“Why are you crying, Miss Molly?” In the teacher’s office, Charlotte stood in front of the arts and crafts teacher’s desk with her hands behind her back, blinking her big, gorgeous eyes. ‘Please don’t cry anymore.”
“I’m not crying.” Molly faced away and wiped her tears away, telling herself to be strong. However, she still couldn’t stop her tears from falling like pearls of a broken string. Meanwhile, Rachel stood outside. She could. feel the teacher’s distress even just looking through the window.
The young woman, who had just graduated, confidently thought she would be facing a bunch of angels when lo and behold, reality sent her little devils, torturing her to burnout every day. Who could take that?!
“Miss Molly, look. This looks pretty, doesn’t it?” “What?” Molly turned around to find Charlotte swinging a red string with a tiny ornament hung on one end in front of her.
The twilight rays shone in from the windows, enveloping the child with a soft purplish-orange filter, making her smile even brighter. “Can I tell you a secret, Miss Molly?”
“What is it?”
“Mr. Clyde said he likes girls who like to smile.” Molly’s face flushed crimson at the comment, and she became incoherent. “Why are you telling me this? What does his preference for girls have to do with me?”
“Mr. Clyde’s single.” “What does that have to do with me?” Molly’s face turned even redder, and it took her quite some time to finally ask, “Really?”
“Of course, it is. I’ve been here longer than you have. And Mr. Clyde and my uncle are really good friends. My uncle even said he’d introduce some girls to Mr. Clyde.”
“He can’t!” blustered Molly, wide-eyed, when she had been crying her eyes out a second ago. Immediately realizing she had reacted out of proportion, she cleared her throat awkwardly and said, “I mean, the school is where we teach and learn. It’s not right to think about dating.”
“I think so too. I’ll tell my uncle some other time.” “Forget about that. Do it today.” At that, Charlotte blinked at Molly. “Miss Molly, don’t cry anymore, okay?”
“What for? I wasn’t crying at all. I’m a teacher.” “Hehe. Charlotte pulled a lollipop out of her pocket and put it on the desk. “Here, Miss Molly, this is for you. We’re good friends now.” Following that, the two chatted a little while more.
Meanwhile, Rachel watched the entire thing from behind the door and couldn’t help feeling. impressed. The little girl hadn’t said a word of apology, and yet she managed to coax this interning arts and. crafts teacher. What a talent!
Aside, Victor beamed. “What did I tell you? You don’t need to worry. This little rascal might be naughty, but she looks adorable as well. Also, she can manage to sweet-talk her way out of just about any trouble she has caused. Forget about reprimanding her; her teachers’ hearts. would melt as soon as she smiled.”
“But she still has to apologize for her screwups. “Don’t worry about it. Newcomers are a little more fragile, so it’s normal that they cry from the students’ bullies. She’ll toughen up in about half a year.”
While the two were chatting, Molly had brought Charlotte out. “Alright, I’ll let you take Charlotte home. I’ll leave after I’m done with my lesson plan.” “Forget about that. I’ll drive you home. I have something to talk to you about in the car,” said Rachel after checking the time.
“What is it?” “Your thing with Gloria.” Victor was taken aback for a second. While Victor was packing up, Rachel took Charlotte to look for Samuel, only to see Justin and the boy sitting on the swing in the playground. From afar, they actually looked like a genuine pair of father and son.
Children’s swing was far too low for Justin, for his legs were nearly stretched straight out in front of him as he swung at a barely noticeable. degree.
“My mommy seemed to have broken up with Mr. Peters, Samuel said, to which Justin hummed in response, unfazed. Rachel might look soft, but she was actually really opinionated, and he knew she had already thought long and hard when she told Julian they were over at the airport..
“Shouldn’t you be feeling happy? I mean, your chance is back.” Samuel sized Justin up with his head tilted. “Do you not like my mommy anymore?” Justin shook his head in reply. “I’m sure it’s anybody’s chance but mine.”
“How could you be so depressed?” Samuel looked at the man with disdain. “What happened to your ambitions?” Justin looked at him with a chuckle. “You know what depressed means? You have a large. vocabulary.”
“I’m gifted. This is nothing for me.” “I used to think so too, and I got conceited.” Justin suddenly felt somewhat remorseful as he looked at the twilight afar.
Before he turned thirty, he was high-spirited and a legend in Riverdale. Everyone would say he was young and promising, but only he knew a price had to be paid if some things were obtained too early on.
After being despotic and obstinate for years, he ended up with nothing but his beloved and family gone one after another. “You’re too despondent.” Samuel shook his head as he looked at Justin. Could one blame a child for not understanding a middle-aged man’s frustrations?
“Daddy!” Charlotte’s exclamation came from behind the two gents, leading them to turn their heads around. Rachel walked toward them, with Charlotte waving excitedly in her arms at them while the little girl’s sweet, childish voice echoed in the air. “I want to eat sticky ribs.”
Justin fell into a trance, for he thought he was experiencing a déjà vu like he had seen this scene in a long-lost dream. Suddenly, he grabbed the swing’s rope, protected Samuel as the boy hopped off the swing, and extended his arm to Samuel. “C’mon, we’ll have sticky ribs for dinner.”
“Are you cooking?”
“Yes, I am. We’re eating at yours.” He had come to realize one thing lately. Though it was impossible for Rachel to remarry him, and the possibility of them ever getting back together was next to none, he didn’t feel comfortable leaving her in any other man’s car.
Just how many other men were truly reliable if even Julian could become unrecognizable and filled with nothing but schemes? So he decided no matter what would happen in the future, he would only do what was within his limits and take care of them as best as he could. At least make sure nothing like this would happen again while he was around.
“How did you get here? Do you want me to give you a ride?” Rachel asked when they arrived at the school gates. “I took the cab. I’ll pass up your offer. Didn’t they say they wanted to eat sticky ribs? I’ll take a detour to the supermarket. You guys head back first.”
Being a quick-witted child, Charlotte hurriedly asked, “What? You came in a cab, Daddy? Can you carry all the groceries by yourself?”
“With some difficulty, no?” Rachel chimed in. “How about this? Since Victor’s joining us for dinner, I’ll ask Jolly to come as well. The more, the merrier. I should go to the supermarket with you when we’re getting a couple more things.”
“Sounds like a plan.” After getting into Rachel’s car, Justin shifted his gaze out the window, taking a plain gander somewhere. If Rachel had taken a second look, she would’ve discovered Justin’s Mercedes-Benz parked in the temporary parking space across the road. His parking meter had expired at this point, and he was given a ticket. Standing next to his car was a parking enforcement officer. If he didn’t move his car away in the next twenty minutes, it would end up towed away.
However, to Justin, heading to the supermarket with Rachel in one car was more important right then.
