“Samuel, you don’t look happy. Is something bothering you?” Charlotte’s sweet baby voice sounded.
“Godmother took me to see someone today,” said Samuel, behaving precociously.
“Was it Mr. Ryan?” Charlotte had met and knew of Ryan.
“Yeah. He’s sick.”
“Oh, so you and Godmother went to the hospital to visit him earlier, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Charlotte propped her elbows on her knees and cupped her cheeks, leading half of her face to be covered. “Is Mr. Ryan going to die?” she asked while blinking.
“He said he won’t die just yet.”
“In that case, that means he’s okay. Daddy said everybody would die eventually. Not dying just yet means he’s all okay.”
If someone passed by at this time, they would definitely be rendered at a loss for words by the conversation. These two children didn’t even care that it was the first day of Springfest to talk about life and death so casually.
However, Samuel wasn’t bothered if Ryan would live. After long deliberation, he turned to Charlotte. “Do you think Godmother will be with Mr. Leroy?”
“Why?” Charlotte sat upright at that. “Leroy’s so handsome!”
“However, Ryan is-”
“He’s what?”
Samuel left his words hanging at that.
He was half a year younger than Charlotte; despite being far more intelligent than their peers, she was still a league below him maturity-wise. It probably had to do with Justin shielding her too well.
“Nothing. Are you cold? Let’s head home.”
Charlotte sniffled and nodded sweetly. It did feel somewhat chilly. At that, Samuel stood up and extended his hand toward the little girl. Their icy little hands slowly warmed as they walked hand in hand.
Charlotte followed behind Samuel. Though she hadn’t a clue what was troubling him, she still couldn’t help wanting to comfort him. “Samuel, no matter what happens, you have me, Mommy, Daddy, Godmother, Aunt Gloria, and Mr. Victor.
That will never change.”
Samuel was taken aback for a moment and suddenly seemed enlightened. Moments later, he tightened his grip on Charlotte. “Come on, Aunt Gloria’s still waiting for us to make her crepe cake.”
“Godmother’s allergic to mangoes, though.”
“She can make a matcha-flavored one.”
“I don’t like matcha. It tastes bitter.”
“In that case, we’ll ask Aunt Gloria to make a banana crepe cake.”
“Hey, I’ve never had that before!”
With that, the two walked out of the strawberry garden. Gloria stood with her arms akimbo in the kitchen doorway as she looked at the basket the little munchkins brought back. “Are these all the strawberries you guys spent half an hour picking?”
Charlotte blinked her big, round eyes. “There are no strawberries anymore, so we picked bananas instead.”
Gloria thought the little girl was humiliating her intelligence. “And in which part of this garden is there a banana tree?”
Forget about this part of the land, there was not a spot in Riverdale where a banana tree could grow as if a tropical fruit could grow in this part of the world.
Samuel, on the other hand, was helpless. He had already told Charlotte this plan wouldn’t work, but the little girl insisted otherwise.
Gloria had just learned how to make crepe cakes, so she thought about making a strawberry-flavored one. But now, with the key ingredient missing, her only dish on the first day of Springfest ended with a failure. As such, she couldn’t help feeling irritated.
“How am I supposed to make a strawberry crepe cake without strawberries?”
“Well, you can make a banana crepe cake.”
“There’s no way I’m going to eat that! Don’t give me that, you little glutton!” “Bananas aren’t too different from strawberries, though.”
“Oh, but they are very different.”
However, Charlotte still had her way with Gloria. She rolled her eyes around and asked, “Can I ask you a question, Aunt Gloria?”
“What is it?”
“How do bananas grow on trees if they don’t have stones? How do you plant them?”
“Who says bananas don’t have stones? Well, they don’t, but they have seeds.”
“Where?”
“Do you think I’m lying to you?” Gloria peeled the skin off a banana and took a bite before pointing to the ring of black bits in the middle, speaking with a chunk of banana still in her mouth. “Here, see this? They’re small, edible seeds like strawberries,” she explained.
Charlotte giggled in response. “You said it yourself, Aunt Gloria. Strawberries and bananas aren’t too different.”
Stumped, Gloria didn’t know if she should swallow the chunk of banana in her mouth, amused and frustrated. She pinched the little girl’s nose. “Why, you cheeky little thing!”
In the kitchen, Rachel and the others heard their conversation and couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
“She may be little, but her logic’s impeccable. I bet whoever tries to woo her will have a hard time doing so. Rachel, I don’t think you guys have to worry about her,” Victor commented.
“Nah, I’m not worried at all,” said Rachel with a smile. “The one sitting outside has already set her eyes on making Charlotte her daughter-in- law. Under her watchful eyes, I doubt anyone will be able to steal my girl away.”
“Daughter-in-law?” Gloria happened to be returning to the kitchen, and her eyes widened upon hearing Rachel’s words. “No way! I object.”
“Why? Are you not pleased with Samuel?” Rachel asked.
“I’m pleased with Samuel, of course; it’s the mother-in-law I have a problem with. Imagine what Jolly will do in the future when she can even steal Charlotte’s candies now. It’s none of my business if she bullies anyone. However, I will not allow anyone to bully our baby Charlotte.”
“She stole Charlotte’s candies?”
“See for yourself.”
With that, Gloria stepped aside to let everyone see what was happening in the living room.
While Samuel and Charlotte were gone, a certain someone’s ‘sinful’ hands reached for the bag of chocolate strawberries on the coffee table. She quickly grabbed one, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth, not forgetting to dispose of the wrapping.
With how fluid her actions were, it was clear that this wasn’t her first time.
“Charlotte treats these chocolates like treasures. How would you have the heart to reach for them?! No wonder they were gone so fast when I knew I bought plenty.”
Rachel scratched her head after hearing so and looked over her shoulder awkwardly at Justin, who was actually unfazed as if he knew nothing of this. In actuality, Jolly wasn’t the only reason the chocolates had depleted so fast…
However, Rachel had no intention of explaining. Since Jolly was caught red-handed, why not let her take all the blame? She and Justin exchanged a glance, tacitly coming into an agreement.
“Jolly, how can you continue taking more when you’ve already taken a couple?!” Gloria roared toward the living room, having had enough of it.
Startled, Jolly jolted and nearly spat the chocolate in her mouth. Right then, Charlotte noticed it as well, so she immediately put her building blocks down and stood up. “Godmother, you ate my chocolate!”
“What? N-No, I didn’t. Are these your chocolates?”
“They’re mine!” Charlotte jogged over and tipped the bag on the coffee table. “They’re all gone!”
Her little face instantly fell, and she made a moue, glaring at Jolly with incredulity. “Godmother, you ate all of my chocolate!”
Jolly panicked in an instant. “I’ll buy you a new bag of chocolates! I’ll get you more!”
“You can’t buy them!” Charlotte widened her eyes and began wailing. “Ugh… You can’t buy them! They’re all gone!”
“I can, I can. I’ll look for them now. Please don’t cry, Charlotte, please. Ahhh! Help me out, Chris!”
Despite having a son herself, Samuel barely ever cried. As such, it was only natural that she was all over the place when she experienced this for the first time.
Meanwhile, the others were having a ball watching in the kitchen, having no intention of saving Jolly.
“Ahhh, please don’t cry anymore. Help! Chris! Please help me, I beg of you!”
