What Bryson said was very much to my liking.
“Here’s to working together.”
After shaking hands, this whole arrangement was thus confirmed.
As I sent Bryson downstairs, he kept holding on to my hand, saying a million thanks. “Ms. Stovall, from today onwards, we are good friends. If you need anything in the future, do not hesitate to ask me!”
“I won’t hold back when the time comes, thank you.” I sent Bryson away with a huge smile. My mood lightened considerably.
Although he did not speak in a cultured and refined manner, he wore his heart on his sleeve. Socializing with a person like this was not taxing, as I didn’t need to beat around the bush.
“Shouldn’t we inform Mr. Stovall about this matter first?” Brooklyn suddenly appeared by my side and reminded me.
I tilted my head toward him, then directed my gaze to Bryson’s conspicuous Cayenne. In a relaxed tone, I said, “There’s no hurry. I will inform him myself. He would be interested to know about this.”
In the evening, I purposely got off from work earlier. Before going home, I picked up Summer and went to the supermarket to get ingredients for cooking dinner.
Out of habit, I left Ashton a message to invite him to drop by for dinner prior to cooking. As for whether he could make it or not, it would depend on his schedule for the day. With Millie around, I could see him almost every day. Hence, it was not a must for him to come over.
Louis was temporarily staying at the hostel because of the Pitcoin issues. Because of that, there were only four of us at the dining table during dinner.
As soon as I sat down, I took an abalone and gave it to John. “Give it a taste. Let me know if my cooking skills have deteriorated.” I did my best to please him.
John peered at the abalone on his plate and raised a brow. “My my, this is a rarity. I didn’t think that you would be in the mood to cook when Ashton is not around.”
With his eyebrows scrunched, he narrowed his eyes at me. Then, he crossed his arms and lazily leaned against the back of his chair. “This is too good to be true. Spit it out! What the devil are you up to this time?” he queried.
“Devil!” Summer gasped. “Mommy, where’s the devil?” She was scared at the mention of the word ‘devil’ and looked at me with watery eyes pleading for help.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I patted her on the top of her head lightly to comfort her. “There is no actual devil! What Uncle John means is that our Summer is so smart that she’s a cute little devil!”
“Really? Hehe, thank you, Uncle John!” Summer seemed relieved and smiled contentedly. The next moment, she tilted her little head as she recalled something. “Mr. Cress praises me for being smart too!” she boasted proudly.
John, on the other hand, was unhappy after hearing this. “Mr. Cress again! Summer, isn’t Uncle John your favorite man?”
“Summer likes Daddy the most! Uncle John and Mr. Cress are second!” She exclaimed loudly while looking at me, as though she wanted my acknowledgment.
“Oh? Did Uncle John not treat you well? Is that why I am in second place along with another person?” John seemed to be jealous, so he continued asking Summer about it persistently.
“Um…” Summer was in a pinch now. Looking at John innocently, she fell into deep thought. After quite some time, she started muttering to herself. “Summer likes Uncle John, and Mr. Cress too. I like them both all the same…”
Her tiny face was scrunched up with conflict. She looked like a little grown-up when she seriously considered who was her favorite person. Seeing my little Summer being forced to make such a difficult decision, I felt pitiful for her.
“My dear Summer, you don’t have to choose and make a ranking out of it. Just follow whatever your heart tells you. As long as you are happy, it’s okay. Do you understand?” I comforted her softly.
Summer raised her head to look at me, and I could see the confusion in her eyes. I was not sure whether she understood me, but she nodded earnestly and replied, “Yes, Mommy! I understand.”
She would slowly understand as she grew up. Explaining too much right now would just increase her mental burden. I quickly gave Summer the green pea fritters which were her favorite and signaled at Emma to look after Summer. With that, we diverted Summer’s attention.
Glancing to the other end of the table, a sullen John entered my vision.
I couldn’t help but poke fun at him. “Did you really have to compare yourself against her teacher?”
John’s eyes narrowed. He lifted a hand to his chin and started analyzing in all seriousness. “She just started primary school, and my place in her heart was quickly replaced by a teacher. This person must be something else. I have to go see for myself. You don’t need to go pick up Summer tomorrow. I’ll go instead.”
