Old Madam Shelby patted Mrs. Larson's shoulder to reassure her. "Alright, enough. Don't let Charlie see you like this, or else he will be even more upset."Mrs. Larson sniffed and said, "Mrs. Shelby, I need to calm myself down in the room..."The old lady composed herself, and walked to the door. "Charlie, Edith, Nia, you all are here finally. I am so worried that you will not come."Nia was sensible enough as she was helping Charlie to get out of the car with Meredith. She raised her head and said hello to Old Madam Shelby, "Great Grandma, I came with Papa Charlie!""Oh, Nia has always been a good kid." Old Madam Shelby caressed Nia's hair, then took Charlie's hands, and said, "Charlie, how have you been doing recently? You haven't come to have dinner with me for so long. I think I'll not be used to seeing you if you don't come today."Charlie smiled at her, "Thank you, Grandma. It's good to have Edith to take care of me.""Really? That's good." Old Madam Shelby went to shake Mer
"It's okay, let me do it." Penny came over immediately to clean up."Oh, so sorry to trouble you, Penny." Meredith then held Nia's hands and said, "It's fine, honey. Now you know you should be careful when you're holding a glass, right?""I know." Nia apologized apologetically to Old Madam Shelby, "Great Grandma, I-I didn't do it on purpose.""It's okay. Everyone slips their hands every now and then." Old Madam Shelby did not mind at all."Grandma, I'll take Nia upstairs to change clothes first," Meredith said."Sure, darling."Meredith led Nia upstairs afterward.Old Madam Shelby noticed that Charlie was staring at the back of Meredith and Nia as they walked up to the second floor. She smiled at him and said, "Meredith has always been very sensible and well-behaved, and it is a blessing that you got to marry her…"Mrs. Larson nodded to agree with Old Madam Shelby but deep down she was filled with indignation. "Mrs. Shelby has a pair of discerning eyes."Old Madam Shelby then
"Wait, what did the bastard mean? He doesn't have the nerves to come home or he wants us to sit and wait until he gets home?""The traffic is usually at its peak at this hour, I suppose he is still stuck in a jam," Charlie's mother replied."Let me go make a call to Sir." Penny then went to get the phone.When the call was answered, the expression on Penny's face started to change before she could even say a word. After a while, she stuttered, "What…what…what did you say? Sir…he was in an accident?"Even though Penny was stuttering, everyone heard her loud and clear.Josiah had a car accident!Meredith who was walking down the stairs with Nia heard the news. She froze in her steps, nearly tripping over the staircase.With one hand holding Nia, Meredith quickly put the other hand on the railing.It was inappropriate for her to rush to the phone to ask the person on the call whether it was true that Josiah was in a crash, nor could she show that she was too worried. All she could
Meredith hurriedly added, "Grandma, don't take it to heart about what Charlie said. I'm sure Josiah will be fine."Josiah's grandmother nodded but she grabbed Meredith's hands and said, "Edith, I understand what you guys are trying to say but I still want to go see him. Would you please come to the hospital with me?""Grandma…""Stop. I will not change my mind." Josiah's grandmother started crying.At the sight of her tears, Meredith nodded. "Okay, I will go with you."Was Meredith reluctant to go deep down?No. She did want to go visit Josiah.Even though Josiah and she were already divorced and Josiah did let her down many times, he was after all Nia's father and he had been of great help to her lately.She was a human with feelings after all. Right now, Meredith prayed that Josiah would be okay and she too wanted to check on him.Meredith looked at Nia, wanting to explain the situation to her when she realized that Nia was staring at her with tears welling up in her eyes.
"Yeah, you're right that we are cousins. But we didn't grow up together nor were we ever in touch," Charlie smiled and went on, "and this is why when I got into the accident back then, Josiah didn't even blink an eye, and neither did he once visit me.""Oh wait, he did, just that one time. I remember he came when you were around." Charlie paused then added, "We'll go see him once he is moved out from the ICU."Meredith was rendered speechless.Charlie was right that Josiah did not go to see him right away after he got into the accident. And it was because of this that Meredith suspected that it was Josiah who was behind the accident.But Josiah did ask about Charlie's condition. He just thought that it was inconvenient for him to visit Charlie."Edith, do you want to eat something?" Charlie asked.Meredith replied, "It's alright. I'll go upstairs to check on Nia.""Okay. I hope she'll feel better soon." Charlie then put away the dessert.Meredith walked upstairs.Nia was cryin
There was a flicker across his face. He then called out to her, "Edith.""Hmm?" Meredith came back to her senses and put her phone back into her pocket. "What's wrong?"Charlie replied gently, "Dinner is ready. Let's eat first.""I don't think that it's a good idea," Meredith pointed toward the door and said, "Grandma and your mom are not back yet.""Don't worry. Josiah is admitted to Crest Care Hospital. I'm sure they'll be taken good care of and dinner will be prepared for them." Charlie patted Nia's head and said, "Besides, it's already getting late. Nia and you must be hungry."Meredith did not feel hungry at all. She did not even have the appetite to eat because she was too worried.But she was worried that Charlie was hungry, so she listened to him and started setting the table.The dining table used to be lively but it was just the three of them tonight.After putting some food on Nia's plate, Meredith started eating without tasting or enjoying the food.Charlie placed
The lights of the surgery room were finally turned off and Josiah's grandmother got onto her feet immediately.Seeing how Josiah's grandmother was anxious, the surgeon walked over to them and said, "Don't worry, Ma'am. Mister Josiah's condition is stable now.""Are you sure he's stable now? His life is not in danger anymore?""Yes. Even though he injured his head quite badly, he was sent to the hospital just in time and his condition is stable now.""It's the head again," Heartbroken, Josiah's grandmother sobbed, "Josiah that child had hurt his head so many times now that I'm worried that his head won't be able to function properly next time."She then asked, "Are there any other injuries?""And his legs…""What about his legs?" Josiah's grandmother was utterly anxious."Don't worry, Ma'am. Mister Josiah's legs were scratched by glass but his bones are fine."Josiah's grandmother was finally able to sigh in relief. She then asked, "Is there anything else?""No more, Ma'am."
Meredith looked distraught the entire night and Charlie started feeling uncomfortable with the fact that Meredith looked distraught and absentminded throughout the entire evening.Meredith understood what Charlie was implying but still, she insisted, "Charlie, let's head home now."Nia suddenly grabbed Meredith's hand and said, "Mommy, Papa Charlie, can we stay here instead?""Why?""I want to spend time with my great-grandma. She looks exhausted after a long day. And I want to visit Daddy at the hospital with my great-grandma tomorrow.""But who is going to look after you?""Mommy, I can take good care of myself."Seeing how Nia was eager to stay, Meredith could not bring herself to reject her. But she thought that Josiah's grandmother might not be in the mood to have Nia around."Nia, darling, your great-grandma has had a long day and I'm afraid that you might cause her inconvenience if you stay with her. Why not…""Don't worry, Mommy, I promise that I'll be good," Nia said,