John still had Flint in his arms when he asked, "Master Carter, are you two leaving already?” Odell nodded regretfully. “Yes, sorry for troubling you over the last two days." John smiled and said, “No trouble at all. I hope you two come to visit now and then in the future." With that, he handed Flint to Sylvia. That was when Madam Stockton, Julie, and Queenie emerged from the house. They must have received word from John that Odell and Sylvia were heading back to Westchester. There was a look of urgency on Madam Stockton’s face as she trotted toward them. She stepped right to Odell and Sylvia and when she noticed Flint in Sylvia's arms, a tender expression came upon her. She asked with concern in her voice, “Master Carter, Mrs. Carter, are you two heading back already?” Odell answered, “Yes, there are a lot of things we need to attend to back home so we figured we’d stop troubling you guys over here.” Madam Stockton looked endearingly at Flint who was asleep in
The light in Sherry’s eyes dimmed. Was John trying to chase her out? This seemed to strike a nerve inside Madam Stockton as she expressed her pent-up frustration, “You might not, but I want grandchildren already! All my closest friends already have grandchildren, and I’m the only one left that doesn’t have a shot at getting to hold my grandchildren anytime soon!” John frowned with a rigid expression on his face. Madam Stockton seemed to recognize this and immediately suppressed her anger and asked with a long sigh, "John, weren’t you fond of Master Carter’s children as well? He’s around the same age as you but has three children already. When are you going to get married? Your brother is gone… Are you going to let me go to my grave without getting a chance to see my heir?” Her eyes reddened with emotion as she said this. Julie took her by her arm. "Mom, don't be angry. John is just busy with his career and has no time to get married for now. But that doesn’t mean that he
Odell sat next to her and peered at her from the corner of his eyes. Isabel had woken up some time ago. She was seated in the further back row with Liam. Liam was reading a book. Isabel leaned against his shoulder and stared at Odell and Sylvia in front. Her eyes widened like a giant ball. After staring for some time, she inched toward Liam and whispered, “Do you think Mommy and baddie Daddy are going to get along from now on?” Liam darted a glance at the two sitting in front. He observed the tender, amiable expression on their faces and seemed convinced himself as well. He uttered a short “hmm” in reply to Isabel. Isabel snickered joyously. “That’s great. We’ll never be separated from Mommy and Daddy from now on.” Liam clicked his tongue. …Half an hour later, the car stopped outside the house. Sebastian and Aunt Tonya had been waiting for them outside the house. The car had just screeched to a stop when Sylvia saw them approaching the car. Isabel was
After dinner. Odell had some work to deal with and went to his study. Isabel made Liam go to the children’s room with her to play. Meanwhile, Sylvia stayed with Flint and chatted with Aunt Tonya for a while. Aunt Tonya was getting old and tended to tire easily, so she was getting sleepy toward the end of their chat. Sylvia told her to get some rest before taking Flint upstairs. When she passed by the children's room, she noticed the door was ajar. She saw Isabel and Liam sitting cross-legged on the floor, each of them had a controller in their hand which they were furiously mashing away at. Isabel was the more excited of the two and was shouting madly, “He was the one who killed me. Kick his butt!” Sylvia made a look and hurried past the room, making sure to cover Flint’s ears. It was 9 p.m. Flint was in good spirits, and he was not sleepy either. After a while, she decided to head to the study. The door was half-open just like the children’s room,
The study was filled with Flint’s cheerful chuckles. Sylvia instinctively turned to Odell. He was still seated at his desk, but his posture had changed. He rested his elbow against the table with his chin propped against his palm. He seemed very relaxed and was looking at Sylvia with a hint of a smile in his eyes. Sylvia did not know how long he had been staring at her. He must have seen what Flint did. She felt her cheeks flush red and blurted out, “Why are you staring at me? Aren’t you supposed to be working?” “I don’t know,” Odell said, “I just felt like staring at you.” Sylvia was silent. Was he trying to flirt with her? Her cheeks were seared with red as she gazed into his dashing face. She took Flint and turned to leave. “I’ll stop pestering you so you can get back to it.” She paddled toward the door with Flint. However, Flint did not seem very cooperative and suddenly shouted, "Dad, Daddy..." Sylvia ignored his pleas and continued walking o
“Play with Flint over there. I’ll be right with you,” he let go of her as he said this. Sylvia pulled herself to her feet. Meanwhile, Flint was sitting on top of the table and facing them, staring at them curiously with those large eyes of his. He just saw them kiss! Sylvia's cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she immediately took Flint into her arms. Odell had a satisfied grin on and watched as Sylvia sat on the couch with Flint in her arms. Only then was he finally willing to go back to his work. There were countless undecipherable words typed out on the computer. It was Flint’s handiwork. He patiently erased everything before going back to his original documents. The window of the study was open, allowing a cool breeze of air to pour in from the outside. The day may be tranquil but the study was not. It was filled with the constant thumping, tapping, and various noises produced by Flint rummaging around. Sylvia had done all she could to minimize the
The fine weather in addition to the hypnotic rhythm of Odell’s typing made Sylvia fall asleep as well. Before she realized it, she had drifted off to sleep. After some time passed, Odell wrapped up his tasks and closed the laptop. He looked at the pair of mother and son who were both sleeping next to him and smiled lovingly. It was a heartwarming sight. He carefully took Flint from Sylvia’s arms and took him to the bedroom. After that, he returned to the study and carried Sylvia in his arms. … “Mommy, Mmmy.” Sylvia was woken up by a toddler’s babble. She opened her eyes to see Flint lying next to her and snuggling against her body. Odell was next to her as well. He was lying on his side with his head resting atop one hand. His gaze seemed to penetrate through her. She quickly sprung up from the bed. It was her bedroom, the same bed that she usually slept in. The only ones in the room were her, Odell, and Flint. The two of them were in pajamas. She cou
Sylvia asked without thinking, "Odell, when did you get back?" Odell stared at her contemplatively. He flashed a brief smile and told her, “For quite some time.” He drew close to her as he said this. He brushed a small patch of paint off the tip of her nose and asked her, "Are you finished?" Sylvia nodded. "It's a great painting,” he complimented. Sylvia smiled with reservation. "It's alright.” It did turn out better than she was expecting, but it was still missing something she could not quite put her finger on. “No need to be humble, it's wonderful work.” As he spoke, he raised his hand and patted her head again. It was significantly better than the work she had put out during the event hosted by Master Springsteen the last time. It seemed to him that she was getting back to form. Sylvia whimpered, "I know that, but I’m not trying to be humble.” It was a great work of art and she knew it, but it did not change the fact that it lacked something to m