"Uh." Pepper glances at her mother, who just nods in acquiescence. Really, Pepper didn't need any sort of permission, and keeping her mom out of things felt a little strange, but she was an adult now, and even Joanne knew that this was a bit of an embarrassing subject. "Yeah, good idea."

The woman's gaze remains on Pepper, smiling sadly at her. Pepper was just thankful that things weren't as awkward as they could have been after so long apart.

"It's alright," she says softly. "Anyone who could do anything then, did. I'm just glad for the chance to be here at all, to hear about the things I've missed. It's a lot to catch up on."