THE NEXT day afternoon, NORA COULDN'T stop tossing and turning on her bed. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't do her home projects, she couldn't even count to ten without getting distracted. She just couldn't shake off the feeling of acknowledgment that was buzzing inside her. She needed to talk to someone. Nora straightened abruptly from her bed and reached for the walkie-talkie she and Max shared. The walkie-talkie was one of the many presents Max had gotten on his birthday which they'd turned into their personal medium of communication. And they took practicing their walkie-talkie lingo seriously. Like, VERY SERIOUSLY. "Alpha-Two-Zero, this is Bravo-One-One. Are you on the horn? Over!" Nora spoke into the walkie-talkie impatiently. When she didn't get a response in five seconds, she pressed the PTT button again. "I repeat, Alpha-Two-Zero, are you on the rubber duck? Over!" She had the click from the other end and then Max's voice followed, "Loud and clear, Bravo-O
"COME ON, Dad. Let's watch a movie together," Nora whined with pleading eyes, tugging at her father's elbow as she tried to get him to come along with him. She never would have thought getting her father out of his office to watch a movie would be way more difficult than explaining the difference between "Stealth" and "Celeste" to Max. Her old man was as stubborn as a mule but she was built even more stubborn. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right? "Honey, I have work to do. You just go on and watch the movie without me," Brad replied impassively as he began to open his laptop. "No Dad!" She retorted, pushed the laptop back close, and snatched it from his grasp. "This is Sunday. Sunday is family day. Remember?" Brad exhaled. "Yes, but. . ." "Not buts, Dad! You're not exempted from the rule just because you're the head of the family." "Who made this rule for Christ's sake?!" "You did!" He paused. "Oh, right." "Come on, Dad. Just one mo
"WE NEED Daddy to be free on a weekday!" Max announced rapidly. Nora sat straight. "What is this idea?!" "Okay!" Max leaped onto her bed and went on. "The preschool and elementary school are having a joint Parent-child Day on Friday, right?" Nora nodded vigorously. "Mm-hmm! Why?" "This could be a really, really great chance for mommy and daddy to get along," Max said. "I heard parents get to do a lot of fun things together with their kids." "Oh? I don't really know. I never attended one," Nora said with a shrug. "Really? Why?" "Well, for one, Dad's rarely free on weekdays," Doris said. "And there is also my "crowd noise trigger" thingy." Max gasped in recollection. "Ah! It's true. I almost forgot you can't stand loud noises. I'm sorry. Nora shook her head. "Oh, no! It's okay. I can attend this one!" "You can. . .?" "Yeah! This year's Parent-child Day's theme is "Craft-tastic" which is more of a craft-making event. People are going to be mor
IMMEDIATELY AS they entered the gymnasium, they were greeted by cheerful volunteers who handed them their supplies and directed them to their tables. The tables were covered in plastic tablecloths, and each table had its own box of supplies: scissors, glue, markers, paints, glitter, and more. Each family had to spin a wheel and create whatever the wheel pointer chose. Their team was supposed to make a miniature maze out of whatever they wished. After they had gathered ideas from each one of them regarding how the maze should appear, they came to the final conclusion of creating a wooden tabletop maze that is open to the air, with lights and decorations inside and out. The maze would be designed with a musical key at each dead end that buzzes when a wheeled toy or whatnot comes in contact with it. But when it reaches the end of the maze, it triggers the motion sensor which prompts a sequence of flashing lights and a victory tune, so that the player gets a big celebration for w
"THEY ARE SO HOPELESS!" Doris breathed in resignation. Max nodded. "Mmm. Agreed!" They sat solemnly in their "rendezvous point" reevaluating their life decisions. Whenever they tried to get their parents together, something always went wrong and derailed their plans. "I never thought matchmaking was this difficult," Max whined disheartenedly. "It always went smoothly when other kids did it in movies." He glanced at his big sister with a pout. "They're never gonna get along, are they?" Trying to cheer her brother up, Nora said with a grin and a shrug, "Let's look on the bright side. We won the best crafters award." He glared at her with a look that said, "You think I care about that?" Nora shifted in her seat, chuckling nervously. "I guess not," she muttered as if reading his mind. Max dragged his eyes away from her and exhaled profoundly. She peeked at her brother from the corner of her eyes. He was gazing at something in the distance, absently petting
BRAD WAS signing a couple of contracts, when his assistant, Mark Turner, walked in to remind him of his 2:00 p.m. schedule. "Mr. President, you have an executive committee meeting in two minutes," he chimed in his usual teasing and jovial tune. "Thanks, Mark!" Mark Turner was more than just an assistant to him—he was a friend and confidant and had been by his side for many years. He had been instrumental in assisting him navigate the transition from employee to president of the company and had continued to be a pillar of support in the years since. Mark was like a brother to him, and he was among the few people he trusted implicitly. Brad stood up quickly to make for the boardroom, but a piercing, excruciating pain struck his abdomen so hard that he groaned out loud, clutching his stomach. He'd felt a mild discomfort a couple of hours ago. Thinking it was because he'd skipped breakfast, he had gone all out, stuffing his stomach with delightful delicacies, but th
"ALRIGHT, THAT will be all for today's meeting. And sorry again for waking you up this early," Doris said, bringing the meeting to a close with a resolute tone in her voice. Turning to Geneviève, she confidently delegated the remaining tasks to her, trusting that she would be able to handle them with ease. The team leaders said their goodbyes and logged off the call, while Doris sat back and admired the smooth and efficient way in which the meeting had gone. Nothing gave pleasure than working with such a capable and competent team. Doris stood from her seat and stretched her stiff joints, hearing the muffled cracking with every twist of her body. She gasped as her eyes went to the direction of the clock. It was already nine. THE KIDS! Hurriedly, she changed into her nghtdress and zoomed out of her room. And just when she was about to reach for the front door, it swung open abruptly and a frantic Nora charged in. "Doris! It's. . . It's Dad!" She said in regular pa
DORIS' EYES wavered as Brad stared right back at her, his dull eyes wide and unblinking. She felt her heart skip a beat as their gazes locked, and she couldn't help but smile. Uh. . .!" In a need to avoid the awkward moment, Doris asked, "How do you feel? Are you still in pain?" Brad did not respond to her questions. He just kept staring at her. His silence was deafening, and his unblinking stare sent shivers down her spine. She felt as if she was being scrutinized, and examined under a microscope, and it made her feel vulnerable and uncertain. The tension in the air was palpable, and she held her breath, waiting for him to say something, anything, to break the silence. But he did not and as his gaze lingered, she could feel the temperature in the room rising, or perhaps it was just her own body heating up under his intense scrutiny. She expected him to flare up and begin to remind her how many laws she'd just broken by stealing a kiss from someone without their consen