Chapter 649 A Warm Welcome
Benjamin furrowed his brows as he followed Arissa out of the bathroom. But instead of going to the dining room, he turned and went into the bathroom next door.
She chuckled when she saw that. Hearing the sound of chatter and laughter coming from the dining room, she hurried over there.
Kingsley, Shaun, and Ethen were inside the room already.
When the six children saw her, they called out excitedly. “Mommy!”
“Ms. York!”
Arissa murmured an acknowledgment in an affectionate tone.
Edwin drew out a chair near the head of the table and motioned for her to sit down. “Please sit here, Ms. York.”
The kids were also sitting on the same side of the table as her.
After taking her seat, she glanced at the table laden with delicious dishes. It was evident that Edwin had put in a lot of effort as the food looked just like what one would expect to find at a five-star hotel.
Edwin proceeded to instruct the help to serve the soup.
Tim secretly gulped as he gazed at the scrumptious spread on the table while Jasper took a deep whiff of the delicious food and declared, “It smells good!”
Meanwhile, Oliver and Jesse’s stomachs started rumbling.
Jesse leaned against the table, staring starry-eyed at the delectable dishes. “I can tell they’re going to taste yummy just by looking at them.”
Although Zachary laughed at her remark, he could not help gulping too as his mouth watered at the sight of the food. “Why isn’t Mr. Graham here yet?”
“He’s such a slowpoke,” Gavin grumbled, his remark tickling Kingsley, Shaun, and Ethen.
Arissa’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she gazed at her children. “Daddy will be here soon. Just be patient.”
After serving the soup, Edwin lifted the plate covers keeping the food warm.
“Be careful, everyone. The food is hot.”
Just then, Benjamin walked in and swept his gaze over the room. “Let’s eat.”
He sat at the head of the table, then turned to Mary and said warmly, “Help yourself to anything you fancy, Grandaunt. Think of this as your house.”
Delighted, Mary replied, “All right.”
“Remember to blow on your soup and drink it slowly. Be careful not to burn your tongue,” Arissa reminded softly.
“I will. You should all hurry up and eat too!” said Mary, waiting for the others to start digging in before she started eating.
Looking around at the kids and seeing Tim eating along with the others, Arissa’s lips curved into a smile.
Benjamin also cast a glance at the little ones. Seeing them wolfing their food down ravenously, he cautioned, “Eat slowly, kids.”
They raised their heads and glanced at him, then nodded.
Withdrawing his gaze from the children and looking toward Arissa, he said, “You should eat too.”
“Okay,” she murmured, shooting a quick glance at him before drinking her soup.
After finishing half a bowl of soup, Kingsley let out a contented sigh. “I’m starving!”
Shaun laughed. “I can’t believe you still have the audacity to say that you’re starving after how much you ate on the plane.”
“Right? He sneakily ate everything!” Jasper piped up.
“Hush!”
Kingsley gestured for Jasper to lower his voice as he stole a glance in Benjamin’s direction, and the other kids could not help giggling upon catching sight of that.
When Benjamin glanced at Kingsley, the latter merely smiled back sheepishly.
Edwin had been standing behind the children, and when he saw they had almost finished their soup, he asked in a low voice, “Would you like some more soup?”
Jasper wanted more soup, so he quickly replied, “I’d like another bowl of soup, Mr. Whitley.”
“Mr. Whitley, I want some pasta,” Jesse answered in her soft and adorable voice.
Edwin felt his heart melt and agreed to bring some at once.
Then, he turned to Tim and asked, “Would you like to have soup or pasta?”
Tim’s cheeks flushed. “I… Mr. Whitley, I want to eat pasta.”
“Okay, sure!”
Edwin could tell that Tim was feeling shy, so he smiled and patted the boy’s head fondly before going to get the pasta.
After serving Jesse and Tim their pasta, he ladled soup into a bowl and placed it in front of Jasper. “Be careful. It’s hot.”
“Thank you, Mr. Whitley!” Jasper sang out with a bright smile.
Tim and Jesse also thanked him sweetly.
“You’re all such good children,” Edwin praised as he placed more food on their plates.
Gavin, Zachary, and Oliver finished drinking their soup just then and wanted to have pasta, so Edwin hastened to bring them some.
Seeing Arissa getting up to take some pasta for herself, he quickly took away her plate.
“Ms. York, please go ahead and enjoy the other dishes. I’ll bring you the pasta.”
