably high masking, high-functioning autistic like my mom is? There is that. Mom might just have latched on to Hermione because she felt seen.”

He flicked a glance her way, then continued scrolling.

“Are you a big reader?” Petra asked as a knock sounded at the door.

“Levi,” a voice called.

“Coming.” Petra unspooled and headed to the door.

Hawkeye came to his feet. “I like to read before I go to bed and on rainy winter days in front of the fire.”

“Dog at your feet. Very romantic.” She threw a glance over her shoulder as she pulled the door wide to find a sweat-stained Levi with the two dogs.

Levi stared at Petra’s face. “You’re still lopsided.” He released Cooper as Hawkeye chirruped. “I’m sorry you’re going through this, but it was a relief to hear it wasn’t worst case.”

“You’re very kind. Thanks, Levi. Hi Mojo. I like your name.”

Levi lifted a hand toward Hawkeye.

“Thanks, brother,” Hawkeye said as Levi turned and moved off and Petra shut the door. After scrubbing his hands over Cooper, Hawkeye unclasped his lead and set it on the lowboy.

Petra climbed back into her pillow nest. “Is Cooper allowed up?” She patted the space in the middle.

Hawkeye snapped his fingers and pointed, and Cooper leaped up and went straight over to sniff Petra.

Hawkeye sat back in the place he’d been before and continued his phone search. “Hermione Perdita. Are you an only child?”

“I am, why?” Petra pulled the pillow from behind her head and punched it to make a more comfortable shape.

“If I’m remembering correctly, Shakespeare made up the name Perdita—I mostly know this because of a 101 Dalmatians.”

“That movie made me cry,” Petra said, watching as Cooper began circling before he settled, sides still heaving, tongue hanging long from his run.

Hawkeye would fill the plastic ice bucket with water and set it out in a minute.

“As a kid, Cruella terrified me,” Hawkeye said. “What level of evil would it take to consider hurting a dog? A puppy, no less? But to get you back to my track, I was thinking that if your mom wanted to use other names that Shakespeare made up for another child, she might have chosen Olivia or Matilda.”

“Matilda was a great movie. But it was Agatha Trunchbull who terrified me. Makes sense, you and dogs, me—well, I identified with Matilda, another neurodivergent character, probably autistic, like Hermione.”

Hawkeye thought she said that as if she was lifting a flag and waving it at him.Look over here.But she’d already said she was wired differently. There was a reason she was repeating the theme and watching his responses.

Over the years, his sister had been frustrated trying to maintain relationships. Cora often talked about how exhausting it was for her to try to function in a world where people couldn’t keep up or couldn’t understand when she was overwhelmed and bored at the same time. Or when she became anxious for no apparent reason—crowds, uneven surfaces, changes of lights, too much sound.

Cora would put energy and goodwill into relationships only for her friend or romantic partner to bow out. She was too much for them.

But it was also the reason that Cora could make the music that left people holding their breath and why she could paint paintings that made people weep.

That comes at a cost inthissociety. Hawkeye reminded himself of their talk on the plane. Some societies honored people with divergent gifts, and societal acceptance had to make things easier.

Yeah, as Hawkeye ran the various conversations through his mind, he was convinced that if Petra was trying to warn him off, it would be partly to protect him but also in a big way out of self-preservation.

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